Sri Ugra Narasimha Swamy temple at Kadiri
in Ananta Puram District of Andhra Pradesh, 176 KMs from Bengaluru, has been a
house deity of many Telugus, Kannadigas and others in Andhra and Karnataka
regions. The grand old temple in this hilly region where several Indian
Mulberry trees ( Khadira) existed
in the thick forest.
The town Kadiri bears its name from the
Sanskritized version - Khadira, has a recorded history of at least 650
years. There are a few inscriptions on the walls of this temple in Telugu. One
such on the southern wall of the shrine records that this was built by one
Narasa Nayaka, a Mandalik of Bukka I of early Vijayanagar dynasty dated 1332
AD.
This temple has the main deity Ugra
Narasimha, 4th Avatar of Lord Vishnu, to kill Hiranyakahipu, while
his son Prahalada was his great devotee. The black Saligrama stone image has 16 hands, 8 on either sides,
holding Shankha, Chakra and other weapons. Prahlada the prince, stands with folded hands on his right. Narasimha
here holds his enemy Hiranyakashipu ( the demon with golden hued hairs) on his
lap, and peeling of his intestine with his nails. This story from the 7th
Skandha of Srimad Bhagavatam narrates how the demon proclaimed himself as
supreme, and his son Prahlada, born to
Kayadu, his queen disagreed to follow his arrogant father, as he was a staunch
devotee of Lord Vishnu, and was taught Vaishnava practices by the sage Narada,
when his queen Kayadu was carrying him
in her womb. When the demon Hiranyakashipu’s misdeeds on his own son
Prahlada, trying to kill him, and
several people of his kingdom reached intolerable, Lord Vishnu manifested from
a pillar in his court hall, and saved his devotee.
The inscriptions in the temple belong mostly to the Vijayanagar period and another
of them, dated 1333, records the gift of
a crown jewel to the idol by one Gopanna,
an officer under Kempanna Odeyar, probably
a contemporary of the great Sri
Vaishnava saint, Vedanta Desikar. Another
inscription of 1529 A.D. mentions
the development of the temple by a
prominent ruler of Tadipatri, Ramanayaka, who constructed the Vasanta mandapam for the
summer festivities, when the Annuual Rathotsavam, in Vaishakha Month ( March-April) occurs. adjacent to the prakaram,
called Veyyi Kambhala mandapam, a
hall with one thousand pillars, in which
mass feeding is done on festivities of the temple. This is built in Dravidian
style with intricate carvings of Dashavataras of Vishnu and stories from Vishnu
Purana and Bhagavatam. Earlier, Krishnadevaraya and his son
Tirumalaraya had modified this shrine. The temple in its present state was renovated
a couple of times, the prominent one in 1953.
One such occasion is special Abhishekam
ceremony to Lord Narasimha on the day of Swati star, considered as star of his
manifestation. The temple car is believed
to be the biggest in weight in South India has erotic carvings. The present temple was built by Ranganayudu, a Palegar of Pathapatnam, from
the far away Srikakulam, to show his gratitude to the lord for blessing him
with a son.
A big banyan tree, near this town has
entered Guinness Book of world records for its height. This town has great
Telugu Poet Vemana’s Ashram, churches and Masjids as Muslims live here in
sizeable numbers.
A Kannada Vaishnava poet Thippanarya, is the author
of the popular Hanumadvilasa, a
poem, dedicated his poem to Khadri Narasimha, which was popularly sung during the month of
Shravana and Saturdays, till recently in Kolar and adjoining districts
of Karnataka. He lived in Gudibande, now in Chikkaballapur Disrict as an
Accountant with a chieftain in about 1785, and was a staunch devotee of Lord
Ugra Narasimha of Kadiri.
He was very humble and kind towards the
poor farmers of this semi arid region, and exempted taxes from them during the drought
and bad times. This made the Reddy chieftain of the place furious, who put him
in jail. He is supposed to have composed Hanumandvilasa, in praise of
Hanuman, during his 41 days of
imprisonment, when a monkey released him from the jail. This poem used to be
sung in houses and temples during
evening Bhajans, in my childhood.
Temple Timings : 6:30 to 12:45 & 04:30 to 8:30
Best season to
visit: All months of the year.
Car Festival
& Narasimha Jayanti: March/April- Vaishakha month of Hindu calendar.
Special
Abhisheka: Swati star.
How to reach
there: By road on Bengaluru- Hyderabad Highway, take a deviation after
Gudibande, as shown by the Name plate. Kadiri has a kaccha approachable
road from Highway, of 9 Kms. Drive
carefully. Lodges are available nearby.
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