Sri Kanagadurga temple Vijaywada

This temple is admist of the busy Vijaywada town on the banks of river Krishna .

The temple of Kanaka Durga the Goddess of power, riches and benevolence and the presiding deity of Vijayawada, is swarmed by lakhs of pilgrims for worship during the “Navarathri” festival which is celebrated with Religious fervour, pomp and festivity. The small but ancient temple of Kanaka Durga , a top the Indrakeeladri hill on the banks of the Sacred river Krishna in Vijayawada abounds with legends of historical interest.

Indrakeeladri is unique in that it has been the chosen abode of Kanaka Durga and Her consort Malleswara as Swayambhu (the self-existent one). Here Durga is one the right side of Malleswara as against the tradition of Goddesses taking their position on the left of their consorts. This shows that Shakthi is predominant on the Indrakeeladri.

Legend has it that the demons acquired great powers by appeasing the Gods and began harassing the sages on the earth. Goddess Parvathi assumed various forms to kill these demons. It was kausiki to kill Sumbhu and Nisambhu, Mahisasura Mardini to kill Mahishasura and Durga to kill Durgamasura. “Kanaka Durga because she was a glow with golden hues, and prayed Her to stay on earth and bless them.

Kanaka Durga asked Keeludu an ardent devotee to take the form of hill to enable Her stay on him. Thus Keeladri became the abode of Durga. She took the form of Mahisasura Mardini with eight arms holding different weapons, riding on a lion and trampling Mahishasura on the hill of Indrakeeladri. Her consort Shiva took his place on an adjacent hillrock as Jyothirlinga. He was worshipped by Lord Brahma with jasmines (Mallelu) whereby he got the name of Malleswara Swamy. As celestial beings like Indra visited the place, the hill came to be called Indrakeeladri.

Here it was according to another legend, that Arjuna performed penance and fought with Lord Shiva, who had appeared in the guise of Kiratha to win pasupathastra, the most powerful weapon. So this place is also called phalguna theertha.

When Indrakeeladri came in the way of the River Krishna the Gods requested the hill to allow the river to pass through it to join the sea. Keeludu obliged and gave a small passage for the river. But the ferocious Krishna made the passage larger than permitted and carried a part of the hill four miles downstream to Yanamalakuduru, where there is now a hillrock called “Thelukonda” or floating hillrock.

According to another legend, Kanaka Durga borrowed the nose-stud of the Krishna and to avoid returning it jumped up the hill. Krishna vowed to take back her ornament by raising her level to the hill top by the end of kaliyuga

Adi-Sankaracharya visited the temple and installed the Srichakra and initiated workship of Kanaka Durga in vedic ways.

Lift facilities are available and they charge Rs 25 for it . As it was crowded we went in special dharshan Rs. 100 person . Rope car work too was undergoing when we went . Mobiles are not allowed inside the temple. There are cloak room at the foothills mobile lockers and chappel stands .

The temple gopuram
The main deity
Outside the temple
Urstavam

Small Stories #22

There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy’s father wanted to teach him a lesson, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail into their wooden fence.

On the first day of this lesson, the little boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. He was really mad!

Over the course of the next few weeks, the little boy began to control his temper, so the number of nails that were hammered into the fence dramatically decreased.

It wasn’t long before the little boy discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Then, the day finally came when the little boy didn’t lose his temper even once, and he became so proud of himself, he couldn’t wait to tell his father.

Pleased, his father suggested that he now pull out one nail for each day that he could hold his temper.
Several weeks went by and the day finally came when the young boy was able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

Very gently, the father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
“You have done very well, my son,” he smiled, “but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.”

The little boy listened carefully as his father continued to speak.

“When you say things in anger, they leave permanent scars just like these. And no matter how many times you say you’re sorry, the wounds will still be there.

Sri Vyagara Narasimha swamy temple Agripalli

This is a Hill temple and a cluster of 3 temples . Sri Vyagara Narasimha Swamy temple at the foot of the hill .

Sri Shobanachala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the Hill and Sri Achanteswara Swamy (Lord Shiva) temple at even more top of it .

Sri Vyagara Lakshmi Narasimhar Swamy is in Agripalli. It is 25kms from Vijayawada. This temple is dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. Here Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy is also known Sri Vyagra Narasimha Swamy. Vyagra means tiger in telugu here instead of lion the Lord Narasimhar has a tiger’s face . This is the foot hill temple with 25 steps .

