Sholingur Hanuman Temple

Name : Yoga Anjaneyar

Location : It was half a kilometre away from the foot of the Sholingur Narasimha Perumal hill.

No of Steps : 400 Steep Steps. The Small Mountain (Chinna Malai) is about 200 feet where lord Anjaneya is found in sitting position found along with Sangu and Chakkaram in west facing direction. Here, Sri Vishnu gave His dharshan to Anjaneyar. Aanjaneyar is considered to be the resemblence (or) Avathaar of Shiva, but here he is resembling the avathar of Sri Vishnu.


Description : Hanuman has four arms (chatusbuja) with a Sanka and Chakra in two arms. Here Hamuman is known as Yoga Anjaneya. HE is also seated in a yogic posture with a Jap Mala and Jap Sanka and meditating upon Lord Narasimhan.Lord Rama Patabisheka is engraved on his Krida (crown) of Hanuman. Lord Hanuman here protects devotees and grants them various boons. Nowhere else in India is Lord Hanuman seen with Sanka and Chakra given by Lord Narasimha himself to protect the devotees. Hence, a visit to this temple will definitely ensure devotees a prosperous life.

Website : http://sudhamukunthan.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/04/sholingur-a-wonderful-hill-temple.htm

Sholingur Hill Temple

Name : Kadikachalam. The other names of the Perumal are "Thakaan" and "Akkarakani". Akkaram means Money and Wealth.

Location : Sholingur town is located in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. Vellore is the district headquarters and is about 43 kms away from Sholingur. The nearest metro is Chennai, about 120 km south-east. A famous pilgrimage centre in the vicinity of Sholingur is Thiruttani, 25 kms away. ( Home to Lord Murgua, who is again seated on a hilltop).

Deity : Yoga Narasimhar in Yoga stage on the Periya Malai

Trekking Adventure : It has always been a challenging and an adventurous experience for us when we go to this particular temple at Sholingur. Like Tirupati, this is also on top of a hill. It is located at an altitude of 750 feet. And, one has to climb 1,305 steep steps to reach the temple. After800-odd steps, there are a few rather steep curves. Once we negotiate these, there we come to final 100-odd steep and straight steps, leading into the temple. One has to walk the steps to arrive at this temple. There is no other transportation mode to reach this hill temple. You have to really sweat it out physically to have an audience with this Lord!Many attempts by well meaning people to provide a bus route and other means of transport have come to a naught. Devotees, young and old alike, make a slow step-by-step climb to savor the ultimate pleasure of having the glimpse of Lord Yoga Narasimha, seated ever so comfortably in a yogic posture.

Legend : Narasimha is the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Dasavathara. Lord Narasimha, after slaying the demon, Hiranyakashipu, in the Narasimha avatar reached this hill to bless the saptha rishis, who were doing penance at the Kadikachalam hill. The sapta (seven) rishis are: Vasistha, Kasyapa, Athiri, Jamadagni, Gautama,Bharathwaja and Viswamitra. They did penance at this hill for a Kadigai (24 minutes), prostrating before Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha protected his devotee Prahalada after slaying demon Hiranyakashipu and reached here straight from Ahobilam (in Andhra Pradesh) and granted moksha to these Maharishis. Hence this place came to be called as Kadikachalam. Those who worship this Lord for a Kadigai, they will be blessed by this God. It is also believed that Sage Viswamithra meditated here for a Kadigai and obtained the Brahma Rishi title. Kadikachala Kshetra Mahatmiyam is described in Brahma Kaivartha Purana.

Pushkarani :
There are Four Pushkaranies.

* Amirtha Theertham (Thakkan Kulam).
* Narasimma Theertham.
* Hanumantha Theertham.
* Brahma Theertham.

There is also a temple for Hanuman or Anjaneya in this place. It is also atop a hill. One has to climbaround 400 steps to have a darshan of Hanuman.Steps here are also equally steep. Hanuman has four arms (chatusbuja) with a Sanka and Chakra in two arms. Here Hamuman is known as Yoga Anjaneya.

Kailasagiri

Name : Kailasagiri

Location : Kailasagiri, the charming hillock on the seafront , is located at an altitude of 130 mts. above sea level. Sprawled over an area of 350 acres, it is one of the most attractive tourist spot with an enchanting view of the sea, beaches, lush green forests and the bustling city.

