Ahobilam
| Ahob అహోబిలం | |
|---|---|
| Holy Site | |
|
Upper Ahobilam temple Gopuram | |
  Ahob Location in Andhra Pradesh, India | |
| Coordinates: 15°08′00″N 78°43′00″E / 15.1333°N 78.7167°ECoordinates: 15°08′00″N 78°43′00″E / 15.1333°N 78.7167°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | Kurnool |
| Elevation | 327 m (1,073 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Ahobilam is a holy site in the Allagadda mandal of Kurnool district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.[1] It is located 70 km from Nandyal and 150 km from Kurnool, the district headquarters. There are two temple houses, lower Ahobilam and upper Ahobilam. According to legend, this is where Lord Narasimha blessed Prahlada and killed the demon Hiranyakashipu.
Geography
Ahobilam is located at 15°08′00″N 78°43′00″E / 15.1333°N 78.7167°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 327 meters (1076 feet).
Etymology
Tamil poems "The Naalayira Divya Prabandham (Tamil:C )" is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses (Naalayira in Tamil means 'four thousand') composed before 8th century AD, by the 12 Alvars, and was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th – 10th centuries. In this ten poems dedicated to the god of Ahobilam. These were composed by Thirumangai Alvar (Tamil:திருமங்கை அழ்வார்),Tamil saint Tirumangai Alwar(one among 12 Alvars), who lived in the 8th Century A.D has composed ten poems in praise of the God of Ahobilam.Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Vaishanava bhakti literature was an all-India phenomenon, which started in the 6th–7th century A.D. in the Tamil-speaking region of South India, with twelve Alvar (one who is immersed in God) saint-poets, who wrote devotional songs. The religion of Alvar poets, which included a woman peot, Andal, was devotion to God through love (bhakti), and in the ecstasy of such devotions they sang hundreds of songs which embodied both depth of feeling and felicity of expressions (Indian literature(Official Website of Govt of India), Sri Vaishnavam
Annamacharya also mentions in his slokas about Ahobalam.
garuDAdri vEdAdri
rachachala velasinaTTi ramAvanita eeme
machchikagala alamElumanga eeme
ichchaTi venkaTAdri née ahObalamunandu
nichchalu tAvukonna nidhAnamu eeme
Meaning: She is goddess Ramaa who established herself amidst us. She is Alamelumanga dear to all. She is the eternal treasure established on Venkatadri and Ahobalam.
The temple
| Nava Narasimha Kshetram | |
 Narasimha Swamy | |
| God Name: | Narasimha or Prahladha Varadha[3] |
|---|---|
| Goddess Name: | Amritavalli (Lakshmi devi)[3] |
| Pushkarni: | Indra Pushkarni |
| Vimanam: | Vimanam Guha Vimanam |
| Temple Name: | Yogananda Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Jwala Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Bhargava Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Chatravata Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Varaha Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Malola Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Paavana Narasimha |
| Temple Name: | Karanja Narasimha |
| Location: | Allagadda |
| State and Country: | Andhra Pradesh, India |
Demographics
The town of Ahobilam is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and Telugu is the official language and spoken by a large segment. Up to 1954, people of the Chenchu tribe lived as many families collecting honey and bamboo. As of today, there are only two to five families living there. The remaining families have relocated to different places in Kurnool district.
Transport
It is accessible by bus from Nandyal, Kurnool and Hyderabad. Ahobilam is not connected by rail; the nearest railway stations are Nandyal (on the Bangalore-Vizag (Visakhapatnam) route) and Cuddapah (on the Mumbai-Chennai route). There are three routes reaching Ahobilam. Pilgrims from the north can get down at Nandyal, which is a railway junction from Kurnool, and travel by bus to Allagadda and Ahobilam, which is only thirty miles from Nandyal. The second route is from Dhone which is another railway station and from which one can reach Ahobilam via Banganapalle and Koilkuntla.
The other route is to get down at Kadapa which is a district headquarters and an important railway station in the Madras – Bombay route. From Cuddapah one has to travel to Allagadda, which is forty miles over and from there by bus to Ahobilam.
References
- ↑ "Ahobilam". google.co.in.
- ↑ "redirect to /world/IN/02/Pedda_Ahobilam.html". fallingrain.com.
- 1 2 http://vedagnana.org/Content/Temples/List/74_Ahobilam.php
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ahobilam. |
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