Sri Shobanachala Narasimha Swamy
This temple is on a hillock one has to climb about 750 steps to have the dharshan of the Lord .The main deity is Sri Shobanachala Lakshmi Narasimhar with his consort Goddess Rajalakshmi is an swayambu . Here the Lord is with a smiling face . Opposite to the main sanctum is Dwajasthambam in front of it Lord Hanuman temple and a mantap adjacent to the main sanctum. Only 10 people can enter inside the temple at a time .

As per legend Sri Mahavishnu and Sri Mahadeva were visiting the earth. It was evening time, when they were near this place. They were looking for a place to stay over for the night. They saw this place among the mountains and thick green forest. They were impressed with the scenic beauty and the tranquility of the place. They decided to spend the night in the scenic and peaceful environment. Sri Mahavishnu wanted to perform evening sandhya vandanam and requested Sri Mahadeva to find a suitable place for their stay. Sri Mahadeva, after searching for a while, found a nice place on the top of the mountain and settled down there, forgetting to inform Sri Maha Vishnu. Sri Maha Vishnu waited for some time for Sri Maha Deva to return, but finding that Sri Maha Deva did not come back, he went in search of him. When he found that Sri Maha Deva settled down comfortably on the top of the mountain, Sri Maha Vishnu felt some what angry and thumped the head of Sri Maha Deva with his fist and cursed that no body will visit him without having the Darshan of self (Sri Maha Visnu). Saying this, Sri Maha Vishnu came down in two steps and settled down at the foot of the Mountain. Even now, one can notice the impression of the fingers on the top of the sacred Siva Lingam and the two large stone slabs (representing the imprint of the foot steps of the Lord). Lord Sri Maha Vishnu is known in this place as Sri Shobhanachala Swamy (Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy) with Mother Sri Rajya Lakshmi. Lord Sri Maha Vishnu is considered here as Shobana or happy or shanta Murty (after pacification by Bhakta Prahlada).

One has to climb 100 more steps to have the dharshan of Lord Shiva named Achanteswara Swamy .

Sri Rameswaraswamy temple is positioned in Achanta, West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Achanta also referred to as as Marthandapuram inside the past. The Shivalinga present in this temple is said to be Swayambhu (self-fashioned). Here Lord Shiva is referred to as as Achanteswara Swamy. This temple is having beautiful structure. There are sub-temples of Lord  Vighneswara Goddess Saraswathi and Saptamatrukalu inside the predominant temple . From the inscriptions on the wall’s of this temple, it’s far recognised that this temple changed into built at some point of the duration of Eastern Chalukyas . The Raja Gopura of this temple is maximum one in this area, which ripples the construction fashion of Chalukyas . There is 6 Shiva linga’s in the temple, which are  Lakshmaneswara lingam, Someswara lingam, Markandeya lingam, Bhimalingam, Skandalingam, and Indralingam.

The Pancha Narasimhar sthethram are Mangalagiri Vedadri Matapalli Vadapalli and Kethavaram in Vijaywada.
Since the roads were blocked due to some reasons our tour organizer took us to this temple .

Hope will get a chance to have the dharshan of Lord Narasimhar in Kethavaram.

Entrance of Vyagara Narasimha Swamy temple
Entrance of Sri Shobanachala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple
Before the main sanctum and that grilled gate is the mantap
Steps of the hill temple took this pic just before climbing
On the way to Hill temple one could see Sri Vyagara Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple beneath

Sri Narasimhar temple Vadapalli

This is one of the Pancha Narasimhar kshetram in Andrapradesh. (Vedadri, Vadapalli, Mattapalli, Mangalagiri, Ketavaram)

The Vadapally Lakshmi Narasimhar temple is situated in Nalgonda district near the town of Miryalaguda, at the confluence of the River Krishna and Musi River. These two rivers very unusually come together in the shape of an “L”.

There are Puranic references to the history of Lord Narasimha’s appearance at Vadapalli. According to the Puranas, Vyasa Bhagavan, knowing the piousness of the place, meditated for a long time on the manifestation of Sri Narasimha Swamy. The Lord benedicted him by manifesting in His ferocious Ugra form.

Vyasa Bhagavan experienced Lord Narasimha at the moment when His breath was filled with tremendous anger, so he concluded that the Lord had come to him just after killing Hiranyakasipu. Therefore, he prayed to Sri Narasimha Swamy to manifest at Vadapalli in that Form only. Accordingly, Lord Narasimha swamy manifested there to bless the devotees and to alleviate their suffering.

Even now, it is said that the Deity breathes in out. The temple priests have arranged two lamps here. One lights near the face of the Lord and the other near the navel of the Lord the lamp near the face quiver frequently , as evidence of the fact that the Lord is continually breathing in and out. The second lamp, kept below, burns resolutely.

