Malyadri Temple or Malakonda

Sri Malyadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple also called Malakonda temple is situated in Malakonda of ValetivariPalem mandal around 30 kms from Kandukur town in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh state(Was part of Prakasam District before). This was the last Narasimha swamy temple pending for me out of the Nava(9) Narsimha swamy temples and was finally able to make it. We had gone to Ongole for an engagement and thought this is one opportunity to cover it. It is around 80kms from Ongole and took around 2 hrs as the road is very good till Singarayakonda but not that good after that.

According to Mythology, Lord Vishnu wished to move with Sri Maha Lakshmi in Bhoolokam[Earth]. He asked his wreath to change into a hillock and it changed in the form of a garland. Since then, this place is called as Malayadri. Mala means garland and Adri means hill. The hill itself is in the shape of a Mala[garland]. The main temple hill is surrounded by a few hills and lot of greenery. Very few houses are seen from the top. Agastya Maharshi meditated on this hill for several years. Swamy was pleased and appeared in front of him in the form of a bright sparkling red light like Jwala by spreading over the sky and blessed him. Due to this, here, MahaVishnu is called as Jwala Narasimha Swamy.

There are two temples here. One at the bottom has only Narasimha Swamy and is under a hillock and the one at the top has both Narasihma Swamy and Lakshmi Devi and has a narrow passage to the top cut in the rocky hill. This deity is the family god for quite a few and many marriages happen here every Saturday. Few families name their kids after this God as Malyadri or Malakonda or Malakondaiah. Malyadri temple timings are from 5.30 am to 5.30pm only on Saturdays

One can reach here by bus from Kandukur and Pamuru. Also, this is on the way from Kandukur to Bengaluru. The new highway is being laid but the current road is not that good with pot holes and also it is a single road. From the main road, one needs to go around 4 kms to the top of the hill and vehicles are allowed upto the main gate and they charge Rs.80/- per vehicle. The road to the top is a bit steep with a few bends. Once you reach the parking area, there is a battery operated vehicle to take you close to the temple. We were lucky to reach there just in time around 5.05 pm and had a good Darshan.

You can have a look at the information about other temples here