Bhadrachalam Yatra

Bhadrachalam

According to history, Paleolithic man had roamed the areas, which is called the lower Godavari valley that includes Bhadrachalam and its surroundings. Bhadrachalam town has a clearly documented history of Lord Sri Rama temple, which was constructed in the 17th Century CE. According to Mythology, the present town was once part of the Dandakaranya forest, which Lord Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana had visited during their exile also called vanavasam according to local parlance. The jungle which is now in the vicinity of temple was the place for Rama’s retreat and a place called Parnasala which is 32 km away was the location where Rama had built a dwelling for himself and Sita. It was here that Sita was abducted by Lanka ruler, Ravana.

The town shares its historical significance with Ramayana Era. The name Bhadrachalam is derived from the word Bhadragiri (The Mountain Abode of Bhadra, the child of Meru and Menaka). The famous temple at Bhadrachalam is home to the Archa Murthy’s of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and their idols are believed to be swayambhu i.e. self-manifested ones.

Bhadrachalam division also has several other Hindu temples. Parnasala is believed to be the spot where Rama constructed a hermitage during his exile and spent time with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. Agastya muni helped Rama select this spot. For the purpose of tourists, there is picturesque display of few scenes from vanavasa at Parnasala. Pilgrims enthrall when they see the footprints of Sita devi, the mosaic of Maarecha who appears in the guise of golden deer and Ravana who appears in the form of Sanyasi for Bhikshatana. One can see Sita Vaagu where Sita had bathed and gathered turmeric and Kunkum from the nearby stones. Yetapaka located 2 km from Bhadrachalam has a history where the bird Jatayuvu, an ardent devotee of Rama tried to obstruct Ravana when he was proceeding on a chariot after kidnapping Sita. A fierce batted ensued and a wing of the bird was believed to have found at Rekkapalli.

Rama is worshipped as Atmarama here at Dummugudem where according to Purana, Rama killed around 14,000 demons belonging to Khara and Dushana. The place is called Dummugudem as it was built on the ashes of these demons. At Gundala, located 5 km away from Bhadrachalam, once can see hot water springs after digging a pit on the riverbank and it is said that the divine trio of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara dipped in the holy water here during winter season. There are other places too like Sree Rama Giri, Venkatreddipeta, Gannavaram etc. The temple town witnesses heavy influx of pilgrims during Sree Rama Kalyanam. Kothagudem, 40 kilometers away is the nearest railway station and regular buses are available from here, Khammam, Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

Panakala Narasimha Swamy - God Who Drinks Panakam

It is said that here, god is self-existent. In the temple, there will be no statue of the god, but there is only mouth, widely opened to 15 cms. The mouth is covered by metal face of the god. The temple will be opened till afternoon only, with the belief that devatas will perform pujas in the night. The God takes jaggery water as offering by a conch. The Jaggery water is actually poured into the mouth of the Lord, a gargling sound is clearly audible as if the Lord is actually drinking it and the sound becomes shriller and shriller as and when the Lord is drinking. The sound will come to a stop after sometime and the balance of the jaggery water is thrown out. 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). It will be interesting to note that even a single ant is not traceable near the Lord nor around the temple in spite of the offering of so much jaggery water. As the offering of the panakam to the Lord is peculiar, the Lord here is called panakala Narasimhaswamy. There is a legend about the offering of the panakam (jaggery water) to the Lord. It is said that the hill was once a volcano. Sugar or jaggery water, it is said, neutralizes sulphur compounds found in a volcano and prevents a volcanic eruption.

Behind the temple there is the temple of Sri Lakshmi, 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. Now, the cave is very dark and the way could not be seen. We can reach the temple through steps-way on foot and also by road-way. The steps to the temple were constructed by Sri Channapragada Balarama Dasu in 1890. In 2004, ghat road had been constructed through which the pilgrims can reach the temple easily.

Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

At the foot of the hill, there is another temple whose origin is traced to the time of Yudhishtira, the eldest of the pandavas. Yudhishtira is said to be the founder of the chief image of this temple and the deity here is called Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. In Vijayawada itself, which is 8 miles from Mangalagiri there is a hill called Indrakeeladri in which Arjuna is said to have done tapascharya (penance) in order to obtain the weapon Pasupata from Lord Siva. About 200 years back Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu who ruled from Amaravati as his capital constructed a stupendous gopuram (tower) on the eastern gate of the Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy. 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 great and imposing tower dwarfs the central shrine. The devoted patience of thousands of skilled craftsmen and the labour of many more apprentices which had gone into this great structure is a testimony to the religious fervour which characterized the builder. After constructing the gopuram, it was leaning towards one direction. The Kancheepuram Architects suggested to dig a tank opposite to the tower. After digging the tank, it is said that, the tower became straight.

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. Dakshanavrutha Sankham, a special conch believed to be one that was used by Lord Krishna and resented by the Maharaja Sarfoji of Tanjore, is one more possession of significance of the Lord. There is also an ancient ratha (temple car) belonging to the temple with ornamental wood carvings depicting the scenes from the great epics of Bharata, Bhagavatha and Ramayana. Thimmaraju Devaraju a military chieftain of the Vijayanagar rulers improved this temple. He had constructed prakarams (compound walls), mandapas, gopurams (towers), five images of Lord Bhairava, a festival chariot, ten varieties of courts for annual ceremonies, flower gardens lakes and tanks. He had also installed utsava vigrahas in the temple (metal images intended for being taken out in procession). To the north of the temple there is a temple of Sri Rajyalakshmi to the south that of Rama with Sita and Lakshmana and to the west vahanasala (the store house for the vehicles of which the golden garudavahanam, the silver Hanumanthavahanam and ponnavahanam are noteworthy). The Lakshmi narayana temple and the Anjaneya Mandiram in Pedda Bazar are the other places of worship in the town.