about temples

Location:
In Andhra Pradesh, India.
Significance:
Famous for its cave temples.
Climate:
Tropical climate with temperature ranging from 28°C to 45°C in summers and 15°C to 30°C in winters.
Vijayawada or Bezawada is situated on the shores of the Krishna River and is bounded by the Indrakiladri hills on its West. The largest railway junction of the South Central Railway, it is situated along the Chennai-Howrah and Chennai-Delhi rail route. Sprawled across an area of 58 sq km, the literal meaning of Vijayawada is the 'City of Victory'. It is named after the popular legend, which states that at the Indrakiladri Hill, Arjuna, the Pandava Prince had succeeded in winning the blessings of Lord Shiva after hard penance. The city progressed under the British rule. The Krishna Barrage and the Railway Bridge on River Krishna have helped in the expansion of the city's agricultural and commercial base. Today, Vijayawada is one of the big business centers of the State. A number of temples are there in Vijayawada including the abode of Kanaka Durga (Goddess of power, riches and benevolence), the presiding deity of the city. A base for important Buddhist sites around the city including Amaravati, Gudivada and Ghantasala, it also an important base to visit Kuchipudi, the city of dance, Mangalagiri, the city of temples and Kondapalli, the city of handicrafts. 'Krishna Pushkaram', an all-India festival held once in twelve years and delicious mangoes and pickles are also a specialty of the place. A centre for Carnatic music and 'Kuchipudi' style of classical dance, it houses Andhra Pradesh Dance and Music College, Natraj Kala Samiti and Kanakadurga Gana Sabha. K L Rao Vihara Kendram on Prakasham Barrage Lake offers a variety of water sports including rowing, canoeing, water-scooters and pedal boats.
Shopping Attractions:
One can buy everything here from antiques, handicrafts and jewellery to dresses, leather goods, pearls, and semi-precious stones. Kaleshwara Rao Market is the famous vegetable market while Vastralatha is a wholesale cloth market. Gandhi Nagar is famous for shoe making Industry and is one of the entertainment areas in Vijayawada. The nearby toy-making village of Kondapalli and 'Kalamkari paintings' at Machilipatnam, Vijaywada offers a delightful shopping experience.

Location: In Andhra Pradesh, India.
Significance:Ancient Capital of Kakatiya dynasty.
Climate:
Tropical climate with temperature ranging from 23.2°C to 39.6°C in summers and 13.5°C to 30°C in winters. The monsoon season is from June to September.
The ancient capital of the Kakatiyas, a 12th century Andhra dynasty, Warangal has beautiful lakes and temples rich in antiques and relics and is teeming with wildlife. The ruins of Warangal's fort display the traces of the outer wall and the four stone gateways ('sanchar') of the inner wall. The 12th century thousand-pillared temple is the most famous of all the attractions of Warangal. Now a commercial and industrial center, Warangal has been identified as Worakalli, the 8th century capital of the Adeva Rajas of Tuluva Andhra or Telengana. Warangal or Varankal is said to be by the name of Orugallu or Omtikonda in the ancient times on account of a hillock situated near the Swayambhu Siva Temple called 'Ekasilanagaram'. The city has found reference in the travel diaries of Marco Polo.The creative genius of the past in the field of architecture, literature, and engineering can be seen in the ruins here. Located near the Ekashila hill rock, the fort shows the signs of a very deep and high mud wall fortified inside with colossal blocks of stone joined together. Rudramma added the deep and wide moat surrounding the double wall to add to the defense tactics of the fort. The brave queen who ruled for 30 years is a legendary female warrior who is said to have died at the age of 80 while leading her troops into the battlefield. The remnants of the majestic Sahastralinga Temple show four massive torans still standing erect housed in the fort premises. Immaculate delicate black basalt sculptures adorn the doorways, perforated stone lattice screen, vibrant leonine figures and graceful swans look elegant and give an aura of opulence and grandeur.

Amaravati is famous for its world famous Buddhist sculptures and the Lord Amareswara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is said that three principal things that make Amareswaram so sacred are River Krishna, on whose banks it is situated, an important Kshetra with a 'Sthalamahatyam' and the Sri Mahalinga Murthy, which is said to have embodied three sacred principles in one. It is said that in this temple, Lord Siva is in the form of five lingas that have been named as Pranaveswara, Agasteswara, Kosaleswara, Someswara and Parthiveswara. However the principal deities of the temple are Lord Amareswara and his consort, Bala Chamundika, the fourth of the 18 goddesses. Though there is no definite fact known about its origin, thousands of pilgrims visit the place every year. There are also other deities inside the temple. The origin of the temple shrouded in mystery, though there are many legends, puranic and historical, about it. But the sanctity and the holiness of the place attract thousands of pilgrims even now. Though the main River Krishna flows from West to East, the ancient temple of Amareswara is situated at a point where River Krishna takes a North-to-South course. According to a local belief, even if there is a flood in River Krishna, it will never harm the temple and would opt to take up a different course. This is the reason that it has taken a North-to-South course here. According to the ancient Hindu beliefs, the places where the river takes a different course for short distances were considered to be very holy and sacred places and thus, temples were built there to pay homage to the Gods. The temple is built in the Dravidian style architecture and enshrines a 15 ft high white marble Shiva Lingam surrounded on all the four sides by towering gopurams and sporting the 'Vimana'. Some people believe that this temple was originally a Buddhist shrine because of the characteristic Buddhist slabs that has been found in its foundations. The Mula Virat in the Garbhagriha is a long vertical marble cylinder that have been used extensively in the Buddhist monuments and the white marble lotus Medallion above it has the delicate and ornate style, typical of the early Buddhist sculptures. Thus, this shrine is also considered sacred by the Buddhists. Amaravati is also known for housing the world famous Buddha Stupa.

152 km of Chennai, Tirupati, the abode of the Hindu god Venkateshvara or the Lord of Seven Hills, is the backbone of Andhra Pradesh plgrimage and tourism industry. The world-renowned temple is situated at Tirumala hill, 10 km from Tirupati, at an altitude of 750 m above sea level. The strict rituals followed here are evident from the fact that until late 19th century, non-Hindus were not permitted to ascend the hill itself. The ancient shrine have blossomed with the generous aids and contributions of the all the kings from great dynasties of the southern peninsula including the Pallavas of Kancheepuram, the Cholas of Thanjavur, the Pandyas of Madurai, and the kings of Vijayanagar empire. However, the donations multiplied astronomically during the rule of the Vijayanagar dynasty and the legendary king Krishnadevaraya had statues of himself and his consorts installed at the portals of the Tirupati temple.Raghoji Bhonsle, the Maratha general, visited the temple and said to be the first person to set up a permanent donation for the conduct of worship in the temple along with offerings of valuable jewels and a large emerald to the Lord. The emerald is preserved carefully in a box named after the General to this day. The rulers of Mysore and Gadwal have also been amongst the biggest contributors to the temple. Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala is popularly known as the temple of Tirupati Balaji. The other noteworthy temples at Tirupati are Padmavati Temple dedicated to Goddess Padmavati, the consort of Lord Venkateswara. A visit to this temple also known as 'Alamelumangapuram' is customary to complete the pilgrimage to the Tirumala temple. Govindaraja Swami Temple was consecrated by Saint Ramanujacharya in 1130 and is one of the most important temples of the city. The 10th century Kodandaramaswami Temple dedicated to Sita, Rama and Lakshmana was built by a Chola ruler. Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple is only temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Tirupati. Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami Temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram is believed to be the place where Lord Venkateswara stayed here after his marriage with Sri Padmavati Devi before returning to his abode at Tirumala.