The hill temple of Mangalagiri enshrines Pankala Narasimha and is located at an easily accessible distance from Vijayawada. The three well known Narasimha shrines in Andhra Pradesh are Ahobilam, Simhachalam and Mangalagiri.
Mangalagiri has two temples, one at the foothills dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha and the other on the Mangalagiri hill dedicated to Pankala Narasimha.
Pankala (Paanakam in tamil) - a solution of jaggery (unrefined sugar) in water, is the offering made to the presiding deity Narasimha. This offering is actually poured into the mouth of the rock cut image of the deity. It is believed that exactly half the amount of the liquid poured, is regurgitated by the image. Also interestingly, despite the liberal use of sugar (unrefined), there are no ants in the temple premises. It should be noted that the only shrine in this temple is that of Narasimha.
The temple tank is known as the Lakshmi Pushkarini. Legend has it that this pushkarini was created by the Gods, combining the waters from several holy rivers of the land, and that Mahalakshmi (who came out of the milky ocean when it was churned by the gods and the asuras), bathed in this pushkarini and married Vishnu thereafter.
The temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri - dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha, has an imposing 11 storeyed raja gopuram built by a local chieftain. Inscriptions indicate that the Vijayanagar monarch Krishna Deva Raya visited this temple. This temple celebrates it's annual festival in March.
| From | KMS |
|---|---|
| Vijayawada | 12 |
| Guntur | 21 |
| Tenali | 22 |
APRSRTC Buses are available every 10 minutes from Guntur, Vijayawada.
Fare from Guntur is Rs 10, from Vijayawada is Rs 6
From Vijayawda there is City Buses also available Bus No's are 47v, 20
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