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| Ancient Gopuram on the way to the Penna River |
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| Paintings on the wall |
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| Statue of Sri Ramanujacharya outside the temple |
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| Vaikunta Dwaram on the northern side |
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| Main Idol Lord Ranganatha Swamy in the sanctum |
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Hall of Mirrors (Addala Mandapam)
Painting of vatapatrasayi on the ceiling in Addala Mandapamu
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| Way to the riverside |
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| Entrance to the temple |
This temple
is one of the ancient temples in Nellore built on the southern bank of the
Penna river. This temple is located at a distance of 3.2 kms from Nellore. The area
where this temple exists is called “Ranganayakula Peta.”According to Skanda Purana, sage Kasyapa performed a yagna here on Ekadasi day and Lord Vishnu
appeared before him and stayed there. Adi Sesha, the divine serpent came here
in the form of a hill, called “Talpa Giri’ as Adi sesha, the couch on which the
Lord sleeps, exists here as a hill. In the “Aranya Kanda” of the epic Ramayana
it is mentioned that Lord Rama visited this temple during his period of exile.
This temple was built by Pallava kings during seventh and eighth centuries. The
present main shrine and extensions were built by Chola kings in between 1178
and 1216 as per the stone inscriptions found in the temple premises. The
70-foot tall main tower (Gaali Gopuram) was built in 1781. The seven-tiered
tower looks beautiful with many sculptures of gods and goddesses erected on the
tower at different levels. The seven golden kalasams on the top of the temple
tower were erected in 1949. In the sanctum the 10-foot long idol of Ranganatha
is seen in reclining position (Pallikonda Perumal in Tamil) on the divine
serpent Adisesha. Near His feet 26-inch long idols of Sri Devi and Bhu Devi are
seen. The idol of Lord Brahma is seen seated on the lotus rising from Lord’s
navel. The idol is facing west towards the river Penna. The thousand holy names of the Lord are seen
painted on the outer walls so that the devotee can recite them while going
round the temple. The ancient gopuram built on the west side is visible on the
way to the river from the temple. The present tall tower is seen on the east
side.
The shrine of Rajya Lakshmi (Ranga Nayaki) is seen on the southern side
of the main temple. The shrine of Andal or Goda devi is on the northern side of
the main shrine. The Northern doorway called Vaikunta dwaram is seen just
beside Goda Devi’s shrine. On Vaikuinta Ekadashhi the Lord gives darshan to
devotees from this side. The hall of mirrors called “Addala Mandapam” built in
1929 is seen on the southern side of the main temple. In this hall temple
rituals and ceremonies are performed. The hall is decked with many painted
frescoes depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the episode of Gajendra
Moksham (Lord Vishnu saving the elephant from the clutches of the crocodile)
and the pictures of Alwars done in Tanjavur
style. The colorful fresco of Lord Krishna sleeping on a floating leaf called
“Vatapatrasayi” is seen on the ceiling. The other sub-temples are the shrines
of Alwaar Sannidhi, Lord Narasimha and Lord Venkateshwara. In the temple
premises there is a tree called “Santana Vriksha’. Devotees tie a piece of
cloth with offerings as swings to the branches of this tree as they believe
that they will be blessed with progeny by doing so. Near this tree there is a
tunnel once used by sages to reach this temple.
In this temple poojas and other rituals are
done as per Paancharatra Agama. Special poojas are done during Brahmostava
(between March and April) and on Vaikunta Ekadashi. Every day Tirumanjanam, Sahasra
Namarchana (worshipping the Lord with one thousand names), Asthottaranamarachana(
worshipping the Lord with one hundred and eight names, Nitya Kalyanam are done.
The temple timings are from 6.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon and from 2.00 p.m. to 9.00
p.m. As this temple is located in the north side of Sri Rangam, this holy
temple is regarded as the “Sri Rangam of the North”. Just on the way to river
side there is a shrine for the great poet sitting Tikkana who was said to have
translated the fifteen cantos of the epic Mahabharata in this temple. The view
of the Penna River from the temple gives a panoramic view of the city. But the
waters of the river are not so fresh and clean. The river near the temple
should be maintained pure and clean. Many devotees are seen lighting oil lamps
near the entrance. This practice should be stopped as it causes inconvenience
to visitors entering the temple.
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10th December, 2019 Somaseshu Gutala
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