THEKURMANATHASWAMY TEMPLE, SRIKURMAM VILLAGE, SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT ANDHRA PRADESH-COMPILED
Dear friends, The Kurmanathaswamy temple, also known as the Kurmanathatemple, is dedicated to Kurma – the second avatar of Vishnu. It is located inSrikurmam village, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. Srikurmam temple is known for its distinctive architecturalstyle. The design of the gopuram is different from the regular style seen atother Vaishnavite temples. It also has two flag masts , one on the west and theother on the east, which is another rare element in a Vaishnavite temple. Theupper part of the sanctum sanctorum is built in the form of an ashtadala padmam(eight-petaled lotus). The devotees can directly enter the sanctum sanctorum tooffer prayers, unlike the method specified by the traditional rules ofVaishnavism. Today my posting is about this temple. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 09-09-2025. Introduction The Srikurmanatha Temple in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh is themost famous Kurma Avataratemple in India, as it is the only temple in the world where LordVishnu is exclusively worshipped as the Kurma (tortoise) avatar. It is locatedin Srikurmam village of Srikakulamdistrict in Andhra Pradesh. Legends During the reign of king Swetha Chakravarthi, this area wasreferred to as Swetha Giri. Swetha Chakravarthi's wife Vishnu Priya was adevotee of Vishnu.[13] When she was observing a fast on an Ekadasi day, SwethaChakravarthi approached her with the intention of making love. When sherefused, saying the time was not ideal, the king became adamant. She prayed toVishnu, who created a stream of water, separating the couple. SwethaChakravarthi was carried away in the ensuing flood and Vishnu Priya followed himto the hilly terrains of Swetha Giri. The sage Naradainitiated an upadesam of the Kurma Narayana mantra and asked the king to prayto Vishnu using it. By the time Vishnu appeared in the form of the Kurma(tortoise) avatar, the king's health had deteriorated. Vishnu then made hisSudarshana Chakra make an impression in the nearby land, forming a lake. Swetha Chakravarthi bathed in thelake and regained his health, after which it was referred to as SwethaPushkarani. Upon the king's request, Vishnu manifested as the deityof Kurmanatha. According to the Padma Purana, Brahma officiated the celestialrituals and consecrated the deity with Gopala Yantra.[14] Vishnu is worshippedas Kurmanatha Swamy or Kurma Narayana, along with his consort Lakshmi, who isreferred to as Kurmanayaki. Later, a tribal king visited the Swetha Pushkarani and wasimpressed with it. After learning about the story of its origin from SwethaChakravarthi, the tribal king constructed a tank around the lake and beganworshipping the deity regularly. The tribal king used to stay in SageSampangi's monastery, which was situated in the Western side of the temple.Upon the king's request, the deity started facing west. The sage Durvasavisited the temple later with his disciples; the event of his arrival wasconsidered significant. Rama's sons Lava and Kusha were said to have worshippedVishnu as Kurmanatha in Srikurmam. In Dvapara Yuga, Balarama visited the temple and was denied entry byBhairava, who was serving as the temple's Kshetrapala (guardian deity).Infuriated, Balarama threw Bhairava away from the temple premises. Kurmanatha learned of this and gave Balarama permission toenter the temple. Balarama, in resentment, cursed thatSrikurmam would be the only temple where Vishnu would be worshipped in the formof Kurma Narayana. Legends also say thatupon Vishnu's request, Anjaneya agreed to guard the temple. History According to Prapannamrutam and earliest inscription of thetemple, In saka 1035 CE Ananta Varman Chodaganga Deva of Eastern Ganga Dynastyof Odisha converted thistemple to a Vaishnava khetra from a Siva temple. The temple'sperambulatory were constructed by Eastern Ganga Dynasty king Anangabhima DevaIII, and it is dedicated to Vishnu as Kurmanathaswamy and his consort Lakshmias Kurmanayaki. Ramanuja's disciples established Vaishnavism in the temple withthe support of Kalinga king Anantavarman Chodaganga, the eastern Ganga king.After this incident, a group of devadasis were employed to sing and dance dailybefore the deity in the morning and evening. Architecture The temple was Built before 11th-century CE in a fusionarchitecture of