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Andhra abhimAna sthalams: pAthagutta LakshmiNarasimhan Temple

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mohan Sagar • March 14, 2000 


Dear bhAgavathas,

In continuing with our series on the abhimAna sthalams of Andhra
Pradesh, I present the following on a temple that has a rich
history, but is only now coming to be recognized by devotees,
pAthagutta Sri LakshmiNarasimhan Temple in Yadagiri:

According to the sthala purAnam, in trEta yugam, Sri Yadarishi,
the grandson of the noted Rishyasringa, had come to the hills in
what is now the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh to perform
tapas such that he could have the darshanam of Sriman Narayana.
Due to his austerities and his sincere devotion, Sri Anjaneyar
appeared before the rishi and directed him to a nearby grotto
where Perumal and ThAyAr appeared as Sri LakshmiNarasimhan.  The
devout sage performed kainkaryam to the Lord here for many years.
After the sage achieved mOksham, Sri LakshmiNarasimhan began to
receive kainkaryam from the local tribal people who had come to
knaw about the sage and about the vaibhavam of the Lord's
archAvatharan.  As the tribal people were not able to perform
kainkaryam per the dictates of sAstra, the Lord went to the top
of the hill that bears the name of the rishi who had invoked Him,
and appeared in the five-fold form that is now famous as Sri
Yadagirigutta Vaidya LakshmiNarasimhan Sannidhi.

However, the archa that Yadarishi lovingly remained in order to
receive kainkaryam from the nitya sooris. It is this temple,
which is located at the foot of Yadagirigutta, that has come to
be known as  Sri pAthagutta (lit. old hill) LakshmiNarasimhan
Temple.   The temple is located at the end of a rough gravel road
in the small town of Yadagiri, approximately 5 km from the main
temple.  The Lord appears in His
self-manifesting form as a beautiful but rough carving on a large
rock.  Remarkably, the rock itself resembles a large vertical
pillar containing a very wide grotto-like crack.  It is in the
middle of this crack where SingapirAn appears in His Majestic and
Peaceful form as Malolan.  The Lord has 4 arms, the front two
resting on his lap to show that He is yogAsanam, the upper two
holding the sankham and chakram.  ThAyAr stands very closely to
His left, and out of Her unbounded Love for Him, seems to be
standing almost just behind Him such that She can rest Her chin
on His Majestic Shoulder.  Until recently, this small sannidhi
served as the only temple for many, many years.  But, Perumal's
Divine Commands are prompting the construction of a larger temple
that will eventually transform this once small shrine into a
traditional SriVaishnava kshEtram.

Two large silver utsavars of Sri Vaidya LakshmiNarasimhan,
replicas of the images on the upper temple, serve as the primary
Deities for worship in this sannidhi.  Along with them
are utsavars of Malolan, Dolai Kannan, ChakrathAzhwAr,
Andal, and AzhwArs and AchAryans.

Instead of a formal pushkarini, and true to the mood of vaidyam
that the Lord seems to maintain in the area, a small pond said to
possess medicinal propoerties is located on a hillock
overlooking the temple, adjacent to an Anjaneyar sannidhi.  It is
said that this small pond, which
is known AkAsa ganga teertham, is filled by a series of small
springs that flow down from the hillsides.  One group of these
springs is also said to flow directly onto the moolavar of the
Lord, performing a continuous thirumanjanam kainkaryam to Him.

Due to Perumal's sankalpam and anugraham, this once quiet little
shrine is now recharged with a new vitality.  At the time of our
visit, rapid construction of a larger temple to house the small
sannidhi was taking place under the guidance of learned
SriVaishnava scholars.  The completion of this temple is intended
to transform the small local shrine into a traditional
SriVaishnava kshEtram.    Several erudite bhAgavathas are
supporting this noble effort.   Recently, through the invitation
of Sri Yadagiri LakshmiNarasimhan Devasthanam, Sri Mukkur
LakshmiNarasimha Thathacharya officated over Sri LakshmiNarasimha
Yagam here.  And, between February 17 - February 22, 2000, the
temple hosted a lavish utsavam officiated by HH Sri Tridandi
SrimanNarayana Ramanuja Jeear, during which pratishtai was
performed for ThAyAr, Andal, and Anjaneyar.

The temple has received financial support from devotees in India
and the upper Yadagiri Temple Devasthanam.  However, much more is
needed in order to realize the vision of having a traditional
SriVaishnava kshEtram at this ancient and sacred place.  The
adhyApakar of this temple, Sri Mangalagiri Ramanujan, is
asking for the help and support of interested bhAgavathas.
Donations in the form
of a check made payable to Pathagutta LakshmiNarasimha Swamy
Devasthanam can be sent to:

Executive Officer
Pathagutta LakshmiNarasimha Swamy Devasthanam
Peddareddygudam, Madira Datarupalli
Yadagirigutta, Nalgonda District
Andhra Pradesh,  India

sarva vedAnta vEdhyAya karaNAya mahAtmanE
sarvaloka saraNyAya Sri NrsimhAya mangalam

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan




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