Sri Ramanujaya namaha Recently my wife and I went to India from Sydney and had the blessings of Sri

Narasimhar to visit Pancha Narasimha Kshetrams near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. This write up is to assist people who desire to visit these Kshetrams. The 5 Kshetrams are: 1. Managala Giri Panaka Narasimhar. Here the specialty is Narasimhar drinks half of the panakam offered to him irrespective of the size of the vessels used to offer the panakam. 10 km from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Guntur Road. 2. Keta Varam. Swyambu Narasimhar who came in a Shepherd's dream and asked him to get the king to build a temple for him. There was no water at the top of the mountain and Narasimhar promised to provide water during the construction. After the construction there is still no water available. Daily pooja happens with the priest carrying the water from below. 3. Mattapalli - The moolavar is Sri Yogananda Narasimhan. This narasimhar is Swayambu. Thayaar is Sri Rajyalakshmi. Chenchulakshmi Thayaar is also present beside the moolavar The sanctum sanctorium is inside a cave which extends upto the river Krishnaveni. The vimanam here is Brahmananda nilaya Vimanam.140 km from Vijayawada 4. Wada Palli. Here The Narasimhar shows his presence by breathing in his statue form which is shown by the moving deepam in front of his nose whereas the deepam at his feet is stand still. 5. Vedadri -60 KM from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.

Based on our experience our suggested way to visit these temples is as below though we didn't do it in that order hence had some strain. 1. Allow for full 2 days. Arrive at Vijayawada in the morning from Chennai. You can also approach from Hyderabad in which case it is better to drive from Hyderabad direct. 2. Book a cab and I have given the address of the travel agency we used. Our driver was Sriram and I strongly urge to ask for him as he understands Tamil and English and was a good driver. However his judgment on driving times involved wasn't the best. 3. Please book a bigger vehicle like a Tevera or Innova and never go in Tata Indica. The roads are quite bad. And had to drive in first gear for quite some distance. High wheel clearance and bigger wheels are a must. 4. After refreshing proceed to Managalagiri , there is Lakshmi Narasimha temple at the foot of the hills as well. The road goes up to the temple so no climbing involved. 5. Proceed to Katavaram via Guntur. If you call the priest through the driver and the day is good you can climb the 600 or so steps to have darshan of the moolvar. Otherwise normally the puja is done for the utsavar at the foothills. 6. Proceed to Wadda palli and Please check with the archaka about the timings of the temple opening. If you can finish this temple it will give you a relaxing day the next day. If not you can still do it the next day.

7.

After Wadda palli proceed to Mattapalli where your car has to go on a boat to cross the river. It costs Rs 150 for the boat ride for each vehicle.

8.

Please call Mr. Gopal in Mattapalli, details below and let him know when you are arriving, how many people and when you need food etc. There are no other hotels to stay or eat.

9.

They provide a cot, just mat and pillow and no bed sheets. It is advisable to carry some bed sheets as it could be cold depending on the season.( we went in December). There is bath rooms attached to the rooms but no hot water.

10. Nirmalya darshan is a must in Mattapalli if you really want to see the Swayambu. I highly recommend it. You should get ready latest by 4 am. They charge Rs 100 per couple at the temple. If you go late there isn't enough space to stand inside the cave. 11. It is said in Mukkur Narasimhachariar's books if you take a dip in Krishna and do 32 pradhaksnams at this temple all your wishes will be fulfilled. There is a garudar and Anjaneya sannidhi . The circumbulation of this sannidhi and the Dwaja stahmbam is considered a pradkashinam. In addition you can circumbulate the temple by climbing 40 steps and walking down the slope. We did the pradkshinam after the nirmalya sevai. After the sevai you can go back to your guest house have a cup of coffee, change the clothes have a dip in Krishna which is near by and do the pradakshinam. There are several steps involved in getting to the River so old people should be aware of this. 12. Please read on stala puranam and details on the net before you go as the priests speak only in Telugu. Contacts: Sri Gopal, who manages the annadaanam and accommodation facilities. Ph. +91 94406 57333 or +91 94406 57333 Sri Sai Car Travels Off: 0866 2473877,0866 2474211 Cell: 98855 37799, 92464 97799

Mangalagiri Panaka Narasimha: on the top of the hill: you can see only narasimhars
mouth opening about 15 cms. This offering is actually poured into the mouth of the rock cut image of the deity. In Vedadri, Lakshminarasimhar here exists in 5 different forms - Pancha Narasimha moorthy (Jwala, Veera, Salagrama, Yoganandha, Lakshmi narasimha) Jwala Narasimha Swamy Salagrama Narasimha Yoganandha on the on narasimha mountain river (veda mountain) Krishnaveni Swami

Lakshmi Narasimha Veera Narasimha Swami on Garudadri (5k east of Vedadri)

Swami

The Wadapally Lakshmi Narasimhar temple is situated in Nalgonda district near the town of Miryalaguda, at the confluence of the River Krishna and Musi River. These two rivers very unusually come together in the shape of an "L".

