Simhachalam

Simhachalam
Simhadri or Simhachalam (Simhachalam is a Suburb of Visakhapatnam City) is a Hindu temple located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is dedicated to the incarnation (Avatar) of Vishnu known as Narasimha (the man-lion). The temple is a mix of Orissan (main/central shrine) and Dravidian (entrance) styles of architecture.

Varaha Narasimha Swamy painting at a Temple in Bhadrachalam

Simhachalam Temple

Origin of the name

Simha: Lion ; Adri or Achala: Hill (one which cannot be moved, viz. hill). Atop the hill is a famous temple said to be the abode of Varaha Narasimha Swami, and hence the hill itself is called (nara) simhachalam.

Lord narasimha rock statue backyard simhachalam temple

Simhachalam

Significance
It is one of the eighteen "Naarasimha Kshetras" i.e. shrines of Lord Narasimha in India. Simhachalam temple is known as the second richest temple in India (after Tirupati) earning a revenue of Rs. 520 million. The main deity inside the temple sanctorum gives "nijaroopa darshan" (holy appearance in true form) for only 12 hours in a year i.e. on Akshaya Tritiya day, the rest of the time the deity is covered with Sandalwood paste. The darshan described as 'Chandana yatra' or 'Chandanotsavam' falls every year in Vaisakha masa (May).

Legend
Hiranyakasipu was a Rakshasa king. He was in fact one of Vishnu's Dwarapalakas or gate keepers in Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya. They had to take birth in the mortal world thrice because of a curse given by Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanathana and Sanathkumara, who were not allowed to take darshan of Mahavishnu by them. The other palaka was born as his brother Hiranyaaksha. Hiranyakasipu wanted to become immortal and hence performed austerities (tapasya) to propitiate Lord Brahma. However, Lord Brahma said that was not possible so Hiranyakasipu asked Lord Brahma to grant him a boon so that he could not be killed by any animal or a man neither in the morning nor in the night, by any weapons, neither in sky nor on the earth. Hiranyakasipu wanted the entire world to worship him. But, Prahalada, his son, was a devotee of Lord Narayana and always expressed his bhakti towards Him. In spite of warning him several times, Hiranyakasipu could not alter Prahlada's devotion. This made Hiranyakasipu angry and he made numerous attempts to get Prahlada killed. One of them was to throw him off the top of a mountain. However, Vishnu rescued him by moving the mountain and made a small path for Prahaladha. It is said that in the place where the Lord stood to protect Prahaladha is the place where the temple is built. The most important thing about this temple is that here we can't see the God's feet. It is said that the feet is buried inside the earth. Lord Narayana came to rescue Parahalada on Garuda and when they threw Parahalada Lord Narayana jumped from Garuda to save him and in this process his feet went deep into the earth.

History
It has Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy as the presiding deity. The deity at Simhachalam, the lion-man incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu is usually covered with sandalwood paste. The original shape of the deity in the tribhanga posture has two hands with the head of a lion on a human torso. An inscription dated as far back as 1098 AD of the Chola King Kuloththunga provides some clue as to its antiquity. Another inscription shows a Queen of the Eastern Ganga of Kalinga (ancient Orissa) (1137-56 AD) covering the image with gold while a third inscription says the eastern Ganga King of Orissa, Narasimha Deva, built the main/central shrine in 1267 A.D. With more than 252 inscriptions in Oriya and Telugu describing the antecedents of the temple, it is a historically important monument.

Lord Varaha stonecarved statue at Simhachalam temple

Sri Krishna Deva Raya after defeating the Gajapati ruler of Orissa Gajapati Prataparudra Dev visited the shrine twice in 1516 AD and 1519 AD and offered numerous villages for maintenance of bhogam (worship) along with valuable jewellery of which an emerald necklace is still in the temple. For the last three centuries the royal family of Vizianagaram, "The Pusapati Gajapathi's" have been the temple's trustees. Giripradhikshana (circumambulation)

Simhachalam around the hill range (~40km) from Hanumantha vaka/MVP colony to Simhachalam is done by piligrims during the auspicious days. Crowds of elderly people/youth/children are observed walking the 40km stretch overnight. They visit the temple after the long journey and give their offerings to the deity. It is said that when Muslims during one of their invasions were about to destroy and plunder the temple, a poet by name Kurmanatha implored Lord Varaha Narasimha to save his temple and the Hindus. In response to his fervent prayers, a huge swarm of copper hornets suddenly appeared and attacked the invading army and drove them out of the city. The swarm disappeared behind a hillock after driving out the Muslim armies. That hillock is now known as Tummedala Metta (Tummedala=of hornet, Metta=hillock).

