|
|
Restoration Of The Temple
Simhachalam also known as Simhagiri located 16-km from
Vishakhapatnam. This place
is a hamlet of Adivivaram village. It is referred to as the "Hill of
the Lion", famous for its 11th century hilltop temple of Lord
Narasimha. This is an ancient temple, renovated by the Chalukyas in the
11th century, and again by the Eastern Gangas in the 13th. Architecturally
this ancient temple deserves a high praise. The temple is about 800ft
above the sea level and resembles the rich cultural heritage
Vishakhapatnam holds.
The Legend Of Simhachalam Temple
The
Presiding deity, 'Varaha Lakshminarasimha' is one of the incarnations of
Sri 'Maha Vishnu'. The legend, which is, associated with this place goes
like this, Prahlad son of Hiranyakasipu are famous figures in Indian
mythology. Hiranyakasipu, the king of the 'Rakshasas', in order to punish
his son Prahlada, who was firm in his devotion to the Lord, threw his son
into the sea, and then placed the 'Simhachalam' hill over his head in
order to crush him completely.
Prahlada was a great 'Bhakta' of Lord Narayana. Lord Narayana in his
aspect of Narasimha, who went to the rescue of Prahlada, stood by the side
of the hill and tilted it up a bit so that Prahlada may escape from the
bottom of the hill. Later on, in memory of the incident, Prahlada is said
to have founded this shrine.
The way up the hill to the temple runs through picturesque trees. The
temple is located on the top of the northern side of the hill, in a wooded
hollow surrounded by a wide circle of higher ground resembling an
amphitheatre. The Simhachalam temple faces the West unlike so many others,
which face the East. An east-facing entrance, according to religious
belief, brings prosperity while the west - facing one brings victory.
A Fascinating Architecture
It contains a square shrine surmounted by a high tower, a portico in
front with a smaller tower a square sixteen-pillared mandapam facing
portico and an enclosing verandah, all made of dark granite. One of the
pillars in the 'Mukhantantapa' of the temple is named 'Kappam Stambham' or
the pillar of tribute. This attracts large number of pilgrims, since the
popular belief is that this pillar has the power of curing cattle disease,
and also barrenness among women.
On the north side of the temple there is an excellent 'Natyamandapam'
where 'Kalyanotsavam' is performed. 96 pillars of black stone support this
mandapam, exquisitely carved and arranged in sixteen rows of six each.
The image of the deity is covered with sandalwood, which is said to have
appeased the fury of the Lord after the destruction of Hiranyakasipu. The
deity at Simhachalam, the lion - man incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu
appears like a Shiva Linga when 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. This coating is removed only
once a year on the 'Vishaka' day in May, and that day is considered to, be
specially sacred, and people from all over the country visit the shrine to
have 'darshan' of the Lord on this day.
Chandanayatra: In May every year,
the sandalwood paste is removed ceremoniously at the festival called
Chandanayatra.
Kalyanotsavam: This occurs on the 11th day, 'Ekadasi' in the first
half of the lunar month of March - April and extends over a period of 5
days; that is, from the 11th day to the full moon day.
Narasimha
Jayanti: The Narasimha Jayanti festival, which occurs on the
Fourteenth day of the first half of month of 'Vaisakha' is celebrated as
Birthday of the Lord.
Giri Pradakshina: On the full moon day in the month of 'Ashadha',
June, the devotees of the Lord, hailing mainly from the countryside,
observe a fast on this day and go around the hill over a distance of about
twenty miles. They eat their dinner after completing the Pradakshina and
after having ' Darshan ' of the Lord. Those, who cannot undertake this,
satisfy themselves by making 108 rounds in the temple itself.
Air: The nearest airport is at
Vishakhapatnam, which is
well connected with flights from important cities.
Road: The nearest major railway station is Vishakhapatnam on the
Chennai -
Calcutta
section which is around 20-km from here and is well connected with trains
to all important destinations in A.P. and
India viz. New Delhi ,
Mumbai ,
Calcutta ,
Chennai ,
Hyderabad ,
Bangalore ,
Bhubaneswar
etc.
Rail: There are frequent buses operated between Vizag and
Simhachalam and the main bus stand is at Vishakhapatnam. APSRTC operates
buses to all important towns/cities in Andhra Pradhesh like, Hyderabad,
Vijayawada,
Rajahmundry,
Tirupati and so
on. There is bus facility from the foot of the hill to the temple for
every 15-minutes.
Simhachalam Devasthanam provides
accommodation facilities for pilgrims. There are choultries, cottages and
guesthouses with all amenities like water, lighting etc.