Vishnu Sahasranamam (Meanings: based upon the commentary of Shankaracharya) Meanings: Courtesy: http:// Sanskrit script courtesy: Shri. N. SHAKTI PEETAS: Shakti Peethas. There are many important temples and sightseeing places on the top of hill, and in the deep forest. Intru enaggu thirumanam.veete vilagolamaga irunthathu.enaggu 3 akkalgal.enaggu thirumana alangaram nadanthathu.en koonthalai muthal akka binni muthuggal bathithu. Ekaveera mata temple : It is present on the bank of Pen Ganga river (Pancha Ganga river). It is about 3. 0 to 4. Mahur. The temple is present in the fields of near by Village. The temple is very small. We will see only the head of Goddess here. According. to another popular legend related to Mahakal Temple, a. Dushana tormented the residents of Avanti. Shiva appeared from the ground and vanquished the demon. Then, upon the request of the inhabitants of Avanti, Shiva. Mahakaleshwara Jyotirlinga. Legend Behind Mahakal Temple. Architecture of Mahakal Temple. Significance of Mahakaleshwara Temple. PURUHUTIKA DEVI, Pithapuram (Andhra Pradesh)Pithapuram is formerly called as Pithikapuram / Pushkara kshetram in Puranas and Tantras. The temple of Puruhutika devi is located within the temple campus of Kukkuteswara swamy. Kukkuteswara swamy temple is present in the outskirts of the Pithapuram village towards Kakinada. It is a big temple. Just entering in to the temple we'll see a pond which is called as Padagaya sarovaram (Pada Gaya Sarovar). Pilgrims will take holy bath in this pond. Main temple of Kukkuteswara swamy is present towards the right side of the pond. Puruhutika devi temple is present in the North- East corner of the Kukkuteswara swamy temple. It is constructed facing South. Puruhutha temple is small but looks very nice with the carvings of Ashtadasa Shakti peethas on it's walls.
Idol of Puruhutika devi. The idol of Puruhuthika devi has four hands. They contain bag of seeds (Beeja), axe (Parashu), lotus (Kamala) and a dish (Madhu patra) from lower- right to lower- left in order. Previously there were two sects of Upasakas in Pithapuram worshiping Puruhootika devi. The first one calling her as Puruhootha Lakshmi (Meditating on Kamala and Madhu patra) and worshiping in Samayachara and the second one calling her Puruhoothamba (Meditating on Parashu and Beeja) and worshiping in Vamachara. There is also a tale that the original statue of Puruhutika devi was buried under the temple which was worshiped by them. History: Once Indra has cheated Ahalya (wife of Gautama maharshi) in the form of Gautama and was cursed by the Maharshi. Indra lost his testes and got the symbols of Yoni all over his body. He felt very sad and prąyed Gautama a lot. Finally the Rishi accepted and told that the Yoni symbols will look like eyes, so that Indra will be called as Sahasraksha there after. But Indra lost his testes. He wanted to regain them. He left his kingdome, came to Piithika puri and did Tapasya for Jaganmata. After a long time Jaganmata appeared before him and blessed him with wealth and testes. Indra was very happy and prąyed her as Puruhutika devi (One who was worshiped by Indra). After a very long time Jagadguru Sripada vallabha took birth in Pithapuram. He too worshiped Puruhutika devi and realized his self. He is an incarnation of Dattatreya. BIRAJA DEVI, Jajpur(Odisha)The Biraja Temple, or Girija is located in Jajpur (about 1. Bhubaneswar), Odisha, India. The present temple was built during the 1. The principal idol is Devi Durga, who is worshiped as Viraja (Girija), and the temple gave Jajpur the nicknames "Viraja Kshetra" and "Biraja Peetha". The Durga idol has two hands (dwibhuja), spearing the chest of Mahishasura with one hand and pulling his tail with the other. One of her feet is on a lion, and the other is on Mahishasura's chest. Mahishasura is depicted as a water buffalo. The idol's crown features Ganesha, a crescent moon and a lingam. The temple covers a large area, and has several shrines to Shiva and other deities. According to the Skanda Purana it cleanses pilgrims, and it is called the Viraja or the Biraja kshetra. Jajpur is believed to have about one crore of Shiva lingams. In Tantra. The Brahmayamala Tantra has a hymn, "Aadya Stotra", dedicated to Shakti. In the hymn, Vimala is the goddess of Puri and Viraja (Girija) is the goddess worshipped in the Utkala Kingdom, which became Odisha. According to the Tantra Chudamani, Sati's navel fell in the Utkala Kingdom, also known as "Viraja kshetra". Adi Shankara, in his Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stuti describes the goddess as Girija. In Tantra literature, the Oddiyana Peetha (Devnagari: ओड़्याण पीठ) is located in eastern India near the Vaitarani River (an Oddiyana is an ornament worn by a woman around her navel). MANIKYAMBA DEVI, Draksharamam (Andhra Pradesh)There are two stories related to Pancharama temples. One story related to Pancharama temples is in Bheemeshwara Puranam written by Shree Nathudu. The Story goes like this.. Devatas and Asuras (Rakshasas) stirr the sea to get nectar (Amrit). After getting the Amrit, Devatas meet Lord Vishnu to avoid distributing the nectar to Asuras as it