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Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple Narayanavanam: A Spiritual Journey
The holy place to which the Supreme deity of Kaliyuga Sri Venkateswara Swamy along with his consort Sri Padmavathi Devi went after their marriage for a stay for some time is ‘Narayanavanam’. The deity of the temple is ‘Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy’ who is known for his consideration towards the devotees who are in dire need of God’s blessings and he is known to bless all the devotees liberally.
Narayanavanam is located at a distance of about 45 km from the town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
It is said that the place got the name ‘Narayanavanam’ as it was the place where Srimannarayana went hunting. In the inscription of 1467, the name of this place is mentioned as ‘Narayanavarapattu’ and in the inscription of 1537 it is mentioned as ‘Narayanapurampattu’. It is well known that all these names are derived from Srimannarayana. These names changed in usage over time and are transformed as ‘Narayanavanam’.
Temple Legend
There is an interesting sthalapuranam as to why Lord Venkateswara stayed in Narayanavanam. Formerly, the Narayanavanam kingdom was ruled by a king named ‘Akasharaju’. He did not have children for a long time. After some time with the suggestion of Suka Maharshi Akasharaju performed a Yagna. After the Yagna, while ploughing the land of Yagna, a box appeared to the King.
In that box on a Lotus (Padmam) a female infant appeared. The baby was named ‘Padmavati’ by the King as she appeared in the Padmam.
One day, in her teenage while playing with her friends in the Garden, she along with her friends was suddenly chased by a herd of elephants. At that time, Srinivasa Swamy who had come to the area for hunting, chased the elephants away and rescued them. Seeing Padmavati, Srinivasa Swamy fell in love with her. Padmavati also fell in love with Srinivasa Swamy.
Later when Vakuladevi, the mother of Srinivasa Swamy came with a marriage proposal, king Akasha Raju and his wife Dharani Devi agreed to it.
Then Srinivasa Swamy took a loan from Kubera and prepared for the marriage. The marriage of Srinivasa Swamy and Padmavati took place in Narayanavanam in a grand manner. Later, Srinivasa accepted the request of the elders along with Akasharaju to stay in Narayanavanam and spend some time in ‘Narayanavanam’ with his father-in-law.
After some time Srinivasa Swamy along with Sri Padmavathi Devi proceeded to Tirumala. Later, the King of Narayanavanam, Akasharaja built a temple for Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy where Swamy had married Padmavathi Devi i.e., Narayanavanam.
Temple Structure
The temple of Sri Venkateswaraswamy in Narayanavanam is located in a spacious courtyard. The temple faces east. The main Gopuram consists of seven storeys. There are seven Gopurakalasams on Gopuram. The Gopuram is about 150 feet high. After entering the temple through this entrance we can see Balipeetham, Dwajasthambham and Garudalwar Sannidhi. After these, there is a main entrance to enter into the main temple.
At the entrance, we can see 3 storied Gopuram. The main temple consists of Mahamandapa, Mukhamandapa, Antaralayam and Garbhalayam. In Mukhamandapam on the way to Antaralayam, there are dwarapalakas on both sides.
In the sanctum sanctorum, Swamy appears as the bridegroom in the form of a hunter. Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy, who resembles the Lord on Tirumala Hill is seen as newlywedded with four hands with Shanku, Chakra, Kati hastam and Varada hastam along with sword. That is to say, the Lord is said to be wearing a sword as evidence of his hunting.
The fact that Swamy is wearing a wedding bracelet on his hand and a Dashavatara Vaddanam is proof that he is the bridegroom. All these signs are evidence to say that Swamy’s marriage took place in Narayanavanam and that he spent some time there.
There is a separate Temple for the consort of Swamy Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru in the southwest of the temple premises. If Swamy appears as the new groom, Ammavaru also appears as the new bride. Sri Godadevi receives pujas in a separate temple in the temple premises. However, there is no Goddess Sri Padmavati in any of the temples associated with Sri Venkateswara Swamy.
However, in the Narayanavanam, it is noteworthy that along with the Swamyvaru, the Ammavarlu are also there. Also, in the temple premises one can visit Sri Ramanujacharya, Alwars, Sri Vishwaksena and Kalyana Mandapam. We can see a big Grinding Stone (Tirugali) which was used to grind bathing powder (Nalugu Pindi) during the Kalyanotsavam.
History of the temple
Historically, the temple is said to have been built in Narayanavanam before the temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy on Tirumala Hills. The temple was developed by the Suryavamsha rulers who ruled the Narayanavanam kingdom. Achyutadevaraya’s Minister Virupanna rebuilt the temple during the period 1511-12 AD.
There is evidence that the ruler of Chandragiri, Tirumalaraya did charity work here. The temple was managed by the Tiruttani Temple till the 1960s and was taken over by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in the year 1967. Currently, the temple is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
Sevas
Narayanavanam Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Brahmotsavams are performed every year in the month of Vaishakha masam for nine days apart from daily poojas. During Brahmotsavams different vahana sevas including Radhotsavam and Kalyanotsavam are performed grandly. Besides Brahmotsavam, every year during Dhanurmasam, Vaikunta Ekadashi and other rituals are performed.
How to Reach Narayanavanam
There is no accommodation facility available for devotees in Narayanavanam. Going from Puttur or Tirupati and returning to those towns after darshan will be the best option as Narayanavanam is located on the Tirupati-Chennai road, 45 km from Tirupati and 8 km from Puttur.
Buses are available from Tirupati, Chennai, Puttur and Chittoor. Puttur has bus facilities from major towns and cities in the Telugu states including Chittoor district. Almost all trains stop at Puttur Railway Station on the Renigunta-Chennai main line.
From T.T.D. Srinivasam amenities complex situated in Tirupati, one can take a tourist bus operated by the Department of Tourism and visit this place along with other places.
Devotees can get divine experiences by visiting Narayanavanam, where Sri Venkateswara Swamy was married.
