We had a couple of days of holidays for diwali so we decided some time back to travel to Ahobilam. The schedule was for 3 days (22/10 sun , 23/10 Mon and 24/10 Tues ) . All Set for the travel , I would post the travelogue in abt 4 posts to give a picturesque description of our trip.
The first post would contain a general description covering the details abt the place, how tor each etc . Each forthcoming post woudl contain details on my stay in Ahobilam .
Aho+Balam= Oh What a strength ! is the etymological meaning of the place.
Lord Nrsimha is the presiding deity of the place. This avatara a noteworthy avatara in the dasavatara. This avatara was to show the omni present nature of the divine supreme. This also was to prove that belief and Sharanagathi ( principle doctorine of Sri Vaishanavism) to the supreme would never go astray.
This place is also known as Simham vel kundram which is a then(north) naatu thirapuathi (mangalasasanam by Thirumangai Azhwar).
How to Reach Ahobilam
For detail travel and maps , please mail me or I would plan to put them in the forthcoming post
If you are travelling from Chennai . Cuddapah should be the closest city (abt 400-420 kms frm Chn ) . Cuddapah -> Allagada -> Ahobilam (23 Kms).
For bus bookings try this link Bus tickets and for hotel bookings in Ahobilam you might want to try Hotels
From Hyd :
Take NH7 -
Hyd -> Kurnool -> Take a diversion here -> travel towards Cuddapah ->Nandhyal -> Allagada ->Lower Ahobilam .
Having Reached Ahobilam , You should be prepared to visit all the nine temples spanning lower Ahobilam and Upper Ahobilam .
Lower Ahobilam has
The point to be noted is each Nrsmha is a Swayambu.
Let me take you an overview of each Nrsmha one by one . How one can reach the stalam ..specialities of the stalam as told by a battar( Mr.Phani Raghava 94417 60871).This would also contain in the order we visited.
1) Prahalada Varadan :
Prahalad Varadan sannidhi is in the lower Ahobilam. As I mentioned before this is not counted in the nava Nrsmha sthalam. Moolavar Prahlad varadan stays with his consort Chenchu lakshmi thayar. This is a small temple. The Lord married Chenchu lakshmi thayar here and hence kalyanotsavam is a very common occurence as it is in Thiruvinnagaram.There is a ahobilam mutt close to this temple and this should be your base.
2) Yogananda Nrsmha :
From 1) this temple is about 1-2 kms . One can walk this distance easily. This is located in a very small hillock very similar to the varadan at Kanchi. Yoganada Nrsmha sanidhi is a small sannidhi and I dont remember having seen a thayar sanidhi . This nrsmha is presiding deity of Lord Shanaicharan ( Shani bhagawan ) . All Shani Doshams would be gone if we pray this lord. The battar was kind enough to open the sannidhi for us alone at 7:00 pm.
3) Chatra Vata Nrsmha :
While on the way back from (2) to (1) we can reach this sannidhi . Amma told me these sanidhi's have been renovated and have got much better than what it was before 7-8 years.
Chatra - Umbrella Vata -tree .As it is clear the nrshma is said to be under a tree which was like an umbrella.
The is a kethu Stalam and Nrsmha is "Sangeetha priyan" meaning he likes his devotees to sing songs to please him which the kuttis did by singing Varaveena ( mohanam) and Shree gananatha (malahari) .
I started my SVS rendition as is my usual practise as it was almot 7:30 then. We came back to our base for our night stay where the battar said we could go to (1) for satrumurai ( a special pooja performed in Sri Vaishnava temples ) .
We rushed and myself , Janesh and Puru anna had the divine blessings to be as a part of the Goshti that night.
The best part of the whole trip was that trip fell on Swathi thirunakshtram . Now Swati is the avatar nakshatram of The Lord. The nava kshetras being in remote locations are all open for this Swathi and thirumanjanams are performed on this day. When we ppl were in the goshti amma, manni had booked for Tirumanjanams for Jwala and Kroda.
To add the icing in the cake this Swathi was the 100 th Swathi ..what is 100 th Swathi ? Lord has been in this ddivyastalam for several yugams and is he only 100 swathi's old .. I will tell you what this 100 swathi is about in the next post.
Be ready to trek with me to all the other kshetras ...
Madhu
NB: I dont want to post the fotos as I would suggest you ppl to visit the place to see the beauty of the place for yourself where in you can enjoy the beauty of the places and get the blessings of the divine Supreme.
