P.J.
0
Mangalagiri – Sri Panaka Narasimha Swamy-
Mangala Giri
Mangalagiri means The Auspicious Hill. Managalagiri, also known as Bhimadri is located about 13 kilometeres from Vijaywada. This is a cave temple and the lord is frequently referred to as Panaka Narasimha swamy. The valiant Bhima of the Panadavas is said to have worshipped this lord. The mountain is in the form of a elephant with the temple located in the mouth of the elephant.
Legend
This shape of the hill looks like an elephant. From all the directions, the hill appears in the elephant shape only. There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into existence. Pariyatra, an ancient king had a son Hrasva Srungi visited all holy and sacred places to regain normal bodily stature and finally visited this holy place of Mangalagiri and stayed for three years performing penance. All the Devathas (Gods) advised him to stay at Mangalagiri and continue to do penance in praise of Lord Vishnu. The father of Hrasva Srungi came with his retinue to take back his son to his kingdom. But Hrasva Srungi took the shape of an elephant to become the abode of Lord Vishnu in Sri Narsimha form who is locally known as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.
The existence of the Lord as ‘Panakala Narasimha Swami’ has an interesting tale behind it. The legend says that Namuchi, a Raakshasa (demon), after great penance, obtained a boon from Brahma that he should not be killed by any thing that is either wet or dry. After the demon was granted the boon, he began to harass Indra and other Devathas. Lord Indra, with the help of Lord Vishnu, commenced destroying the army of Raakshasa Namuchi who hid in a cave in Sukshmaakaaram giving up his sthulaakaaram (Physical manifestation). Indra dipped Sudarsanam, the disc of Lord Vishnu in the foam of the ocean and sent it into the cave. Lord Vishnu manifesting himself at the centre of the disc destroyed the Pranavayuvu (life breath) of the Rakshasa with the fire of his exhalation. He thus got the name of Sudarsana Narasimha.
The Devathas themselves were unable to withstand the fire of the anger of the Lord and they prayed for appeasement. The Lord took amrutam (nectar) and cooled down. It was in Krithayugam. The Lord said that he would be satisfied with ghee in Threthayugam, with milk in Dwaparayugam and with panakam(Jaggery water) in Kaliyugam. Hence the Lord is called in Kaliyugam as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.
Panakala Narasimha Swamy – God Who Drinks Panakam offered by devoted bhaktas
A flight of stairs lead you to the small temple on the hill. In 2004, ghat road had been constructed through which the pilgrims can reach the temple easily. It is said that here, Lord is self-existent (swayambhu) . A tall Dwajasthambam (erected in the year 1955) is found in front of the temple. Unlike in many temples, you cannot find archa vigraham of the Lord except a wide mouth (of the Lord) opening which is about 15cms in height. This is covered with a metal face of the God to give the devotees a clear picture of the Lord.
The amazing things to notice in Panakala Narasimha Swami temple is that when the “archakas” (or the priests) offer Panakam (jaggery water) with a conch to the Lord, a gargling sound is clearly audible. The voice rises to a high pitch and then lessens towards the end of the offering. Interesting things to note are, only half the quantity of Panakam offered to God goes inside the mouth while the remaining spills out, which was given as prasadam and not even a single ant can be traced though a large quantity of jaggery water is offered. This phenomenon happens not once in a day but is a recurring feature during the course of the day as and when devotees offer panakam (jaggery water).The temple will be opened till afternoon only, with the belief that devatas will perform pujas in the night.
Sri Lakshmi Devi Temple:
Behind the main temple, there is a temple of Sri Lakshmi Devi, the consort of Lord Narasimha. Here, to the west of the temple, you can find tunnel which is said to end at Undavalli on the banks of River Krishna. It was believed that sages used to pass through this tunnel to have bath in River Krishna.
Gandalayam: On a small hillock behind the Panakala Narasimha Swami temple there is a small shrine of Lord Narasimha where He is called as Gandala Narasimha Swami. There is no particular deity inside the temple except a provision to light a lamp. It is believed that this lamp was visible from many villages in good old days. People who suffer from miseries come here and light the lamp with cow ghee which is believed to ward off all their troubles.
Timings :
Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Timings : 7 am to 3 pm
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Timings: 5am to 12.30pm and 4pm to 8.30pm
How to reach :
Mangalagiri is located on National Highway No.5 that connects Kolkata and Chennai. It is situated on the Guntur-Vijayawada road, 13 km to the south-east of Vijayawada and 21 km to the north-east of Guntur City. One can reach Mangalagiri trough on road by a bus either from Vijayawada or Guntur or Tenali.
It has also a railway station by the same name in Guntur-Vijayawada section of Guntur division under the South Central Railway. Other modes of transport like a taxi services and auto rickshaws can also be used.
