Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Temples of Hyderabad District, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad is a land of temples. A famous land of the devotees from all over India visit Hyderabad to see the temples, mosques, etc. Some of the famous Temples of Hyderabad District are
Visweswaraalayam Temple
Location: Kolanupaka, Hyderabad
Deity: Lord Shiva

This temple is mentioned in the sthalapuranas as Bimbavathipura, Somasekharapura, and Vyakhyanagara etc. This is located near a holy well Kasibugga. This water is called apara Gangajala and the Sivalinga, apara Kasi Visweswara linga. Hence this place is named Dakshinakasi. Many ponds are found here and so it is called Kolanupaka. The linga is self- manifested and is called Kotilinga. It is four and a half feet in height, and four feet in circumference. It is adorned with thousand of small lingas carved around it forming a chain. This linga is mentioned in the puranas appeared as a gold linga in Kritayuga, silver in Treta Yuga, copper in Dwapara yuga and granite in Kaliyuga. This temple was built by King Kumara Someswara of Kalyani Chalukya dynasty. The temple is at Kolanupaka, 25 km off Bhuvanagiri.

Yadagiri Gutta Temple
Location: Rajgir, Hyderabad
Deity: Lakshmi Narasimha Swami

Yadagiri Gutta enshrines Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami as the central deity. Festival: The annual Brahmautsav is conducted with great extravagance. The temple fair is held between the months of March - April.

Birla Mandir at Hyderabad
Deity: Lord Venkateswara
A modern temple built in white marble on a hill. It was consecrated in 1976. The architecture of the temple is a mix of architectural styles. The Rajagopuram is found at the main entrance. The vimana towers over the main shrine and is called the Jagadananda vimanam and is built in Orissa style while the towers over the consort shrine is built in the South Indian style. The brass flagstaff is 42 feet high. The granite image is 11 feet tall with a carved lotus as an umbrella over the image. Many marble carvings can be seen around. The mukha mandapam walls depict scenes from Indian mythology. There are shrines dedicated to Venkateswara Padmavathi and Andal.

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