Sri Narasimha Swamy is believed to bless the devotees with health and prosperity who pray to him soulfully. The sacred river Krishna has a very prominent place in the history of our country.

At the entrance and opposite to main sanctum is a seperate shrine for Lord Anjineyar and one at side when we come pradakshanam on the right side of the temple.

From outside the temple
Near the main entrance
Lord Anjineyar opposite to the main entrance
Lord Anjineyar right side of the temple
The main diety (source Facebook page)

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar temple Matapalli

Posted inPancha Narasimhar sthethram AP

It is located in Mattapalli or Mattapalli village in the Nalgonda district and is 25 km from the Huzurnagar Taluk on the banks of River Krishna . It is regarded as one of the Pancha Narasimha Kshetras. The temple houses the triple deities of Sri Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha Swami, Sri Rajyalakshmi Thaayar and Sri Chenchu Lakshmi Thaayar.

Several Telangana temples dedicated to Lord Narasimha Swamy are housed within caves. Similarly the Yoga Narasimha Swamy Temple is also located within a cave. The west facing Sanctum Sanctorum is accessed by a narrow passageway.

We stayed in mukoor Lakshmi Narasimhacharyas ashram as well as koshala it was a circular halled temple with the main deity as Lakshmi Narasimhar and Chakrathalwar and beautiful carvings on either side of the pragharam . Surrounded by rooms all 4 sides .

There is a rock above the door to the sanctum sanctorum. On it is the sculptured motif of Gaja Lakshmi with two elephants raising their trunks upwards on either side. The sanctum is a cave. The roof of the Garbhagriha is a big rock.

Inside the Garbagriha there are brass idols of Sankh Chakra and many Alwars . We went early by 6am as we did thirumanjanam , Rs 250 per couple .

The main hall housing the deity known as the mukha mantapam is huge measuring 24 feet x 45 feet. The hall comprises 21 pillars holding up a cement roof. A similar hall, though smaller is also present above the north door comprising 5 pillars.

The temple houses some of the finest specimens of rock sculpture. One such beautiful piece of art is found crowning the main door of the sanctum sanctorum displaying the motif of Gaja Lakshmi. It shows two elephants with their trunks raised up facing each other. Another one is found above the Garba Griha shows Lord Narasimha seated in the yogic posture of Padmasana. He is shown holding the Chakra in his upper right hand and Sankha in his upper left hand. His lower left hand is shown resting on his left knee. His lower right hand however is not visible. Yet another rock structure resembles the Divine serpent of Sesha. It appears as if the Serpent is spreading its hood over the Lord’s rock sculpture. This sculpture is about 1 foot in height.

Lord Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy
The stone image of Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, is placed to the left of the rock sculpture. The Goddess is shown in a sitting posture on a lotus with Makuta the crown on her head and her upper hands holding lotus. Her lower hands are shown in the Abhaya and the Suchi posture. Beneath this is another image of Rajya Lakshmi that is installed in order to enable devotees offer their prayers to the goddess as the original idol of Goddess Lakhshmi is not made available to them.

A peculiarity of the Yoga Narsimha Swamy temple which distinguishes it from the other Telangana temples is the absence of a pradakshina path around the Sanctum sanctorum. Therefore in order to complete this ritual devotees circle the sacred pillars or the Dhwajasthambha. Alternatively, they can also circle around the stone image of Hanuman which faces the main deity.

It is believed those who do 36 pradhakshanam of this Dwajasthambam along with Lord Hanuman shrine in this temple the Lord fulfills their desires .

The Yoga Narasimha Swamy is located on the banks of the River Krishna. The temple premises provide steps which lead devotees to the River Krishna. The temple also houses the Ramanuja Kutam or the kitchen where the Naivedya is prepared.

The Narasaimha Swamy Temple is another beautiful structure of the Telangana temple architecture. It bears rock sculptures of gods and goddesses which are revered and worshipped by many ardent devotees. The temple premises receive huge crowds in the months of January and May during the time of Vykunta Ekadasi and Kalyana Mahotsva. Both these festivals are celebrated in a grandeur manner .On the banks of river KrishnaView from topWe reached by evening and did 36 pradakshanam circumbulating lord Hanuman along with the dwajasthambamThe main entrance of Matapalli temple early morning dharshan (thirumanjanam)Side entrance of Matapalli templeMukoor Lakshmi Narasimhacharyas ashramBeautiful carvings inside mukoor Lakshmi Narasimhacharyas ashramBeautiful carvings inside the temple of mukoor Lakshmi Narasimhacharyas ashram

Sri Narasimhar temple

This Temple is located on the banks of River Krishna at VEDADRI village in Krishna district of AP and at a distance of 80 km from Vijayawada and 10 Kms from Chillakallu on Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway. The nearest town is Jaggaiahpet at 12km.