may lead to problems. Lord Vishnu takes the birth as Mohini and distributes Amruth only to Devtas. Asuras get angry and worship Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva gets satisfied by their worship and blesses Asuras with lot of powers. With these powers Asuras start torturing people and Devtas. Again Devtas worship Lord Shiva to avoid this. Lord Shiva gets angry and starts punishing Asuras. During this war, a Shivalingam worshipped by Thripurasura (Tripurasura) remains un damaged even though all Asuras die. Lord Shiva (Mahadeva) makes this Lingam into five pieces and makes this installed in five different places. These five places (Prathishtapana) are now famous as Pancharama. The second story begins from Hiranya Kashipu and his son Simuchi. The son of Simuchi, Tharakasura worships Lord Shiva and gets his Atma Linga. Then, Tharakasura starts troubling people and Devatas. As per blessings, Tharakasura dies only by a boy. Devatas go to Lord Shiva to find solution for finding a solution to punish Tharakasura. Lord Kumara Swamy Avtar thus happens and and boy kills Tharakasura. After when Tharakasura dies, the Athmalinga gets divided into five. Each one gets installed by Devatas in five different places. These places are called Pancharama Kshetras. Below are the details of Pancharama Kshetras and the five faces of Lord Shiva. The temple of Lord Amareswara located on the banks of river Krishna, is rich in Dravidian and Buddist architectures. The Lingam is 1. 5 feet high, carved out of marble. The city was named Amaravati after Indra's capital here. Tradition says that Indra and Devas had worshipped the Lord here. Goddess Shakthi is worshipped as Bala Chamundika Devi. The white Linga is quite unique and the priests have to ascend the steps for offering abhishekam. As the name Amaravati implies, legend has it that Amaravati was once the abode of the Gods - the Devas, the yakshas and the kinnaras, who performed penances to Shiva to request him to rid the earth of the mighty demon Tarakasura. Legend has it that Shiva's son Subramanya vanquished the demon. It is believed that the Shivalingam that shattered Into five pieces was a huge one, and the biggest of the five pieces is a fifteen foot long column of white marble which is worshipped as Amareswara at the Amaravati temple (this is very similar to the Shivalingam at the Draksharama temple). Legend has it that it was installed by Indra the king of the Devas, Brihaspati the guru of the Devas and Sukra the preceptor of the Asuras. The Amaravati temple is located on a small hillock referred to as Krouncha Shaila, alongside the river Krishna which flows for a short distance in a North- Southerly direction, although for the most part, the river heads eastwards towards the ocean. The river Krishna is held in reverence at this pilgrimage site, and a ritual dip in this river here is considered to be meritorious. The temple has ancient origins, however the structural foundations as seen today, seem to date back to the 1. CE. The Vijayanagar kings did provide grants to maintain the temple. However it was the local kings of the 1. CE that provided vast endowments to this temple. The temple is decorated with four lofty gopurams in its outer circumlocutory path. How to reach Amaravati: Amaravati is at 3. Guntur. There are so many non- stop buses from Guntur. It takes about 4. Buses will leave us at temple. In Karthika masam APSRTC maintains special Pancharamas tour buses to cover them all in a single day. Draksharama - Draksharamam (Sri Bhimeswara Swamy)The Bhimeswara temple at Draksharama has two prakaras. The inscriptions here suggest that the temple was built by Bhima, the Eastern Chalukyan King of Vengi(9th - 1. Rashtrakootas. The temple art thus shows the influence of a blend of sculptural traditions of Chalukya and Chola styles. The temple has four entrances in the outer prakara each marked with a gopuram, facing the four cardinal directions. On the south is the entrance to the inner prakara, which is lined by a pillared two- storeyed verandah. The main temple is twin storeyed. Two flights of stairs lead us into the upper level of the sanctum. This has a pillared pradakshina on three sides and a Garbhagriha. Bhimeswara is enshrined in the form of a ten feet high Shivalingam in this Garbhagriha. Another feature of the temple is the narrow mantapam that is seen in the premises. Shiva's consort here is Manikyamba. The temple walls and pillars are decoratively carved with mythological figures. Legend has it that the Saptamaharishis (Seven Sages) to achieve the ends of their penance divided the akhanda (unbranched) Godavari river into seven different streams at Draskharama. Bharadhwaja, Viswamitra and Jamadagni streams known as Antarvahinies, were believed to have gone under ground. There is Sapta Godavari Kundam (Seven river pond) near the temple where the devotees bathe. Sivarathri attracts huge crowds of pilgrims. Once Daksha Prajapathi decided to perform a Yaga. In pursuance of the same, he had been to Kailasa to invite Gods and Goddesses to sanctify his 'Yazna' and accept his hospitality.
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