Sri Ramanujaya namaha
Recently my wife and I went to India from Sydney and had the blessings of Sri Narasimhar to visit Pancha Narasimha Kshetrams near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. This write up is to assist people who desire to visit these Kshetrams.
The 5 Kshetrams are:
- Managala Giri – Panaka Narasimhar. Here the specialty is Narasimhar drinks half of the panakam offered to him irrespective of the size of the vessels used to offer the panakam. 10 km from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Guntur Road.
- Keta Varam. Swyambu Narasimhar who came in a Shepherd's dream and asked him to get the king to build a temple for him. There was no water at the top of the mountain and Narasimhar promised to provide water during the construction. After the construction there is still no water available. Daily pooja happens with the priest carrying the water from below.
- Mattapalli - The moolavar is Sri Yogananda Narasimhan. This narasimhar is Swayambu. Thayaar is Sri Rajyalakshmi. Chenchulakshmi Thayaar is also present beside the moolavar The sanctum sanctorium is inside a cave which extends upto the river Krishnaveni. The vimanam here is Brahmananda nilaya Vimanam.140 km from Vijayawada
- Wada Palli. Here The Narasimhar shows his presence by breathing in his statue form which is shown by the moving deepam in front of his nose whereas the deepam at his feet is stand still.
- Vedadri -60 KM from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.
Based on our experience our suggested way to visit these temples is as below though we didn't do it in that order hence had some strain.
- Allow for full 2 days. Arrive at Vijayawada in the morning from Chennai. You can also approach from Hyderabad in which case it is better to drive from Hyderabad direct.
- Book a cab and I have given the address of the travel agency we used. Our driver was Sriram and I strongly urge to ask for him as he understands Tamil and English and was a good driver. However his judgment on driving times involved wasn't the best.
- Please book a bigger vehicle like a Tevera or Innova and never go in Tata Indica. The roads are quite bad. And had to drive in first gear for quite some distance. High wheel clearance and bigger wheels are a must.
- After refreshing proceed to Managalagiri , there is Lakshmi Narasimha temple at the foot of the hills as well. The road goes up to the temple so no climbing involved.
- Proceed to Katavaram via Guntur. If you call the priest through the driver and the day is good you can climb the 600 or so steps to have darshan of the moolvar. Otherwise normally the puja is done for the utsavar at the foothills.
- Proceed to Wadda palli and Please check with the archaka about the timings of the temple opening. If you can finish this temple it will give you a relaxing day the next day. If not you can still do it the next day.
- After Wadda palli proceed to Mattapalli where your car has to go on a boat to cross the river. It costs Rs 150 for the boat ride for each vehicle.
- Please call Mr. Gopal in Mattapalli, details below and let him know when you are arriving, how many people and when you need food etc. There are no other hotels to stay or eat.
- They provide a cot, just mat and pillow and no bed sheets. It is advisable to carry some bed sheets as it could be cold depending on the season.( we went in December). There is bath rooms attached to the rooms but no hot water.
- Nirmalya darshan is a must in Mattapalli if you really want to see the Swayambu. I highly recommend it. You should get ready latest by 4 am. They charge Rs 100 per couple at the temple. If you go late there isn't enough space to stand inside the cave.
- It is said in Mukkur Narasimhachariar's books if you take a dip in Krishna and do 32 pradhaksnams at this temple all your wishes will be fulfilled. There is a garudar and Anjaneya sannidhi . The circumbulation of this sannidhi and the Dwaja stahmbam is considered a pradkashinam. In addition you can circumbulate the temple by climbing 40 steps and walking down the slope. We did the pradkshinam after the nirmalya sevai. After the sevai you can go back to your guest house have a cup of coffee, change the clothes have a dip in Krishna which is near by and do the pradakshinam. There are several steps involved in getting to the River so old people should be aware of this.
- Please read on stala puranam and details on the net before you go as the priests speak only in Telugu.
Contacts:
Sri Gopal, who manages the annadaanam and accommodation facilities.
Ph. +91 94406 57333 or +91 94406 57333
Sri Sai Car Travels Off: 0866 2473877,0866 2474211
Cell: 98855 37799, 92464 97799