This is one among the Pancha Narasimhar sthethram near Vijaywada.

The Lord Narasimhar exists here in five forms as Jwala , Yoganandha, Veera , Saligrama and Lakshmi Narasimhar.

Lord Vishnu in His ‘Masthyavatar’ (fish) rescued Vedas from the demon Somakasura. The Vedapurush requested Him to reside on their heads. River Krishnaveni also wished to perform daily abhishekam to Him. Lord told them that their wishes will be fulfilled during ‘Narasimha avatar’ and asked Veda Purushas to remain in Krishna waters as Saligram till then and further assured them that He will stay with them as Panchamurthy.

On Killing Hiranyakasipu , Lord Vishnu self-manifested on Vedadri hill as JWALA NARASIMHA.

Later Lord Brahma installed SALIGRAMA NARASIMHA MURTHY on the SALIGRAMA mountain.

Later Sage Rishyasringa and others, in search of a suitable place for performing penance, heard Veda recitals in perfect swarms from the hill here, named it as ‘Vedadri’ and performed their penance here and having found in a cave a swayambhu YOGANANDA NARASIMHA , installed it here.


Again at Garuda’s request Lord self-manifested as VEERA NARASIMHA on the top of Garudadri hills, 5km east of Vedadri .

As per the prayers of Vanadevatha, the Lord is pervading the mountains as LAKSHMI NARASIMHA MURTHY.

Must be carefull as there are lot of monkeys if u are taking eatables fruits and flowers.

Near the car parking area is the access to Krishna river , we spent almost an hour as we went by evening . Mountains on one side and foot hill Vedadri temple and Krishna river at the back of the temple lovely ambience.

In front of vedadri temple
Outside side view of the temple
Yoga Narasimhar
Lakshmi Narasimhar

Small Stories #21

The 8 Monkeys

Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.

Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.

One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing the obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder.

All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.

However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder.

A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him.

This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he’s not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he’s attacking the new monkey.

One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.

And that is how traditions, religions and systems get established and followed.

Think twice before following a tradition,religion or system blindly .. it wud make more sense if u get ur own understanding to it….

Sri Panagala Narasimhar Mangalagiri

Mangalagiri is a town in Guntur district situated between the twin cities of Vijayawada and Guntur of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 

Mangalagiri is a temple of Lord Vishnu in Narasimhar form. Mangalagiri (mangala means auspicious , giri means hill ) , as Lord Narasimha near Vijayawada .

As legend says after killing Demon King Hiranya Kasipu , Lord Narasimha killed Demon Namuchi ( he was blessed by Lord Brahma with boon that he should not be killed by either humans or animals or any other forms ) and settled on this hill . Lord here declared that he would be satisfied with ghee in Trete yuga , with milk in Dwapara yuga , with jaggery water (panakam in telugu) in Kali yuga . Hence Lord is Called Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy .

The speciality of the temple is , only mouth is visible as no idol existed (God is self existent here). God is offered jaggery water (prasadam ) only and when this is poured into mouth the gargling sound is audible and half the vessel (small or big ) is finished , sound is stopped , remaining water is thrown out . Being the less or large amount of jaggery water the phenomena is the same . This peculiar phenomina occurs recurringly during the course of the day .This is the amazing significance of this temple .

Behind the temple there is the temple of Goddess Rajalakshmi, to the west of which there is a natural cave. It is believed that it will lead to Undavalli caves on the banks of the Krishna river and the sages used to go to take bath in Krishna River.

There is a seperate shrine for Lord Anjineyar and Lord Ragnathar in this temple which we have to climb a few steps .

A small (kalasam) pot full of panagam is sold inside the temple complex itself for Rs.70 after offering to the Lord the rest is given as prasadham to us we can carry it in a bottle and use within a day . Near the split panagam near the Lord’s idol not a single ant or flies could be seen where as the remaining we fetched in the bottle were full of red ants , so we used it and threw the bottle .

At the foot hill there is a Lakshmi Narasimhar temple with a magnificent tomb .  It is one of the highest gopurams in South India and only one of its type in this part of India. It is 153ft. in height and 49 feet wide with 11 storeys, and gates facing east and west . This temple is said to be built by Yudhistra the eldest among the Pandavas .

The Image of the Lord in the form of Narasimha (man-lion) and that of Lakshmi Devi to his left are of stone. The garland of the Lord with 108 saligramams is of special significance here. 

Vajranagaya vidmahe deeshna thamastraya theemahi thank
Narasimha prashothayath

Is the Gayathri mantra of Lord Narasimhar.

