Page 118 - Telephone Directory

forest where he found a stone idol and heard a mysterious voice directing him to take the idol on the boat
till the boat voluntarily stopped, and then on car till its wheelping slipped down. The voice directed him to
install the idol at that place.The spot where the pin fell down came to be known as Ryali.
Jaganmohini Chennakesavaswami temple at Ryali, is a unique attraction to pilgrims, with a male face in
front as Chennakesava and a female face in the back as Jaganmohini. Goddess Ganga is at the foot of
the idol. This is reputed to be the only sculpture of its kind in India. One can reach this temple from
Vijayawada which is air-linked.(170 Kms) from Amaravati.

SIMHACHALAM : As a pilgrim center Simhachalam ranks with Benaras and Tirupati. This hill temple is
dedicated to Narasimha, the lion aspect of Vishnu. The main deity is always covered with “Chandanam”
(sandal paste) and only on Chandana Yatra day, the people can have darshan of the Lord in his real
form. The important festivals are Chandanayatra, Kalynam festivals and vyasapurnima and they occur
generally in April and May every year.(650 Kms) from Hyderabad

SRI KALAHASTI : 36 Kms from Tirupati is the sacred shrine of Vayu the wind God at Kalahasti town.
Vayu aspect of Lord Siva is worshipped here as Kalhasthiswara swamy. Legend has it that the Linga here
was worshipped by a spider(Sri),a snake(Kala) and an elephant (Hasti) and hence the town came to be
known as Sri Kalahasti.(380 Kms) from Amaravati.

SRIMUKHALINGAM TEMPLE : Situated on the bank of Vamsadhara river, it is said that this temple was
installed by the Eastern Ganga King of Kalinga. A study of the architecture of the temple reveals
interesting stories of Ramayana and Mahabharat.

SRISAILAM: Bhramarambe Mallikarjunaswamy of Srisailam is a very sacred shrine of all India
importance, the presiding deity Sri Mallikarjunaswamy being one of the twelve Jyothirlingams in India.
Here is a great Sakti Peetha of the Goddess Bhramaramba in the form of Kali which is said to
be one of the eighteen leading Saktis of India.
There are innumerable legends relating to Goddess Bhramaramba. The most widely current
legend is that Goddess Durga took the form of a bee in order to put anent to Mahishasura and after his
death the whole earth except Srisailam was drenched with his blood and so Goddess Durga made this
holy spot her permanent abode.According to another legend, Goddess Durga, while fighting this demon,
wore a garland of lotus flowers with bees in them and hence she is named Bhramarika or Bhramaramba.
It is said that the great Shivaji worshipped the Goddess Sri Bhramaramba here and he achieved glory
with her blessings.
The temple is on the top of a hill, 457.2 meters above sea lPevel in the midst of rich natural scenery
in the Nallamalai forests. Here River Krishna flows elegantly like a quiet serpent, a beautiful sight to
behold. (270 Kms) from Amaravati.

TIRUPATI : The universally known temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara situated at Tirupati, is known as
Balaji in the North and Srinivasa Perumal in the extreme South.Tirumala has seven hills and hence the
God is called “Edukondalavadu” the God of seven hills. The idol has the attributes of both Vishnu and
Shiva. The glory and greatness of the Lord makes every day a festival day with thousands of pilgrim
tourists attracted there from all parts of the country.The Tirumala shrine is a masterpiece of Dravidian
architecture, with an exquisitely carved gopuram facing east. The Vimana is Internetletely covered with
gold plate and is known as Anandanilaya.

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