Deity : The 40 feet tall magnificent Shiva-Parvathi idol atop the Kailasagiri hill, with lighted mountains in front are worth seeing. The major attractions here are the Shanku Chakra Naama which symbolizes the image of Lord Vishnu in its pristine form, floral clock, titanic view point, jungle trails, manicured lawns and flower beds, art gallery, children play park etc. The entire area is illuminated and presents a fantastic sight when viewed in the night from any part of the city. The ropeway that starts from the foot hill (Appughar) to the picturesque Kailasagiri is an added attraction.

Kailasagiri is a gliders paradise with excellent gliding facilities and the gliding point provides ample opportunities to test the gliding skills of the gliders.

Bheemunipatnam

Name : Bheemili or Bheemunipatnam

Location : Bheemunipatnam popularly known as 'Bheemli' is located at a distance of 24 Kilometers North east of Visakhapatnam. The place derived its name from 'Bhima', one of the Pandava Brother.

Deity : Lord Narasimha

The beautiful beach at Bheemli is considered to be one of the safest and calmest for swimmers. On the top of a hill, there is a light house and a small shrine dedicated to Lord Narasimha.

Once a Dutch settlement, the 17th century ruins of a fort and cemetery built by the Dutch are seen here. The cemetery named Hollanders Green has some tombs embossed with the skull and cross bones motif of sea pirates.

Lord Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimha Swamy temple

Name : Simhachalam hill

Location : Simhachalam - the hill of the lion is located at a distance of 18 km from Vishakapatnam

Deity : Varaha Lakshminarasimha, combining the iconographic features of Varaha and Narasimha. The image resembles a Shivalingam covered with sandal paste. It is only once a year, during the Chandana Visarjana that the sandal paste is removed, and the image is seen by pilgrims.

Legend has it that the Ugra (angry) form of Narasimha as he killed the demon Hiranyakashipu was so fierce that the image is kept covered by sandal paste throughout the year.

Temple History: Kulottunga Chola I of Tamilnadu, made endowments to this temple, as evidenced from inscriptions dating back to the year 1087. The Vengi Chalukyas of Andhra Pradesh renovated the original shrine in the 11th century. Much of the structure as it stands to day is the result of renovation by Narasimha I, of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, in the second quarter of the 13th century CE. Krishna Deva Raya, the Vijayanagar monarch visited this temple in the year 1516, as seen from inscriptions here. There are as many as 525 inscriptions in this temple.

It is said to be the second richest temple in the State after the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirupati, the Simhachalam temple in the city draws a large number of devotees not only from Andhra Pradesh but also from neighbouring Odisha and other states.

Noteworthy features of the temple: This temple boasts of a beautiful stone chariot drawn by horses. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas reliefs depicting the incarnations of Vishnu. Narasimha, the man lion incarnation of Vishnu is seen in several depictions throughout the temple.

Website : www.templenet.com/Andhra/simha.html

ANJANERI

Name : Anjaneri

Location : Anjaneri Village, Nashik Dist., Maharashtra

Description : Anjaneri a spiritual place lies before Tryambakeshwar infact before Bramhagiri mountain. This is the birth place of Hanuman.

The fort of Anjaneri, being the birthplace of lord ‘Hanuman’, has a great historical importance. Lord Hanuman was the son of ‘Pavan’ (the wind) and ‘Anjani’, and hence the fort is called as ‘Anjaneri’. Anjaneri is one of the important forts in the ranges of Tryambakeshwar near Nasik.

The Nasik-Tryambakeshwar road is branched at a distance of 20 km from Nasik as ‘Anjaneri Phata’.

The primary way to reach the Anjaneri fort is from Anjaneri village. One should get down at Anjaneri Phata, which is 20 km away from Nasik on the Nasik-Tryambakeshwar road. Anjaneri village is at a walking distance of 10 to 15 minutes from Anjaneri Phata. Two pinnacles called ‘Navara’ and ‘Navari’ can be seen from Anjaneri village.

The way to fort goes through Anjaneri village itself. Next to that there are some steps, through which we reach the plateau of Anjaneri. It takes almost one and the half hour to reach this plateau from Anjaneri village. This path leads to a wonderful trekking adventure through various sceneries of Waterfalls, caves, Anjaneri lake , Healing lake etc.

Pictures of the scenic beauty of Anjaneri can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xPm4DM0UK_4hLu1SRGIg1A