Temples in Simhachalam
Varaha Narasimha
This temple, whose Deity is known as Varaha Narasimha Swami, is perched atop an 800-foot hill. In the Sanskrit language He is known as Simhadri Natha, and in the Telegu language as Simhadri Appanna (the Lion Lord of the Hill). This Deity is about 2½ feet high. He presents Himself in an enchanting two-armed, threefold-bending human form, but He has the head of a boar and tail of a lion, thus making Him a very unique Deity. Simhachalam is one of the 108 Divya Desam temples. It is one of the major Vishnu temples in India.
The pujaris daily apply layer upon layer of candana (sandalwood paste) on the Lord's body to cool His great anger. Srila Prabhupada commented that the sandalwood was to keep me Deity "coolheaded." The sandalwood is removed only once a year during the Vaishaka period (April/May), bringing thousands of pilgrims on that day to see the Lord's form. The Deity faces west, while the temple building faces east. The original Deity is situated within the depths of the temple, but another Deity known as vijaya-murti stands on the altar. There are two forms of the Lord: nitya-rupa, the form that you see covered with sandalwood, and nija-rupa, His actual form. When you come close for darsana, what you actually see is the Lord covered by a mound of dried sandalwood paste.
The temple of Lord Narasimhadeva known as Simhachalam is the most attractive and interesting temple in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam. It is a very affluent and well-kept temple and is a showcase example of the area's architecture. Inscribed on a stone tablet is mentioned that a queen formerly donated enough gold plating to cover the entire body of the Lord. The original Deity is situated in the inner sanctum of the temple, but there is another Deity, a duplicate, known as the vijaya-murti.This smaller Deity can be moved from the temple and taken on public processions. Priests, who generally belong to the Ramanuja-sampradaya (Sri-sampradaya), are in charge of the Deity worship, and this sampradaya is well known for its opulence and cleanliness.
When Lord Caitanya came His South India tour, He chanted verses to Lord Narasimha. Then Lord Narasimbadeva's priest brought garlands and the remnants of the Lord's food's and offered them to Lord Caitanya. Bhaktisiddhanta Goswami installed the footprints of Sri Caitanya in December, 1930,close to the main temple as a memorial of Lord Caitanya's visit. Srila Prabhupada came here in February, 1972. Ramanuja visited here in the 11th century.
As you approach the temple, the view of the high gopurams and elaborate carvings is very impressive. The temple was mainly built in the 13th century by a military commander of Narasimha l, who built the Konark temple near Puri. It is a combination of Orissan and Chalukyan styles of architecture. The temple buildings are black granite, and carved into the rock are the forms and pastimes Vishnu, especially in His incarnation of Lord Narasimha. The temple has two perimeter walls around it. In the center of the outer enclosure walls are Deities of Varaha (north), Trivikrama (south), and Narasimha (east).
According to the priests, a visit to this temple will benedict barren persons to be blessed with offspring. Just outside the Deity room, in the mukja-mandapa (hall) of the temple, is a pillar named Kappam Stambham, which is decorated with cloth and surrounded by silver plates and flower garlands. Women can be seen embracing this pillar and praying with great devotion, asking the Lord to fulfill their desire for a child.
North of the temple, outside the enclosure is the Kalyana-mandapa, which has 96 intricately carved pillars. Here there are many sculptures of Lord Narasimha and other Vishnu incarnations such as Matsya and Dhanvantari.
Saturday is a crowded day and there can be a long queue (line) to see the Deity in the morning, but it is usually not very crowded later in the day.
Temple Story
The temple story is that Hiranyakasipu told his servants to throw his son Prahlada into the sea here and place a huge mountain over him. Lord Vishnu jumped over the hill and lifted Prahlada from his the sea, thus rescuing Prahlada again from his demoniac father Hiranyakasipu's attempt to kill him. The Lord is said to have tilted the hill a bit so Prahlada could escape from underneath.
On Prahlada's request, the Lord then assumed the form of the VarahaNarasimha Deity, so that Prahlada could see both of the Lord's aspects - the one by which He had already killed Hiranyaksa and the one by which He would soon kill Hiranyakasipu. After he was granted this darsana (sight) Prahlada is said to have built a temple around the Deity. After thousands of years the temple deteriorated and was later found by Pururava, who is mentioned in the Ninth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Upon discovery, Pururava heard a voice from the sky telling him to cover the Deity with sandal paste and expose Him only once a year, on the day of Candanayatra, the Vaishaka (trtiya) day in April or May. Pururava covered the Deity with sandal paste and rebuilt the temple, which has flourished ever since.
Kovvur
Sri Caitanya met Ramananda Raya for the first time here at Goshpada-ghata. Ramananda Gaudiya Math is near this spot, and in the rear corner of this temple Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja installed Lord Caitanya's footprints. There are beautiful deities of Ramananda Raya speaking with Lord Caitanya. It may be possible to stay here at the Ramananda Gaudiya Math temple. The present town of Kovvur used to be called Vidyanagara and is located halfway between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on the bank of the Godavari River.
Nagalapuram
In the Veda Narayana temple here, the presiding Deity is Lord Matsya. This temple is reputed to be the only Matsya temple in India. The Deity has the head and torso of Lord Vishnu and golden human-like feet, but when the pujari moves the golden feet aside you can see the Lord's fish tail.
Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam is located on the bank of the Godavari River, 180 km due west of Visakhapatnam. There is the important Sri Rama temple here. Rama and Sita are said to have lived here before Sita was carried away by Ravana. It is said that the temple is located near the point where Rama crossed the Godavari on His journey to Lanka to find Sita. Staying here at that time was a sage named Bhadra, and Lord Rama came here just to give him darsana. Hence, this temple is named Bhadrachalam after this sage.
The main Deity is the four-armed form of Lord Rama. In two hands He holds a bow and arrow, and in the other two hands He holds a conch shell and disc. The Deity is called Chaturbhuja Rama. The utsava-vigraha Deities here of Lord Rama, Sita, and Laksmana are so exquisitely beautiful that many pilgrims visit despite the difficulty getting here. The main festival is Rama-navami (the appearance day of Lord Rama) in April.
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