At the entrance
Inside the temple
Lord Hanuman
Lord Ranganathar
In front of Goddess Rajalakshmi shrine
On top exit
In front of Lakshmi Narasimhar temple
The chariot behind
Side view of tomb
Magnificent gopuram of Lakshmi Narasimhar temple
The full image of the magnificent gopuram

Brahmaputra Pushkar

After a day in Shillong we reached Guwahati saw Purva Thirupathi Balaji temple and Bhimashankar jyothirlingam and stayed at Hotel Prag Continental.

The next day early morning we took auto and went to near by Jaganath temple and took a holy dip in the Brahmaputra flowing at the backside of this temple there are steps to get down in to the river . Then we changed our dresses at adjacent cloak room and left back to the Hotel .

After having breakfast we again came as a group in the mini van bought flowers diyas and offered our tributes to river Brahmaputra and then went to Jagnath temple and opposite to it a few steps to climb is a Sukleshwar temple of Lord Shiva .

Having the divine dharshan of both Jaganath and Sukleshwar we went to Umananda temple .

As our tour group was of 32 members our organizer arranged a boat and we travelled to Umanand temple.

This temple is a must visit as it is located on an island called “Peacock Island” in the middle of the Brahmaputra river in the northern part of Guwahati. One has to go in a ferry or boat to reach this temple which is seen on a hillock called Bhasmachala or Bhasmakuta.

One has to climb more than 150 steps to reach the temple. One can book ferry ride from Uzan Ferry Ghat (Kachari Ghat) managed by Inland Water transport. The fee is 20/- per person. This official boat service is available from 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. One can go to Umananda from Shukleswar Ghat and Fancy Bazar Ghat also. The ferry ride gives you a beautiful view of the flowing Brahmaputra River with distant view of hills and greenery. The journey takes just 15 to 20 minutes to reach the foot of the Bhasmakuta hill.

While climbing steps one can see an abundant number of trees and different kinds of birds also. According to bird-watchers there are nearly twenty species of birds in this area. The golden langurs one of the rarest type of monkeys are seen on this island only.

As per legend this island was created by Lord Shiva to make His spouse, Uma happy. So this place is called Umananda. The British people named this island as peacock island as the shape of the island looks like splayed feathers of a peacock. This island is regarded as the smallest river island in the world. Lord Shiva while doing penance here was disturbed by Kama’s arrows. So Shiva became angry and burnt him to ashes with his blazing third eye. So this hill is named as Bhasmachal or Bhasmakut.

The temple of Umanada was built in Kamarupa style with a red colored dome. One has to descend a few steps to see the Lord as the sanctum is at a deeper level. Only diya were lit with that lamps the priest showed us the lingam form .The passage to the sanctum is very narrow and every time five to six devotees are allowed to climb down the steps. Inside the sanctum a tiny Shiva Ling is seen with a pedestal on the ground level. The priest there told us the Lingam is Swayambu and its Arthanari (both lord Shiva and Goddess Shakthi form) .The sculptures of Ganesha, Shiva and Devi (with a scorpion as an emblem) are carved on the rocky walls of the temple showing the architectural skills of the local sculptors . The temple is crowded during Mondays and Mahashiva ratri. During Shiva Chaturdasi a colorful festival is held here. People believe that pooja offered to Lord Shiva on Monday with Amavasya Thithi brings highest merit and bliss to the devotees. The temple timings are from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

Near the entrance of the temple premises there is Ganesha’s shrine with a big sculpture of a rat in sitting position facing the idol of Ganesha in the shrine. There is a Hanuman temple beside the temple. Another Shiva shrine called Chandrasekhara shrine is seen beside the main shrine. The dasavataras of Vishnu are seen on the outer walls of newly constructed temple walls. The calm surroundings with beautiful scenes of trees and birds makes one feel very happy and relaxed.

After the dharshan we relaxed in the temple complex and again travelled back on the river Brahmaputra by boat .

After having lunch started to Guwahati airport to reach Chennai .

Taking Holy dip
Brahmaputra Pushkar
Offered our tributes
Entrance of both Jaganath and Sukleshwar mandir
Jaganath temple
Steps to Sukleshwar mandir
Sukleshwar mandir
Boating in Brahmaputra to Umanand temple
Climbing the steps
Entrance of Umanand temple
Mushigha vahana
Lord Ganesha

Our Shillong trip

During our Brahmaputra Pushkar trip to Guwahati after visiting Maa Kamakya Shakthi Peedam and Dasa Maha Vidya temples we travelled to Shillong .

