Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is a

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

temple and one of the eight sacred places of

Lord Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vish ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is also known for being one of the eight ''mahakshetras''

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

in India. It is situated at the foot of the ''Auspicious Hill'' in

Mangalagiri Mangalagiri is one of the two corporations in Guntur District and a major residential and IT hub in Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. The city of Mangalagiri Tadepalli Municipal Corporation is a part of Tenali revenue division. Mangalagiri is imp ...

which is part of the

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

part of

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. It is one of the temples in the series of three temples located on and at the bottom of the hill, the other two being Panakala Narasimha Temple on the hill and Gandalaya Narasimha Temple at the top of the hill. It has one of the highest gopurams in South India and only one of its type in this part of India. It is in height and wide and has eleven storeys.

History

Sri lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple - Diguva Sannidhi

The Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is popularly believed to have been discovered by

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

, the eldest

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

brother. The temple's history is said to be recorded in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, one of the old Hindu religious scriptures. This temple was patronized by the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

rulers. There is an inscription from the time of
Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...
, who had visited the temple, at the temple site. The temple's tall eleven story ''gali gopuram'' was built by
Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu () was the hereditary zamindar of Chintapalli, later Amaravathi, under the Nizam of Hyderabad and later the British East India Company. He had under his control 552 villages and towns located in Guntur and Kr ...
, a zamindari patron and devotee of Narasimha.

References

External links

Mangalagiri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Tour Guide
* {{Hinduism footer small Hindu temples in Guntur district Narasimha temples Abhimana temples of Vishnu