Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy – Annavaram

About 

It is believed that the place was known for constant food distribution (free feeding) by the locality’s benevolent people. Therefore, the place was called by the name Annavaram (annam means food in Telugu). Another version is that because the presiding deity of the place blesses the devotees with anina varam (pronounced or wanted boon), the place is called Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Vari Devasthanam.

The hillock by the side of the village is considered to be very sacred. Meruvu, the lord of the hills, and his consort Menaka did great penance and begot two sons by the grace of Lord Vishnu. One was named Bhadra and the other Ratnakar.

Bhadra pleased Lord Vishnu with his devotion and penance and with his grace became Bhadrachalam on which Lord Sri Rama had permanently settled. Ratnakara desired to emulate his brother and succeeded in pleasing Lord Vishnu by his penance to settle on him as Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Vari Devasthanam, Ratnakara remaining as Ratnagiri (hill). Ratnagiri Hill ranges are said to be connected with two strategic incidents.

Tradition says that Sri Krishadevaraya of Vijayanagar used the secret underground passages in the hills to attack the enemy from both sides during his invasion of Kalinga kings. The Andhra revolutionary late Alluri Seetharama Raju had some of the secret quarters for himself and his followers in these hill ranges, when he rebelled against the British Rule.

The temple of Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Vari Devasthanam is the main temple on the Ratnagiri hill. There are also a temple of Sri Rama and the shrines of Vana Durga and Kanaka Durga nearby. The temple of Grama Devatha”Nerellamma” (village deity) is in the village at the foot of the hill.

One Brahmin of the village by the name of Earanki Prakasam got a dream wherein the lord appeared and told him that his vigraha was left abandoned on the hill without worship and they shall trace reconsecrate it. That Brahmin informed the said fact to Sri Raja I.V.Ramanarayanam, the then Zamindar of Gorasa of Kirlampudi estate, and both of them along with other villagers traced the idol on the hill, worshipped it, and installed it. at the present spot on Sravana Suddha Vidiya of the Telugu year Khara 1891 A.D Fasli 1301.

The main temple was constructed on the hill with the pleasing and distant view of the Bay Of Bengal (11 miles) on one side and the row of Eastern Ghats on the other side the green fields around the hills and the pampa River encircling Ratnagiri. The hillock itself is about 300 feet above sea level. About 300 well-laid stone steps lead to the top of it.

Initially, a small shed was constructed in 1891 when the idol was found. Later a temple was built in course of time with the cooperation of villagers and other devotees of the nearby villages. Subsequently, the temple was reconstructed during 1933-34, with locally available stone. Later when the same reached dilapidated condition, it was reconstructed during 2011-2012.

The main temple is constructed in the form of a chariot with four wheels at each of the four corners. In front of the main temple is the Kalyana mantapa, constructed and decorated with modern pieces of architecture. As we go down the way, we come across Ramalaya and then the shrines of Vana Durga are held in great veneration and Devi is said to be seen even to this day in the nights, going about the holy precincts perpetually guarding the Lord’s premises.

According to the Agni Purana, the Akriti of any temple is merely a manifestation of the Prakriti. This idea is further developed in the ancient texts, and the entire Silpa Shastra is based on the principle that the wall and the vimana of the temple should be so constructed as to remind a devotee, of the universe, and the Lord inside representing the Supreme Spirit which is the core and being of the entire Universe.

According to these tests, the chariot is intended as a symbol of the seven lokas underneath, and the seven lokas above, with the Garbhalaya of the Lord, at the heart center ruling over the entire universe. The temple at Annavaram has been constructed to depict this idea concretely.

The front side of the temple depicts the chariot. The Meru on the floor with the pillar at the center and the idols at the top are intended to bring forth the idea that the Lord not only remains at the heart’s center but also permeates the entire universe. The wheels depicting the Sun and the Moon serve to remind us that this Juggernaut moves on the wheels of time, and goes on forever and ever. Thus the Annavaram temple satisfies both the ritualistic values and the spiritual aspirations of its devotees.”

The idol is about 13 feet high in a cylindrical form, the base being in the lower sanctum representing Lord Brahma and the top is in the upper sanctum representing Lord Vishnu. The middle portion represents Lord Siva. Some temples are representing the unity of Lords Hari and Hara in some places and this is the place where even Brahma who is generally denied temple worship, is clubbed with the other two, and Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are worshipped simultaneously. The image of the lord forming a single idol representing the Trimurthis-Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.

Annavaram Temple Timings

06:00 AM – 12:30 PM | 01:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Annavaram Temple Seva Timings

Seva / Pooja Details

How to Reach Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Temple

By Air: Rajahmundry Airport – 84.2 km, Visakhapatnam International Airport – 115 km

By Train: Annavaram railway station – 4.1 km, Pithapuram Railway Station – 38.1 km, Visakhapatnam Railway Station – 125 km.

By Bus: Kakinada – 51.7 km, Visakhapatnam – 110 km, Rajamundry – 85.2 km

Address

Annavaram Town Rd, Annavaram, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, 533406, India.

Official Website of Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Vari Devasthanam

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Sri Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy Location