By 4 pm we reached Umiam lake .
It is a lake surrounded with small mountains, calm and serene place , there is a boat ride facilities as it was drizzling we dint go for boating . Had hot masala tea and did window shopping on the roadside shops mostly was art work hand made of bamboos were sold here .
This lake serves as a major tourist attraction for the state of Meghalaya. 

Umiam lake

By the time we reached it was 8.30 pm we had night dinner at Madras cafe in the near by hotel before reaching Polo Towers as most of us were senior citizens and diabetic . Our tour organizers arranged idly dosai payasam chutney sambar in Shillong .

Hotel Polo Towers welcomed us with a complimentary buttermilk and along with it a muffin as that was 20th year anniversary of their Hotel .

Morning got freshen up and had complimentary breakfast and started our travel .

Meghalaya is a place of falls and lakes . Our first visit was to Elephant falls
Located 12 km away from the capital city of Shillong, Britishers named it so as the stone looked like a elephant it’s a 3 layered waterfalls admist the dense forest there are steps to get down and see all the 3 layers , must be carefull if it’s raining . We almost spent an hour admiring the beauty of the falls .

Our tour organizer Elephant falls
Elephant falls

Our next destination was Wakaba falls , the falls was invisible fully covered with mist and climate was too chill , we waited half an hour for the mist to clear could only hear the sound of the falls as it started raining we got into the mini van we were travelling .

Fully covered by mist Wakaba falls

Next falls we saw was Daienthlan falls as the rain stopped we enjoyed walking in the water flowing and took as much ever videos and photos we wanted .Then we went to Noklihai falls . Though we could see the falls couldn’t get down from mini van as it was raining heavily .

Dainthlen falls
Gods gift

We reached Cheerapunzee, which is said to be the highest rainfall receiving region of India . The climate was awesome no rain . We had afternoon lunch in a hotel there and bought cinnamon sticks sold there .

Had lunch at Cheerapunzee Holiday resort
Cheerapunzee

After lunch we went to Mawsmai cave they charge Rs.20 as entrance ticket we could succeed only to a certain distance as due to rains there was a feet of water and we returned back . We got exhausted and that days final destination was to Seven sisters water falls was a visual treat opposite to it another falls we took as many videos and photos and returned back having night dinner in the same Madras cafe and returned to room .

Entrance of Mawsmai cave
Description of the Mawsmai cave
Entrance ticket Rs.20

Next day morning we packed up our luggage and after the breakfast the first place we saw was a Cathedral Church in Shillong . It was big with colourfull stain glass paintings and then to Shillong view point .

In front of the Hotel we stayed
Nohsngi Thiang falls and Seven Sisters falls
Nohsngi falls

Next day morning we packed up our luggage and after the breakfast the first place we saw was a Cathedral Church in Shillong . It was big Church with colourfull stain glass paintings and then to Shillong view point .

Cathedral Church
Shillong view point

We had to climb a winding steps to see the entire view from top . The best part of the trip was wearing their tribal dress and a photo shoot of it . We all dressed up they hire it for Rs.100 per head and for photos they charge Rs.50 per photo.

Shillong tribal dress
Myself

Then we travelled to Guwahati on the way had afternoon lunch by 4 pm we went Purva Thirupathi Balaji temple in Guwahati.

Purva Tirupati Sri Balaji Mandir is a beautiful Hindu Temple situated at Ahom Gaon area of Guwahati in Assam. It is one of the popular temples in Guwahati.

Dedicated Lord Venkateswara, Purva Tirupati Sri Balaji Mandir was built in the year 1998. Sprawling over 2 acres, the temple is considered as the replica of the original Tirupati Balaji Temple. This white colored temple is built in the similar architectural style of the South Indian temples. The temple has a Rajagopuram (70 feet in height), a Maha Mandapam, an Ardha Mandapam, and the Sanctorum.

There is a Ganesha Temple at the entrance of the complex. The main temple is the home of Lord Balaji. The deity inside the sanctum sanctorum is carved out of a single stone that weighs more than 4 tonnes. Besides, there are also the temples of Goddess Padmavati and Garuda- the vahana of Lord Balaji inside the premises. A recent addition to the temple complex is the Yagasala that has been built in traditional style to enable devotees to perform Yagnas.

Purva Thirupathi Balaji mandir

Then we went to Bhimashankar jyothirlingam at Pamoghi . It was a pradhosam day .We were happy of getting the dharshan and blessings of Lord Shiva . Though there us a Bhimashankar jyothirlingam in Maharashtra here they consider this as a jyothirlingam. From the main entrance we had to walk about a half km to reach Lord Ganesha temple .The Ganesha idol is rock cut on a huge stone we did pooja to Lord Ganesha and walked the slope a small bridge about a km admist the dense forest with streaming water we saw and did pooja to the Jyothirlingam by the time we were back to our van it has become dark . The priest told us dont waste time here as these are elephants pathway they requested us to move away soon . With the divine blessings of the Lord Shiva we reached our room in Hotel Prag Continental Guwahati .

