Sri Veeranjaneya Temple or Gandi Kshetram is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple situated at Gandi, a village in

Kadapa District Kadapa district (officially: YSR district; formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. On 19 August 2005 nomenclature of “Cuddapah” has been changed as “Kadapa” by the Governm ...

Andhra pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The temple is dedicated to Lord Anjaneya(Hanuman) who is referred to as Veeranjaneya in this temple.

History

The history of Kshetram dates back to the period of the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'', ''

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years ...

''. According to the legend, Lord

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

himself had drawn the picture of Lord

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

on the rock with his arrow while resting at this place, and was receiving the hospitality of Lord

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

(God of Air and Father of Lord Hanuman). Lord Sri Rama has completed the drawing of Lord Hanuman except the little finger of Lord Hanuman's left hand. Later Vyasaraja has sculptured this drawing into an idol, while Vyasaraja tried to sculpt even the little finger of Lord Hanuman's left hand, it is said that the finger of the idol was cut off by itself and started bleeding. Which displays Lord Hanuman's intention to keep the idol as drawn by Lord Sri Rama. Legends also say that after listening to the news of Lord Sri Rama's Victory over the Demon Lord Ravana, Lord Vayu has decorated this place with festoon of golden flowers to welcome Lord Sri Rama on his way back towards North to Ayodhya. People believe that this festoon of golden flowers can be seen by those who are near to death. River bank of Papagni at Gandi Kshetram

Location

This temple is known as Abhayahasta Anjaneya Temple and is located on the banks of River Papaghni. In Telugu language Gandi means a narrow passage for the water to flow out. This place seems to be a narrow passage for the river to flow in between the hills of Eastern ghats. This place located in Kadapa district and is 34 km away from the Pulivendula town.

Administration

The temple, at present is being administered by ENDOMENTS DEPT AP

References

{{coord missing, Andhra Pradesh Hindu temples in Kadapa district Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams 3. Management change https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/uncertainty-over-gandi-temple-angers-devotees/article29292366.ece