The first post would contain a general description covering the details abt the place, how tor each etc . Each forthcoming post woudl contain details on my stay in Ahobilam .
Aho+Balam= Oh What a strength ! is the etymological meaning of the place.
Lord Nrsimha is the presiding deity of the place. This avatara a noteworthy avatara in the dasavatara. This avatara was to show the omni present nature of the divine supreme. This also was to prove that belief and Sharanagathi ( principle doctorine of Sri Vaishanavism) to the supreme would never go astray.
This place is also known as Simham vel kundram which is a then(north) naatu thirapuathi (mangalasasanam by Thirumangai Azhwar).
How to Reach Ahobilam
For detail travel and maps , please mail me or I would plan to put them in the forthcoming post
If you are travelling from Chennai . Cuddapah should be the closest city (abt 400-420 kms frm Chn ) . Cuddapah -> Allagada -> Ahobilam (23 Kms).
For bus bookings try this link Bus tickets and for hotel bookings in Ahobilam you might want to try Hotels
From Hyd :
Take NH7 -
Hyd -> Kurnool -> Take a diversion here -> travel towards Cuddapah ->Nandhyal -> Allagada ->Lower Ahobilam .
Having Reached Ahobilam , You should be prepared to visit all the nine temples spanning lower Ahobilam and Upper Ahobilam .
Lower Ahobilam has
- Prahlada Nrsmha (Not counted in the 9 )
- Chatravata
- Bargava
- Yogananda
- Karunja
- Ahobilam
- Varaha a.k.a Kroda
- Malola
- Jwala
- Pavana
The point to be noted is each Nrsmha is a Swayambu.
Let me take you an overview of each Nrsmha one by one . How one can reach the stalam ..specialities of the stalam as told by a battar( Mr.Phani Raghava 94417 60871).This would also contain in the order we visited.
1) Prahalada Varadan :
Prahalad Varadan sannidhi is in the lower Ahobilam. As I mentioned before this is not counted in the nava Nrsmha sthalam. Moolavar Prahlad varadan stays with his consort Chenchu lakshmi thayar. This is a small temple. The Lord married Chenchu lakshmi thayar here and hence kalyanotsavam is a very common occurence as it is in Thiruvinnagaram.There is a ahobilam mutt close to this temple and this should be your base.
2) Yogananda Nrsmha :
From 1) this temple is about 1-2 kms . One can walk this distance easily. This is located in a very small hillock very similar to the varadan at Kanchi. Yoganada Nrsmha sanidhi is a small sannidhi and I dont remember having seen a thayar sanidhi . This nrsmha is presiding deity of Lord Shanaicharan ( Shani bhagawan ) . All Shani Doshams would be gone if we pray this lord. The battar was kind enough to open the sannidhi for us alone at 7:00 pm.
3) Chatra Vata Nrsmha :
While on the way back from (2) to (1) we can reach this sannidhi . Amma told me these sanidhi's have been renovated and have got much better than what it was before 7-8 years.
Chatra - Umbrella Vata -tree .As it is clear the nrshma is said to be under a tree which was like an umbrella.
The is a kethu Stalam and Nrsmha is "Sangeetha priyan" meaning he likes his devotees to sing songs to please him which the kuttis did by singing Varaveena ( mohanam) and Shree gananatha (malahari) .
I started my SVS rendition as is my usual practise as it was almot 7:30 then. We came back to our base for our night stay where the battar said we could go to (1) for satrumurai ( a special pooja performed in Sri Vaishnava temples ) .
We rushed and myself , Janesh and Puru anna had the divine blessings to be as a part of the Goshti that night.
The best part of the whole trip was that trip fell on Swathi thirunakshtram . Now Swati is the avatar nakshatram of The Lord. The nava kshetras being in remote locations are all open for this Swathi and thirumanjanams are performed on this day. When we ppl were in the goshti amma, manni had booked for Tirumanjanams for Jwala and Kroda.
To add the icing in the cake this Swathi was the 100 th Swathi ..what is 100 th Swathi ? Lord has been in this ddivyastalam for several yugams and is he only 100 swathi's old .. I will tell you what this 100 swathi is about in the next post.
Be ready to trek with me to all the other kshetras ...
Madhu
NB: I dont want to post the fotos as I would suggest you ppl to visit the place to see the beauty of the place for yourself where in you can enjoy the beauty of the places and get the blessings of the divine Supreme.
17 comments:
The objective of the post by Madhu, on Ahobilam,is to give a clarity to all who want to vist and to say all, that"it is possible with a bit of extra effort" specifically to the individuals, who are thinking, visiting all the upper shrines i ahobilam are difficult.
It is me, Puru anna, mentioned by madhu.
We all 5 with madhu including my children aged 13 and 10 were able cover the colplete tour.
On the return we thought we must post the detail to help all to visit this place.
Not only as apilgrimage, it was a good "OutBound Learning" for us.
After the vist every day am thinking to visit again. Reasons are so many, primarily none demands mony here in this temple.
People are open and helpful, a natural environement..... we can keep on adding....
My target is to reach the "UGRASTAMBAM" in the next visit.
Madhu will cover this in a brief in his pos.
I had started praying "Narashima" to make my dream true.
Thanks to madhu, for the company during the tour along with his mother (our Manni "the great").
eppaa..ennada evlo periya post..
but you can post the photos.. atleast that could make ppl to go and visit the place :-))
Madwhoo,
That was a gr8 commentary on Ahobilam, makes me feel that I hv not visited any of these all those years, shud plan for a visit at the earliest.
yeppa.. evvalavu neeeeelamaana post.. but it is worth reading.. get to know about places that i have not heard of.. informative..looking forward to the remaining posts..
hello, oru thadava hyd varen.. naama 2 perum serndhu oru trip poittu varalaam... ippadikku sundar :)
@first anonymous :
Ama Puru anna , next time we will go to the ukku stamba for sure .
@karthi
Periya posta ..inonu varudhu paaru ida vida perisa..Abt fotos, all our fotos are with makkal and I dont prefer to put such fots on the web .
@Second anonymous ..
Peru Podunga ..Sure neenga poittu vara perumal anugraham seekaram kidaikum
@third anonymous :
Sundar ?? come down ne time and we cud make to any place
@madhu:
"@third anonymous :
Sundar ??" enna yaarunu theriyalayaa???
thanks madhu, i'm so happy to read about ahobilams, narasimha is always great! first slogam is sooo nice to read. koopta udane vanthu nippar narasimhar.
let me check out the tour plan from banglore, as i'm now in bnglre.
i will visit all ahobilams soon by his highness blessings. anticpating for the next part.
Good Post Madhu..informative reading
இனிய புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள் Madhu..
இந்த வருடத்தில் கிடைத்த உங்கள் நட்பு எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சியை தருகிறது. பரந்து விரிந்த இந்த உலகத்தில் நம்மை சேர்த்து வைத்த இந்த பிளாக்கருக்கு நன்றி.
இந்த புதிய வருடத்தில் ஆண்டவனிடன் நீங்கள் வேண்டும் யாவும் கிடைக்கப்பெற்று, நல்ல ஆரோக்கியத்துடன் நீங்களும் உங்களும் குடும்பத்தினரும் எல்லா வித இன்பங்களும் கிடைக்கப் பெற்று வாழ வாழ்த்துக்கள். தாங்கள் பணிபுரியும் அலுவலகத்தில் மேலும் மேன்மை அடைந்து சிறக்க வாழ்த்துக்கள்
Hi Madhu,
Soukiyama!
Blog super ya! payanam kovil patthi eppo varum?? bye,
Keep posting!!Good luck!
Viji
i have been to this place 6 years back.. its very beautiful.. but couldn't stay long, as we reached there only by evening.. and we had to move back as it was getting dark..
y dont u post the pics?? who knows.. may be more ppl would visit this place after seeing ur pics..
dear madu
engalukum ahobilam pogavendum nava narashima moorthy paarkavendum endru aasai. please tell us , where to stay and whom to contact. enda details erundal theriyapaduthavoom
dear madu
engalukum ahobilam pogavendum nava narashima moorthy paarkavendum endru aasai. please tell us , where to stay and whom to contact. enda details erundal theriyapaduthavoom
Soundary ,
Thanks for visiting my site .there are quite a few lodges in keezh ahobilam . You could try APTDC . You can also try ahobila mutt for lodging .
I dont have their contact numbers though.
You can go there and get and accomodation.
Unless its swathi nakshatram when it is crowded you should get accomodation there. Pl drop a comment if you need more details
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
hello sir goodmorning.,
I need a sugestion from you,
i want to take my girlfriend to ahobilam from kadapa dist.and we need to stay atleast one day(1 night n 1 morng),
so pls tell me very nearest and easy way to reach ahobilam and also sugest me a good hotel for staying oneday.
I hope your reply will more helps me..!
Thank you.
Ahobilam has many places to see.
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