Nava Narasimha Kshetras

Nava Narasimha Kshetras are the 9 temples of Lord Narasimha and at all the places Lord Narasimha Swamy is worshipped in different forms. These are like the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga temples of Lord Shiva, Ashtadasa Sakthi Peetams of Goddess Parvathi, Arupadai Veedu of Lord Murugan. These 9 temples are all located in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh(Ahobilam, Simhachalam, Penchalakona, Vedadri, Antarvedi, Mangalagiri and Malakonda or Malayadri) and Telangana(Yadagiri Gutta or Yadadri and Dharmapuri).

1. Ahobilam: Ahobilam has its own set of Nava Narasimha temples. They are spread across Upper(Eguva) and Lower(Diguva) Ahobilam Bhargava Narasimha, Chatravata Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Karanji Narasimha, Ugra Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Jwala Narasimha and Pavana Narasimha. It is located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

The temples in the Upper Ahobilam(Eguva) can be reached only by trekking and no vehicles are allowed. Better to engage a guide for these and use of walking stick is advised here. It takes around 3-4 hrs to cover all the 5 temples(Karanji Narasimha, Ugra Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha and Jwala Narasimha).

The other 4 at Lower Ahobilam(Diguva) and can be covered on a vehicle. The main temple at Lower Ahobilam is quite big and is not part of the 9 temples at Ahobilam. The 4 temples are: Pavana Narasimha which is around 14 kms from the main road and need to use the vehicles there as the road is very rough. It is believed that Lord Narasimha married Chenchu Lakshmi here. This can also be reached by trek from Upper Ahobilam. Bhargava Narasimha temple is believed to be the place where Lord Parasurama did Penace and hence the name. There are around 100 steps to reach the temple from the parking area which is also around 2-3 kms from main road. The other two temples Chatravata Narasimha and Yogananda Narasimha can be reached by our own vehicles.

2. Simhachalam: It is located 20 kms from Visakhapatnam or Vizag city in Andhra Pradesh state on the Simhachalam Hill range. The temple was built in Kalinga architecture and built in the 13th century CE by Eastern Ganga king Narasingha Deva I of current day Odisha state and hence one can see inscriptions in Oriya language there. It is quite a big temple and here the deity is covered with Sandal wood throughout the year starting Akshaya Tritiya day when the actual deity can be seen. Hence we do not see the actual deity but it is in the shape of a Shiva Linga. There is also a Kappa Sthambam which is hugged by devotees and it is believed that all the wishes come true, especially for the married couple who do not have kids. The temple is open from 7am to 9pm with 2 breaks in between from 11.30am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 3.30pm.

3. Antarvedi: It is located in Konaseema area of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh state. The main deity Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy faces towards the West instead of East which is generally the case in other temples. It was constructed between 15th and 16th centuries. It is also the place where river Vashishta Godavari, which is a tributary of Godavari river meets the Bay of Bengal. The difference can be seen easily between the river water, which is blue in colour, calm and sea water which is light brown, blue and full of waves. It is also called Anna Chelli Gattu.

Antarvedi is well connected by train and road. It is 20kms from Narsapuram, 130 Kms from Kakinada and 100 kms from Rajahmundry. There are number of buses available from Narsapuram, Kakinada and Rajahmundry.

4. Vedadri: Sri Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Vedadri is located near Jaggayyapeta town of Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh state. It is on the banks of river Krishna.

As per belief, demon Tarakasura stole the four Vedas from Lord Bramha and hid himself in the Ocean. Lord Bramha then approached Lord Vishnu and asked him to restore the Vedas. Then, Lord Vishnu in Matsyavathara(Fish), killed Tarakasura and brought back the Vedas in tact from the ocean. The Vedas, in human form thanked the Lord and asked him to stay with them on their heads. The Lord accepted but said that he would do that only after killing HiranyaKasapa. As requested by the Lord, Veda purashas remained in Krishnaveni as Saligrama mountain. After few years, Narasimha Swamy, the avatar of Sri Vishnu killed the demon Hiranyakasapa and returned to Saligrama Mountain as Jwala Narasimha Swamy. As the Vedas stayed on the mountain, it is called Vedadri.