Geography
The Simhachalam temple faces west unlike so many others which face east. An east-facing entrance, according to religious belief, brings prosperity while a west-facing one brings victory. The hilltop road, as well as the location of the eastern ghat ranges are beautiful and picturesque. The hills are densely populated with trees like cashew, shrubs, mango groves, etc. The forestry is protected and well conserved. The greenery attracts tourists as well as nature lovers. Simhachalam railway station at Gopalapatnam. the station name as "simhachalam". some express trains are halt at this station. The localities near the piligrame include Srinivasanagar, Prahladapuram, Sainagar colony, Simhapuri colony and many other housing areas.

The sacred Pushkarini bathing tank

Recent developments
In October 2007, the Government of Andhra Pradesh approved a master plan for the development of the region into Divyakshetram on similar lines of Tirumala.

Gallery

A Stone carved throne in the backyard of Simhachalam temple

Roads laid up to the Gopuram, or the entrance to the Simhachalam Temple

A newly constructed parking lot opposite to the Gopuram

The long hike towards Simhachalam

Simhachalam

Simhachalam new mandapam in 2010

Simhachalam temple entrance

Wooden chariot at Simhachalam Visakhapatnam

References
About Simhachalam Temple (http://www.simhachalam.com) VIZAGWAVES - Simhachalam Temple Picture Gallery (http://www.vizagwaves.com/visakhapatnam/ temples/index.html) Simhachalam Temple (http://www.templenet.com/Andhra/simha.html) http://www.go2india.in/ap/simhachalam.php details of Simhachalam temple (http://www.my-telugu.com/tour/districts/visakhapatnam/ visakhapatnam-temple-simhachalam-sri-lakshmi-narasimha-swamy.shtml)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Simhachalam Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=537201756 Contributors: Adityamadhav83, Anikingos, Aragaon, Bay of Bengal, Bbhanu, Bornav27may, Chirag, Chris the speller, CommonsDelinker, Dangerous-Boy, Dazedbythebell, Ekabhishek, Gladiatorkp, GourangaUK, Hometech, Jayanth chary, JzG, Khazar, Kwamikagami, MBisanz, MEKNOWITALL, Markiewp, Martpol, Naniwako, Narge, Nmadhubala, Npilaka, Oldag07, Paris1127, PigFlu Oink, Poweroid, Pradeep.k.rout, R'n'B, Rajasekhar1961, Rama's Arrow, Rokfaith, Roland zh, Santoshvatrapu, Secret of success, Shyamsunder, Slightsmile, Srinivasaraju, Ssriram mt, Sudipta.kamila, Surya.iiit, Thaejas, Utcursch, Veeraa83, WTucker, Wikidas, Yalla.vamsi, , 53 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Painting of Varaha Narasimha Swamy at a Temple in Bhadrachalam.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Painting_of_Varaha_Narasimha_Swamy_at_a_Temple_in_Bhadrachalam.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Adityamadhav83 File:Simhachalam-temple-2 big.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam-temple-2_big.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Sureshiras at en.wikipedia File:Lord narasimha rock statue backyard simhachalam temple.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lord_narasimha_rock_statue_backyard_simhachalam_temple.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Adityamadhav83 File:Lord Varaha stonecarved statue at Simhachalam temple.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lord_Varaha_stonecarved_statue_at_Simhachalam_temple.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Adityamadhav83 File:Simhachalam Gangadhara.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_Gangadhara.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Santoshvatrapu File:A Stone carved throne in the backyard of Simhachalam temple.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:A_Stone_carved_throne_in_the_backyard_of_Simhachalam_temple.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Adityamadhav83 File:Simhachalam Gopuram.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_Gopuram.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Anikingos File:Simhachalam Parking.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_Parking.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Anikingos File:Simhachalam Hike.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_Hike.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Anikingos File:Simhachalam new mandapam 2010.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_new_mandapam_2010.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Adityamadhav83 File:Simhachalam temple entrance.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Simhachalam_temple_entrance.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Bornav27may File:Wooden chariot at Simhachalam Visakhapatnam.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wooden_chariot_at_Simhachalam_Visakhapatnam.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Adityamadhav83

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