Worship

Saturday is temple day for Ramani and he has been going to the temple, every Saturday, for the past so many years. So this Saturday, we were very fortunate to be in Vizag as this gave us the opportunity to pray at the Simhachalam temple, 18 km away.

We learnt that Simhachalam means the hill of the lion (Simha: Lion ; Achala: one which cannot be moved, viz. hill) and the temple atop the hill was constructed in the 11th century by the King Sri Krishnadevaraya. The temple is dedicated to Lord Narasimha, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, who killed the demon King Hiranyakashapu. The presiding deity here is Varaha Lakshminarasimha and the idol resembles a Shivalingam covered with sandal paste.

We have all heard the story of King Hiranyakashyapu, who desired to be worshipped by his subjects. But Prahalada, his son, was a devotee of Lord Narayana and refused to accept his father as his God. This enraged the king who devised many ways to kill his own son. Once, he tried to hurl Bhakta Prahalad down the mountain but Lord Vishnu came to his rescue. Lord Narayana jumped from his Garuda to save the young prince Prahlada, and his feet sank deep into the earth. It is believed that this temple came up in the place were the Lord stood to protect Prahaladha and hence the lord’s feet are not visible in the temple.  

In October 2007, the Government of Andhra Pradesh approved a master plan for the development of the region on similar lines of Tirumala. The construction work is on and this was a hindrance as we were unable to take in the beauty of the temple. The road leading to the top traverses the Eastern Ghats, which at this point, is green, beautiful and picturesque. There are trees and mango groves and I fervently prayed that they would not be uprooted in the name of development

Once we reached the temple premises, we learnt that a special ticket of Rs. 100 would take us by lift for direct darshanam of the Lord and an extra Rs. 50, would enable us to offer archana and pray at the Sanctum Sanctorum. We were able to spend ten minutes praying to the Lord.

However, certain issues still trouble me. Why not open the doors of the temple to all devotees so that everyone can pray as equals? And why do volunteers have to push the bhaktas as they stand in prayer? Can a system be evolved which helps the devotees to move forward without obstructing those waiting for darshan?

As we made our way back, we learnt some more trivia about the temple. The Simhachalam temple faces West unlike so many others which face East. An east-facing entrance, according to religious belief, brings prosperity while a west-facing one brings victory.




















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Death of Memory

“ People have two deaths, the first at the end of their lives. The second, at the end of the memory of their lives.” Raghu Karnad, ' Farthest Field' A chance remark by my grand daughter sparked off this trilogy.  Here's part I. For my defense, I say only this : "Just write the truth! But truths are many, and that is the problem. Memory is treacherous, as distinct from history as emotion." Cohen, Roger,  'The Girl from Human Street.'  “Naani”, asked my five year old granddaughter, in all her worldly wisdom, “Where are my Great Grandparents?  Do you think they love me?” As I prepared to answer her inquisitive queries, my mind wandered, to my Great Grandparents! Who indeed were they! What a profound chord her innocent words had touched! What did I know of my  great grandfather, who had lived and died before I came into this world! Kachapeshwar Iyer was my great grandfather's name. Eshwar for short. I know for sure. My grandfather carried his name i...
Read more

FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE

I am touched by what   Hip Hop Grandmom  writes, in her blog, T een Troubles-3. As a teacher, for more than 30 years, I have closely observed student life and found it to be rewarding and challenging. No doubt, there have been some very good moments in the class room environment, very special memories, which have sustained me as a teacher and motivated me, to do my best year after year. However, there are some other memories, so etched in my mind, that have filled me with despair. I wonder how much in despair these young ones might have been and wonder what goes on in the minds of their near and dear ones. Do they ever recover fully? I remember two shocking instances, when pupils, two young girls, from my class took their own lives. Both were in their early teens, pretty, lively, smart kids. Both were studying in co-ed schools. One jumped down a high rise residential block of flats, in which she did not live. The other, an only child, just tied the ...
Read more

Bihar is in the Eye of the Beholder

 Bihar is in the Eye of the beholder.  (Vijay Nambisan, poet and writer)  For the prompt, 'includes an exotic animal', for a reading challenge, I picked 'Travels on my Elephant' by Mark Shand, a book that had won the Travel Writer of the Year Award at the British Book Awards in 1992. The book was a pleasure to read, it was very interesting and informative. At the same time it affected me deeply. Mark Shand, the British wild life enthusiast and travel writer, decided  to travel in India on an elephant.  For this purpose, he acquired an elephant whom he christened Tara, but who was always referred to as Mummy. He planned to end his rendezvous in Bihar at the Sonepur Animal Fair where he hoped to sell off his elephant, before heading home to England. His remarkable journey begins in the eastern state of Odisha.  As he rides through the rural countryside, Mark Shand brings to life the incomparable beauty and ancient history of these hidden regions. He takes us ...
Read more