kalinga Architecture and Dravidian Architecture. The temple hascentury old Orissan Pattachitra style mural paintings in side wall ofpradakshina mandapa. The temple was an important centre of Vaishnavism in themedieval period along with Simhachalam. Srikurmam temple is known for its distinctive architecturalstyle. The design of the gopuram is different from the regular style seen atother Vaishnavite temples. It also has two dhvajasthambas, one on the west andthe other on the east, which is another rare element in a Vaishnavite temple.The upper part of the sanctum sanctorum is built in the form of an ashtadalapadmam (eight-petaled lotus). Sanctum Srikurmam is the only known pre-14th-century Indian templethat is dedicated to the Kurma avatar. The sanctum of Kurmanathatemple has both a tortoise image and the anthropomorphic Vishnu with Lakshmi. Chief deity The deity of Kurmanathaswamy is made of black stone, but dueto regular applications of sandalwood paste, it appears yellow. It sits on aplatform made of stone with a length of 5 feet, a height of 1 foot, and a widthof 4 feet. The deity is 2.5feet (0.76 m) long and consists of three stone structures. The stonerepresenting the head faces the west; the middle stone represents the body ofthe tortoise; the small stone at the rear end, covered with swirling circles,represents either the tail of the tortoise or the Sudarshana Chakra. Beside the sanctum sanctorum of Kurmanatha, there is a templededicated to Kurmanayaki in which a deity of Andal is found. Utsava deities, subdeities and Dwarapalaks The utsava deities of Govindaraja Swamy and his consortsSridevi and Bhudevi were found in the Swetha Pushkarani in the 12th century AD.The utsava deities of Rama, Sita, and Laksmana were presented byNaraharitirtha. All these deities are located in a small room near the sanctumsanctorum and are worshipped daily. The temple has primarily Vaishnava iconography and murals,but also reverentially includes Shaiva (Ganesha, Shiva) and Shakti(Lakshmi, Durga) icons. Hatakeswara, Karpureswara, Koteswara, Sundareswara, andPathalasiddheswara are among the temple's guardian deities. Temple Sewas: Abhishekam is carried out every day from 4.30 to 6 AM. Suprabhata Seva, Nityabhishekam, Prabhodika, Mangala Snanam,Thiruvaradana, Sarva darshan, Balabhogam: 06:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Rajabogam: 12 PM. Nitya Thiruvaradana, Amngalasnanam: 7 PM. Pavalimpu Seva: 8 PM. Srikurmam is one of the rare Indian temples that follow bothShaivite and Vaishnavite traditions. Abhisheka is performed daily to the deity,and devotees are allowed to participate in person; this is afeature seen more often in Shaivite temples than in Vaishnavite temples. Unlike Many Maha Vishnu Temples, Abhishekam (Similar toThiruManjanam) is performed to the deity on daily basis (Like in Siva Temples)and devotees can opt forparticipation with a nominal ticket of rupees Hundred. It isperformed in the early hours of the day (4:30 am - 6:00 am) and devotees canparticipate in person. Devotees can bring the materials on their own or requestTemple Administration for the same at nominal Prices (Milk, Ghee, Curds, Honey,Sugar, Coconuts, Fruit Juices etc). For those not able to be present, the Temple administrationcan arrange to perform the Abhishekham in their Name/Gotra Namam on any day oftheir choice at a nominal amount of Rs Hundred. There is a facility even forSaswata Abhishekam - i.e. performing Abhishekam in the name/Gotra Namam of theDevotee on any day of his/her choice every year permanently., with onetimepayment of Rs. 2000. Lord's Kalyanam is also performed on regular basis.The ticket amount is rupees Five Hundred and Sixteen per couple. Generally, atleast a day's prior notice is necessary for organising/rescheduling the Poojas.Those wanting to participate can write/ approach the Temple Administration. Darshan, Sewas andFestivals Being a world-renowned temple , Darshan is allowed from 6:00am to 7:45 pm on all days, with very short intermittent closures for Poojas of theDeity. There is a facility forfaster/special darshan, for those in a hurry, with special tickets at a nominalamount of rupees ten. Generally it takes less than 30 minutes for Darshan withall devotees being Allowed into the Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbha Gruha). Some of the main Festivals being celebrated in the Temple arethe 3-day Dolotsavam (Falguna Paurnami - popularly known as Holi), One day Annual Kalyanotsavam(Vaisakha Shudha Ekadasi), One day Annual Janma Dinam (Kurma Jayanthi) Festivalof Deity on Jyeshta Bahula Dwadasi, One day Festival on Mukkoti Ekadasi etc Temple tank with Narasimhamandapam The temple's tank Swetha Pushkarani is also known by the nameSudha Kundam. In the middle of the temple tank, there is a small constructionnamed Narasimha mandapam. Thesand below the waters of the temple tank is white in colour, and is known asGopi Chandanam. Legends say that Krishna played with gopikas in these waters,after which the sand turned white when a sage saw them. Pillars The temple contains 108 ekasila (single-stone) pillars, withnone resembling each other. They bear few inscriptions related to the royallineages that existed in this area in the past. Tortoise Park In the temple's premises, a tortoise park has been built toconserve the adult and young star tortoises, which are found in the foothillsand fields of Srikakulam. Srikurmamis the only conservation centre for this species. Devotees offerthese tortoises from the nearby fields. They also feed gongura leaves to thesetortoises as a token of respect for the deity. The Endowment Board of theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh and NGO Green Mercy took on the responsibility forthe conservation of these star tortoises. As of September 2015, the templehosted a total of 255 tortoises. Mural paintings The temple alsocontains 42 mural paintings of Krishna on its walls. Special Attractions: Swetha pushkarini which was created by lord Vishnu'sSudharshana Chakra. It is believed that goddess Laxmi emerged out of this holytank in Garuda vahana and self-manifested as Kurma Nayaki Sri Kurmam temple has Tortoise centre where one can seenumber of tortoise together there Dashavatara statues at back side of the temple Two Dwaja stamba's one at East and one at West Temple Timings: Darshan is from 06:00 am to 07:45 pm Abhishekam is from 04:30 am to 06:00 am Discipline Devotees are advised to keep sufficient extra time so thatthey can have a glimpse of the rare and ancient heritage in the Temple. Thoughthere is no Dress code, being an ancient temple, devotees are advised to prefertraditional attire. Photography is allowed except in Sanctum Sanctorum. How to reach the temple Air: VisakhapatnamInternational Airport is located 125 KM from Srikurmam. Rail: Srikurmam is located at 22.3KM to the Srikakulam Road station.Many trains to the north (Palasa, Howrah, and Bhubaneswar) and south(Vijayawada, Secundearabad, and Chennai) leave from here. It's a bit outside town, but many taxis and autorickshaws areavailable from Srikakulam to reach the railway station. RTC and private bussesare also available for every 5 minutes from Srikakulam Road railway station toSrikakulam RTC Complex and old bus stand, from where Srikurmam can be reachedeasily Road: There are regular bus services from the bus stand tothe temple. Alternatively, you can hire an auto rickshaw and it generally costsRs 150. Way of worship Devotees visit the Pathalasiddheswara temple before enteringthe sanctum sanctorum of Kurmanathaswamy. Ancestor Worship Ancestor worship is famous in Srikurmam, because of whichit is known as pitrukshetra. People believe that their ancestors' souls shall gain salvation ifoffered prayers here. Because of this, hundreds of devotees perform ancestorworship. Devotees use the Gopi Chandanam while applying thirunamam on theirforehead. AccommodationFacilities At Srikurmam Temple: General individual room typeAccommodation in TTD Guest House (7 Rooms - Rs 50 per room per day), Dormitorytype accommodation in Tourism Guest House or 2 VIP rooms in Tourism Guest Houseare available at nominal rates. Please contact the Temple office forReservations. Address Srikurmam Rd,Srikurmam, Andhra Pradesh 532404 Phone: 083415 15917 Administration The temple is maintained and administered by the HinduReligious and Endowment Board of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Indianpostal department issued a stamp featuring the temple on 11 April 2013. Modernising the temple In May 2011, the Andhra Pradesh State Archaeology Departmentextended its technical and financial support in modernising the temple andpreserving the mural paintings. The Indian postal department issued a stampfeaturing the temple on 11 April 2013, at a price of five rupees. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/117833029.671980.1757400624387%40mail.yahoo.com.
