Temples in Tadpatri
SRIKURMAN (KURMA-KSETRA)
There is a temple here dedicated to Kurmadeva. In the Prapannamrta, it is said that one night Lord Jagannatha threw Sri Ramanujacarya from Jagannatha Puri to Kurma-ksetra. At that time Ramanuja thought the Deity of Kurma was Lord Siva. Later, when he understood that the Kurma-murti was another form of Lord Vishnu, he instituted gorgeous worship here. Thus this holy place of Kurma-ksetra or Srikurman, was reestablished by Sripada Ramanujacarya under the influence of Lord Jagannatha. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came here on His South India tour.
Srikurman is located 100 km north east of Visakhapatnam and 200 km south west of Puri, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, 15 km east of the town of Srikakulam. Srikakulam is a fairly large town which has decently good facilities Srikurman is a very small town with virtually no facilities, so it is best to stay in Srikakulam and travel to the Sri Kurma Temple during the day. This is an area where few foreigners visit.
Kurma Temple
This temple is said to be the only temple of the tortoise incarnation on the planet. The present temple is at least 700 years old. The original temple was supposedly built in 200 AD.
Sri Kurma, a Deity of Lord Vishna the form of a kurma, or a tortoise, is one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, who are collectively known as the Dasavatara. The Deity consists of two stones, about two feet long, coming out from the ground, which represent the head and body of Sri Kurma.
As you enter the inner sanctum of the temple, the Deities of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Sits are on one side and the Deities of Govindadeva (Krishna) and His sakhis are opposite. The temple is located on the shore of Swatha Puskarini Lake.
While the temple faces east, the presiding Deity, Kurmadeva, faces the opposite direction, with His back to the entrance. According to traditional understanding, Bilvamangala Thakura, the author of Krishna-karnamrita, prayed to be back of the Deity with such extreme humility and sincere devotion that Sri Kurma graciously turned around to face His worshiper. To the left of the main temple is a small temple dedicated to the four-armed form of Bilvamangala. It is said that Bilvamangala's body is buried below this temple.
This temple has a devotional atmosphere and is architecturally beautiful to look at. There is a big festival in February, at which time many thousands of people come to bathe in the Swatha Puskarini Lake. The temple priests here are helpful and friendly. This temple sees few foreign visitors.
The Caitanya-caritamrita describes that when Sri Caitanya came to Kurmaksetra, He stayed in the house of a local Brahmin. When the Lord was preparing to leave, the Brahmin wanted to take sannyasa and travel with Him, but Sri Caitanya forbade him to do so. Rather, the Lord instructed the Brahmin to remain at home and always chant the holy name of Krishna. In this way, the process of transforming one's residence into a holy place by chanting the holy names of Krishna was introduced and passes down through the Vaishnava line. Perched on a hill in Kurma-ksetra is a small shrine that houses the footprints of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who visited Kurma-ksetra in 1512. These footprints were established here in December, 1930 by Bhaktisiddhanta Gosvami.
|