Please see this Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xI4kWrzkuo
Please read more from these links
http://anudinam.org/2012/06/30/mangalagiri-–-sri-panaka-narasimha-swamy/
http://www.eprarthana.com/temples/guntur/ap1947pana.asp?tid=1947
http://guntur.nic.in/mangalagiri_temple.html
http://www.templedarshan.in/sri-panakala-lakshmi-narasimha-swamy-temple-mangalagiriguntur/
Mangala Giri
Mangalagiri means The Auspicious Hill. Managalagiri, also known as Bhimadri is located about 13 kilometeres from Vijaywada. This is a cave temple and the lord is frequently referred to as Panaka Narasimha swamy. The valiant Bhima of the Panadavas is said to have worshipped this lord. The mountain is in the form of a elephant with the temple located in the mouth of the elephant.
Legend
This shape of the hill looks like an elephant. From all the directions, the hill appears in the elephant shape only. There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into existence. Pariyatra, an ancient king had a son Hrasva Srungi visited all holy and sacred places to regain normal bodily stature and finally visited this holy place of Mangalagiri and stayed for three years performing penance. All the Devathas (Gods) advised him to stay at Mangalagiri and continue to do penance in praise of Lord Vishnu. The father of Hrasva Srungi came with his retinue to take back his son to his kingdom. But Hrasva Srungi took the shape of an elephant to become the abode of Lord Vishnu in Sri Narsimha form who is locally known as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.
The existence of the Lord as ‘Panakala Narasimha Swami’ has an interesting tale behind it. The legend says that Namuchi, a Raakshasa (demon), after great penance, obtained a boon from Brahma that he should not be killed by any thing that is either wet or dry. After the demon was granted the boon, he began to harass Indra and other Devathas. Lord Indra, with the help of Lord Vishnu, commenced destroying the army of Raakshasa Namuchi who hid in a cave in Sukshmaakaaram giving up his sthulaakaaram (Physical manifestation). Indra dipped Sudarsanam, the disc of Lord Vishnu in the foam of the ocean and sent it into the cave. Lord Vishnu manifesting himself at the centre of the disc destroyed the Pranavayuvu (life breath) of the Rakshasa with the fire of his exhalation. He thus got the name of Sudarsana Narasimha.
The Devathas themselves were unable to withstand the fire of the anger of the Lord and they prayed for appeasement. The Lord took amrutam (nectar) and cooled down. It was in Krithayugam. The Lord said that he would be satisfied with ghee in Threthayugam, with milk in Dwaparayugam and with panakam(Jaggery water) in Kaliyugam. Hence the Lord is called in Kaliyugam as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.
Panakala Narasimha Swamy – God Who Drinks Panakam offered by devoted bhaktas
A flight of stairs lead you to the small temple on the hill. In 2004, ghat road had been constructed through which the pilgrims can reach the temple easily. It is said that here, Lord is self-existent (swayambhu) . A tall Dwajasthambam (erected in the year 1955) is found in front of the temple. Unlike in many temples, you cannot find archa vigraham of the Lord except a wide mouth (of the Lord) opening which is about 15cms in height. This is covered with a metal face of the God to give the devotees a clear picture of the Lord.
The amazing things to notice in Panakala Narasimha Swami temple is that when the “archakas” (or the priests) offer Panakam (jaggery water) with a conch to the Lord, a gargling sound is clearly audible. The voice rises to a high pitch and then lessens towards the end of the offering. Interesting things to note are, only half the quantity of Panakam offered to God goes inside the mouth while the remaining spills out, which was given as prasadam and not even a single ant can be traced though a large quantity of jaggery water is offered. This phenomenon happens not once in a day but is a recurring feature during the course of the day as and when devotees offer panakam (jaggery water).The temple will be opened till afternoon only, with the belief that devatas will perform pujas in the night.
Sri Lakshmi Devi Temple:
Behind the main temple, there is a temple of Sri Lakshmi Devi, the consort of Lord Narasimha. Here, to the west of the temple, you can find tunnel which is said to end at Undavalli on the banks of River Krishna. It was believed that sages used to pass through this tunnel to have bath in River Krishna.
Gandalayam: On a small hillock behind the Panakala Narasimha Swami temple there is a small shrine of Lord Narasimha where He is called as Gandala Narasimha Swami. There is no particular deity inside the temple except a provision to light a lamp. It is believed that this lamp was visible from many villages in good old days. People who suffer from miseries come here and light the lamp with cow ghee which is believed to ward off all their troubles.
Timings :
Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Timings : 7 am to 3 pm
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Timings: 5am to 12.30pm and 4pm to 8.30pm
How to reach :
Mangalagiri is located on National Highway No.5 that connects Kolkata and Chennai. It is situated on the Guntur-Vijayawada road, 13 km to the south-east of Vijayawada and 21 km to the north-east of Guntur City. One can reach Mangalagiri trough on road by a bus either from Vijayawada or Guntur or Tenali.
It has also a railway station by the same name in Guntur-Vijayawada section of Guntur division under the South Central Railway. Other modes of transport like a taxi services and auto rickshaws can also be used.
Please see this Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xI4kWrzkuo
Please read more from these links
http://anudinam.org/2012/06/30/mangalagiri-–-sri-panaka-narasimha-swamy/
http://www.eprarthana.com/temples/guntur/ap1947pana.asp?tid=1947
http://guntur.nic.in/mangalagiri_temple.html
http://www.templedarshan.in/sri-panakala-lakshmi-narasimha-swamy-temple-mangalagiriguntur/