It is around 90 kms from Vijayawada and 10 kms from the Hyderabad Vijayawada highway at Chillakallu toll plaza. There are lot of buses from Vijayawada and Jaggayyapeta and also autorickshaws from Chillakallu.

5. Penchalakona: Penchalakona houses the temple of Sri Penusila Narasimha Swamy and is located in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The deity is supposed to have appeared here as a huge rock in the Yoga Mudra and hence the name Penusila which later came to be known as Penchalakona. It is situated at the foot of a hill and in the midst of a forest. There is a small pond(koneru) next to the temple.

As per another story, after killing the demon Hiranyakasapu, Lord Narasimha Swamy was roaming around in the forest. Goddess Lakshmi appeared as a tribal lady Chenchu Lakshmi and after calming his anger, married Chenchu Lakshmi and subsequently manifested himself as a huge rock. It is well connected by road and is around 70 kms from Nellore town and 110 kms from Tirupati.

6. Mangalagiri: Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy Temple is located in Mangalagiri town in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh state in between Vijayawada and Guntur. Lakshmi Devi did penance on this hill and hence it got this name Mangalagiri(The auspicious hill). There are 3 Narasimha Swamy temples in Mangalagiri. One is Panakala Narasimha Swamy on the hill, second is Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the foot of the hill and third one is Gandala Narasimha Swamy at the top of the hill. It is a regular practice in the temple to offer panakam made of jaggery and water as Naivedya.

The Panakala Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy Temple on the top of the hill is open from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm and the Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy Temple at the foot of hill is open from 5 am to 1pm and 4pm to 8pm.

The temple is well connected by Air, Rail and Road. Vijayawada airport(Gannavaram) is around 30 kms from the temple. There are a lot of buses from Vijayawada which is 11 kms away and Guntur which is 22 kms away.

7. Dharmapuri: Dharmapuri temple is situated in the Jagityal District of Telangana and is one of the two Nava Narasimha kshetras in Telangana(rest 7 are in Andhra Pradesh). It is located on bank of the sacred river Godavari and also called as Dakshina Kasi. It is one of the sacred places where Godavari pushkaram is held once in every 12 years. It is believed that Lord Sri Rama installed Saikatha linga(made of Sand) during his journey to Dandakaranya. Temple is open from morning 5.00 AM to 2.30 PM and 4.00 PM to 8.00 PM in the evening.

It is well connected by rail and road. There are a lot of buses from Hyderabad which is 230 Kms away, from Karimnagar which is 70 Kms away and Jagityal which is 30 Kms away. Nearest railway stations are Mancherial Railway Station – 40 Kms, Nizamabad Railway Station – 130 Kms and Warangal Railway Station 150 Kms.

8. Yadadri or Yadagirigutta: Yadagirigutta or Yadadri temple is situated in the Yadadri District of Telangana state and is the second of two Nava Narasimha kshetras in Telangana(rest 7 are in Andhra Pradesh). It is believed that in Tretayuga, sage Yadarishi did penance on this hill between Bhuvanagiri and Raigiri. Pleased with his deep devotion, Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu appeared before him in five different forms, Sri Jwala Narasimha ,Sri Yogananda,  Sri Gandabherunda, Sri Ugra and Sri Lakshminarasimha. All these five forms are presently worshipped within the temple. They later manifested themselves into finely sculpted forms that later came to be worshiped as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram. The temple has been completely revamped by Telanagana Government in the year 2022 with lot of space and art work.

It is well connected by rail, road and is around 60 kms from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Warangal Highway.

9. Malakonda : Sri Malyadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple is situated in Malakonda of ValetivariPalem mandal in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh state around 30 kms from Kandukur town. 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 hill is surrounded by a few hills and lot of greenery. Very few houses are seen from the top. There are two temples here. One at the bottom has only Narasimha Swamy and the one at the top has both Narasihma Swamy and Lakshmi Devi and has a narrow passage to the top from between two hills.

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. This deity is the family god for quite a few and many marriages happen here every Saturday. This temple is opened only on Saturdays from 5.30 am to 5.30pm.

You can get the details of other temples here.

Nava Narasimha Kshetras Map or Nava Narasimha Temples Map: