Yoga Narasimha Swami temple - Mattapalli, AP The sanctum sanctorum is in a cave shape. At the entrance are the stone carvings of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha and Mother Gajalakshmi. The upper portion of the sanctum is made of rocks. People have to enter the sanctum bending their heads. Lord Yogananda Narasimha is sculpted on a rock. As the shape of the rocks resembles Adisesha, it appears as he is holding an umbrella for the Lord. The presiding deity is just a foot tall holding conch and discuss and the lower left hand on the knee. There are three dressed Tilaks and two eyes of Narasimha, which is believed to be that of His devotee Prahladha. At the feet of the Lord is a devotee Chakri by name in a bird form. Lord kept the devotee with Him to illustrate the fact that He and the devotee were not different but one. Abishek is offered to both simultaneously. There are two sculptures near Lord – 1.5 feet tall Mother Rajyalakshmi with a crown and sitting on a lotus and another Mahalakshmi both carved on the rock. As these are not clear, later and idol of Mother Rajyalakshmi was made of metal and placed here. Idols of festival deities are placed near the Lord. On the right f the presiding deity are only 11 Azhwars instead of 12. Of them, seven are facing west and four facing east. It is believed that the remaining one Azhwar may have been covered in darkness in the place. There are 21 pillars in the Mukthi Mandap. Though Garuda Baghwan alone appears opposite the sanctum sanctorum in Vishnu temples, here Sri Anjaneya too shares the place along with Garuda. There is also a Swing Mandap – Oonjal Mandap. On the left of the Mukthi Mandap are the shrines of Sri Andal, Sages Brugu, Athri, Kashyapa,and Vaikanasa Acharyalu. Those facing serious diseases bathe in the Krishna River, stay in the temple for 11 days for a remedy. Devotees are warned to use only the permitted part of the river with steps. The river has crocodiles as it is deep. King Machi Reddy, who built this temple, had committed himself to the service of many temples in his life time. He had offered gold Kalasas to Srishailam, Kasi Viswanathar and Thangoda Gopalar temple towers. The palace he lived is now in ruins. Sri Mukkur Lakshmi Narasimhachariar, noted for his religious discourses had done many renovations to the temple. He has also elaborately dealt with the powers and glory of Lord Narasimha in his book “Kurai Ondrum Illai”. There is also a hearsay story about the temple. The region – Mattapalli – is still a jungle area despite many developments. River Krishna is flowing through this place, deep and broad. Sage Bharadwaj and his disciples were worshipping Narasimha in the cave then. Years passed. Sage Bharadwaja told the disciples that Lord would appear when sins and injustice become the rule of life. Lord appeared in the dream of one Sri Anumala Machi Reddy the king of Thangoda and told him of his presence in the Mattapalli cave and ordered to perform pujas to Him. The king immediately ordered his men to find out the cave. They did their best but could not. Tired and frustrated, the king fell asleep in the jungle. Lord again appeared in his dream and said that he had almost zeroing on Him and the cave was covered by plants and bushes. The king was happy to discover Lord in the cave. He installed Him there and constructed a convenient pathway to enable devotees to worship Him. Miracle Based: Lord Narasimha in the cave is carved on a rock – one foot tall. NEAR BY PLACES: Panaka Narasimha temple is 10 km from Vijayawada. Leaving Mattapalli. Vedathri, 60 km from this place can be reached within 2 hours. Darshan here is available till 12.00 a.m. Vadapalli with prior contact with the priest who is not always available. The watchman in the nearby house will help darshan in the temple. Those desiring to go to the hill temple, may seek help from the locals. After completing the darshan at the hill temple by 3.00 p.m.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 05:45:06 +0000
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