Kethavaram is situated on the banks of River Krishna. It is Located approximately 80

km from Guntur. It is 25 Kms.Away from Bellam Konda which is on Guntur-Macherla Highway. RTC buses ply from Sattenapalli to Kethavaram on Chityala, Pulichintala routes. Kethavaram gets its name from the local ruler KethaVarma in ancient times. He ruled this area during 11th Century. It is also called as Kaataaram or Kethaaram. There are three temples for Sri NarasimhaSwamy here.

Mattapalli

: There is a belief that incurable diseases will be cured and the evil spirits will be driven out and all desires will be fulfilled by the Lord if one stays in Mattapalli for 11 days and 11 nights and performs 32 pradakshinams thrice a day with wet clothes having bathed in the Krishna river each time.

The Pancha Naarasimha Kshethrams are

1. Mangalagiri (10 km from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Guntur Road ) NALLAKALVA SRINIVASA REDDY Asst. Commissioner Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Vari Devastanam, Mangalagiri, Guntur Dt. - 522 503. Contact Ph : 08645 - 232945 2.

Vedadri - 60 KM from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway. Please take turn at

small town called chillakallu and cross the The Madras Cement factory (Ramaco cements) and proceed further (http://vedadritemple.com/Home.html)
Contact

Sri Yogananda Lakshminarasimha Swamy Devvasthanam Vedadri, Jaggaiahpet Mandal, Krishna District, Andhrapradesh Ph # 08678 284866 / 99. Smt.R.V.Rajalakshmamma, GPA, Founder

3. Mattapalli - 140 km from Vijayawada - Please take a turn from Kodad (100 km on Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway) - cross huzur nagar (15 km from kodad) and mattaplli is 25 km from huzur nagar. You can stay in Sri Mukkur Swamy " Yagna Vaatica " aka " Madras Guest House " . The facility is managed by Sri Mukkur Swamy & Trust and the accommodation as well as food is provided to the devotees. There are no charges for the rooms and the food (as part of nityannadaanam). Contact Sri Gopal, who manages the annadaanam and accommodation facilities.
Contact

Mr.Gopal Ph. ;91 94406 57333

4. Vadapalli - From Mattapalli 80 km. You have to come back to huzur nagar and proceed towards Miryalguda route and ask for Raasi cement factory. Vadapaali temple is located opposite to Raasi cement factory

5. Ketavaram - From vadapalli about 60km. There are two choices. You can go to Ketavaram from Mattapalli by boat/road (as ketavaram is located on the opposite bank of mattapalli) or from

vadapalli towards guntur you've to take a left turn at a place called 'piduguralla " . Inside it will be about 25km. From piduguralla vijayawada will be about 60km.

Hence I would suggest Vijayawada - Mangalgiri- Vedadri-Mattapalli (stay overnight or couple of days) - Vadapalli - Ketavaram - Vijayawada.I would also recommend you to visit " Agiripalli " which is 15 km from Vijayawada where the presiding deity is " Vyagra Narasimhar " (Puli mukam). This place is in between Vijayawada-Nuzvid route.

Following are some places that are accessible from Vijayawada Agiripalli- 35km from vijyayawadaMangalagiri- 10 km from Vijayawada Vedadri- 60km from vijayawada Mattapalli is quite far nearly 140km from Vijayawada- But it is a must see place Vadapalli- 80 km from Mattapalli Ketavaram- 60 km from vadapalli. There are two choices. You can go to Ketavaram from Mattapalli by boat/road (as ketavaram is located on the opposite bank of mattapalli) or from vadapalli towards guntur where a left turn should be taken at a place called 'piduguralla". From there it will be about 25km. From piduguralla, Vijayawada will be about 60km. It would be a round trip But one day would be difficult to cover all. Maybe one and half days would be fine. Except agiripalli rest are all called Pancha Narasimha shethram

The Pancha Narasimha Kshethrams are 1. Mangalagiri (10 km from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Guntur Road ) 2. Vedadri - 60 KM from Vijayawada on Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway. 3. Mattapalli - 140 km from Vijayawada 4. Vadapalli - From Mattapalli 80 km. 5. Ketavaram - From vadapalli about 60km. 6) Vyagra Narasimhar (Puli mukam). For further details contact : Mohan-9841062444 / 9940062444

Mattapalli Vedadri Mangalagiri - 2

Vadapalli Ketavaram also known as Vethapuram

Mriyalguda to Kodad road, turn right at Huzur nagar, 31 Kms from Huzur nagar in Nalgaonda Dist and 60 Kms from Nalgaonda Kodad to Vijayawada NH, turn right at Jaggayyapeta, 10 KM from turn Guntur to Vijayawada NH, 5 KMS from Gunturu 25 Kms from Mriyalguda, on Dachepalle Mriyalguda road, turn right at Wazirabad opposite Raasi Cement factory after Krishna river bridge and 5 Km after turn