Lord Ganesha
Bhimashankar Jyothirlingam
Bhimashankar Jyothirlingam

Daienthlan fallsSeven Sisters fallsMawsmai caveDaienthlan fallsShillong view point

Kamakya temple Guwahati

This temple is in Guwahati is one of the Shakthi Peedams. This temple is about 20 kms from Guwahati airport. Kamakya is also known as the bleeding Goddess of Assam .This temple is on a hillock named Nilachal of 562 feet high .

Kamakhya Devi Mantra
Kamakhy Varade Devi Nilparvatvasini,
Twam Devi Jagatam Mataryonimudre Namostute |

The temple of Kamakhya has a very interesting story of its origin. It is one among the Shakti peedams. The story of the Shakti peedam goes like this; once Sati fought with her husband Lord Shiva to attend her father’s great yagna. Despite her husband Lord Shiva’s disapproval, Sati had gone to attend the universal ‘yajna’ organised by her father Daksha. Shiva was not invited, and was also abused by Daksha. Unable to bear the insult, Sati committed suicide. When Shiva came to know that his beloved wife had committed suicide, he went insane with rage. He placed Sati’s dead body on his shoulders and did the tandav or dance of destruction.

To calm him down, Vishnu cut the dead body with his chakra. The 51 places where Sati’s body parts fell are called Shakti peedams. Kamakhya temple is special because Sati’s womb and vagina fell here.

One has to climb about 120 steps to reach the temple .

We reached by 10 am straight from Guwahati airport to this temple and our tour organizer had arranged a special dharshan . We were taken inside the main sanctum sanctorum .There was no idol of the Goddess only a Peedam along with 3 heads covered with silks and flowers tha main deity here is in the form of Yoni , which we had to get down a few steps and is damp with fluid they were collected and given us as prasad to us .We were garlanded with the flowers on the Sakthi peedam .

There were 4 tombs and the entire walls were of carvings of different deities.

There is a mantapa were we can lit diyas and agarpathis and pray to Maa Kamakya.

Kamakhya Devi Temple is a unique temple that celebrates the fertility and womanhood with a grand fervor -“Ambubachi Mela”.

The Ambubachi Mela is the most important festival of the Kamakhya Temple of Guwahati. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time stretch.

During the Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati, the doors of the Kamakhya Temple remain closed for three days. It is believed that the Mother Earth becomes unclean for three days. During this time any kind of farming work is not taken on. Daily worships and other religious performances are also stopped during the Ambubachi Mela of Guwahati in Assam. After the completion of three days, the doors of the Kamakhya Temple are reopened. But the doors of the temple are reopened only after Devi Kamakhya is bathed and the other rituals are executed. It is then believed that the Mother Earth has retrieved her purity. This is purely a ritual of the Tantrik cult.

On the fourth day, the devotees of the Goddess are allowed to enter the temple for worshipping Devi Kamakhya. Thousands of pilgrims are found to visit the Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati, who comes all over India.

In addition to this temple there are Dasa Maha Vidya temples . They are 10 forms of Shakthi named as Kamala Matangi and Tripurasundari which are found within the temple complex and Tara Kali and Chinnamastha few steps down to Kamakya temple and Bhuvaneswari Bagalamukhi Bhairavi and Dumavathy within a km distance from Goddess Kamakya temple.

The tombs of Kamakya temple
The entrance
Lord Ganesha
Carvings on the walls
The main deity (Yoni)
Kali temple
In front of Goddess Tara temple
Goddess Tara

Small Stories #20

*REMAIN HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL*

A rich man looked through his window and saw a man picking something from his dustbin. He said, Thank God I’m not poor.

The poor man looked around and saw a naked man misbehaving on the street. He said, Thank God I’m not mad.

The mad man looked ahead and saw an ambulance carrying a patient. He said, Thank God am not sick.

Then a sick person in hospital saw a trolley taking a dead body to the mortuary. He said, Thank God I’m not dead.

Only a dead person cannot thank God. Why don’t you thank God today for giving you the opportunity to live another day?

Would you share with someone else, and let them know that God loves them too?

*LIFE:*
To understand it better, you have to go to 3 locations:

1. Hospital,
2. Prison &
3. Cemetery.

*At the Hospital*, you will understand that nothing is more beautiful than HEALTH.

