Mangalagiri means the holy hill. Panakala Narasimha Swamy ? means God who drinks Panakam, which is the mix of jaggery water with cardamom flavour.This place is one of the 8 important Mahakshetras in India.
Shrine’s History
Mangalagiri means The Auspicious Hill. This place is one of the 8 important Mahakshetrams in India. The eight places where Lord Vishnu manifested himself are (1) Sri Rangam (2) Srimushnam (3) Naimisam (4) Pushkaram (5) Salagamadri (6) Thothadri (7) Narayanasramam (8) Venkatadri. Thotadri is the present Mangalagiri. Lakshmi Devi has done tapas on this hill. That’s why it got this name . There are three Narasimha Swamy temples in Mangalagiri. One is Panakala Narasimha Swamy on the hill. Another one is Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at the foot of the temple.
The third one is Gandala Narasimha Swamy at the top of the hill. This shape of the hill looks like an elephant. From all the directions, the hill appears in the elephant shape only. There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into existence. Pariyatra, an ancient king had a son Hrasva Srungi visited all holy and sacred places to regain normal bodily stature and finally visited this holy place of Mangalagiri and stayed for three years performing penance. All the Devathas advised him to stay at Mangalagiri and continue to do penance in praise of Lord Vishnu. The father of Hrasva Srungi came with his retinue to take back his son to his kingdom. But Hrasva Srungi took the shape of an elephant to become the abode of Lord Vishnu who is locally known as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.
The temple of Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy is situated on the hill. On the right side of the steps provided to reach the temple, there is a stone inscription by Sri Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar and a little further up, the footprints of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya are to be seen. Midway on the steps there is a temple of Lord Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy there is only the face with the mouth widely opened. A dhwajasthambham was erected in front of the temple in 1955. Behind the temple, there is the temple of Sri Lakshmi, to the west of which there is a tunnel which is believed to lead to Vundavalli caves on the banks of the Krishna.
The stone inscription of the kings of Vijayanagar relate besides to the conquest of Rayalu over Kondapalli etc., that Siddhiraju Thimmarajayya Devara granted a total of 200 kunchams land in 28 villages of which Mangalagiri was one and gift of 40 kunchams by China Thirumalayya to Ramanujakutam. The steps to the temple were constructed by Sri Channapragada Balaramadasu in 1890. There was a cave next to the Devi temple on the hill. It is said that there is a way to Vundavalli from that cave, and the sages used to go by that way to take bath in Krishna River. Now, the cave is very dark, and the way could not be seen.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
The nearest bus stop is Vijayawada is connected by Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
By Rail
The nearest railway station is Vijayawada.
By Air
The nearest airport is Gannavaram.
Shrine Timings
07:00 to 15:00 (All days of the week)
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Brahmothsavam is the very important annual festival in Mangalagiri. The celebration was inaugurated by Dharmaraja at the behest of Lord Krishna. Pradyumna, Krishna’s son, requested his father to celebrate his birthday annually for a sapthaham from Phalguna Suddha Sapthami. Lord Krishna entrusted this work to Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandavas, who was the successor to the throne at Hasthinapur. At present, the festival is celebrated for 11 days commencing from Phalguna Suddha Shasti . One day before Phalguna Suddha Purnima, i.e. on Chaturdasi, the marriage of Santha Narasimha Swamy, Sridevi and Bhoodevi is celebrated. The Agama sastra is followed for this celebrations. Before the marriage, Chenchus celebrate on the occasion of Narasimha Swamy marrying their daughter, Chenchu Lakshmi. On that night, Narasimha Swamy comes by his Sesha Vahanam and participates in Eduru Kola. The next day after the marriage is Purnima, on which the Holi festival is celebrated. The same day here, people celebrate Tirunalla, and about 1,000,000 people come from local and from distant places congregate together. The Lord goes on a procession in a big chariot and hundreds of devotees pull His cart with fervour and enthusiasm. Srirama Navami, Hanuman Jayanthi, Narasimha Jayanthi, Vaikunta Ekadasi and Mahasivarathri are the other festivals celebrated here on a large scale. On Mahasivarathri, the Lord goes on the procession in a small chariot.