*In the Prison*, you’ll see that FREEDOM is the most precious thing.

*At the Cemetery*, you will realize that life is worth nothing. The ground that we walk today will be our roof tomorrow.

*Let us, therefore, remain humble and be grateful for everything.*

Mangaladevi temple

From Udipi Krishna temple we reached Mangalore Mangaladevi temple it was almost closing time of the temple .

Mangalore was named as Mangalapuram after the local Hindu deity Mangaladevi, the presiding deity of the Mangaladevi Temple. It was modified to Mangalore by the British. But somehow the keralites have retained the old name.

Puram means ‘area of land’ or having the same meaning of ‘uru’ or ‘ooru’ in Tamil or Kannada.

As the history says that the land got it’s name from the deity Mangaladevi, the literal translation would be ‘the land of Mangaladevi’ which can be called ‘Mangaluru’ in Kannada and Tamil and in Malayalam, it would be Mangalapuram.

Mangaladevi Temple is built in Kerala style of architecture. In fact, most temples in Tulu Nadu (Mangalore side) are constructed in this design. The shrine consists of a sanctum and many other small shrines housing other gods and goddesses.

The main sanctum houses the idol of Mangaladevi who is in a sitting posture. The whole shrine is mainly a wooden architecture which is similar to other temples in the region. There is also a flag-post (Dwajastambha) and the shrine of Lord Shiva.

Mangaladevi Temple is a form of Shakti and is a much revered deity in Mangalore. Hence, Mangaladevi Temple is one of the top temples in Mangalore.

According to this legend, two sages Gorakhnath and Machindranath come in search of a holy land where Sage Parashurama is said to have lived. They enter the kingdom of Kundavaraman who ruled the Tulu Nadu.

The sages explain the importance of one such place which holds the temple of Mangaladevi which was established by Lord Parashurama. Surprised by the version of the history, King Kundavaraman agrees to support the sages in finding this shrine. Finally, an ancient shrine totally surrounded by forest was found. Thus, king Kundavaraman re-builds the temple of Mangaladevi.

With this our Mangalore spiritual tour ended after having night dinner we started to Mangalore railway station .

Our tour group in front of the temple
We both
Inside the temple
The main deity picture

Udipi Krishna temple

From Anegudde Vinayagar temple Kumbakshi we reached this temple by 5pm .

Udipi Sri Krishna temple is one of the must visit temples to Lord Krishnas devotees.

I had the divine dharshan of Lord Krishna during my Mangalore spiritual tour. Udipi is 60 kms from Mangalore.

In this temple Lord Krishna is seen with a churner in one hand and rope on the other hand.

Udupi Sri Krishna appears to his devotees as Muddu Krishna in child form. The temple has a large collection of gold Jewelry  including contributions from the emperors of Vijayanagara rulers, Mysore Maharajah .

The Lord idol is said to be installed by Madwacharya as he got it as a huge lump of clay ( Gopi chandan ) from a sailor from Dwaraka to Mangalore coast . It is said that Idol of Lord Krishna was worshipped by Rukmani in her garden earlier .It is believed the lamp lit by Madvacharya is maintained till now by the temple priests .

Unlike other temples in India, a fascinating aspect of this holy shrine is , devotees can have darshan of Sri Krishna only through a window with nine holes called the “Navagraha Kindi” (Nava means nine; Kindi means window) and the window is elegantly carved and is silver plated. 

Kanakana Kindi or Kanaka’s Window is a small peephole in the Udipi Sri Krishna temple through which the great Indian saint Kanaka dasa was given darshan by lord Krishna. This is present in the outer wall of the temple and the gopuram is known as Kanagagopura.

There is a legend behind the presence of ” Kanakana kindi”.
Shri Kanakadasa was a great devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. He lived at around the same time as Shri Vadiraja Swamiji at Udupi and was carrying out his Bhajans in front of the temple regularly . Kanakadasa, an ardent believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the temple as he was of lower caste .

Undeterred, Kanakadasa lived just  behind the temple to serve Sri Krishna  from outside the temple .One night the temple wall collapsed and this enabled Kanakadasa to get a darshan of his Lord.

Further, it is believed that Sri Krishna himself turned his face in such a way, that Kanakadasa could get his darshan. As for this ardent devotee, a long-cherished ambition had been fulfilled by the lord himself, a privilege that people of higher caste could not get. This incident implies that to the almighty, He treats all this devotees equally, regardless of caste, color and creed.

Adjacent to the temple is a pond named madvasarovar .

In front of the temple
With our tour organizer
Udipi Krishna
Source Facebook temple connect page
Madwasarovar
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