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There are several Hanuman temples where devotees throng in huge numbers to offer their prayers to the Lord, who is considered the most ordained devotee of Lord Rama.
Sri Maddi Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Jangareddigudem, Gurvaigudem
The Anjaneya Swamy temple situated in a village, Guravaigudem, is popularly known as ‘Sri Maddi Anjaneya Swamy temple’. It derived its name because the Lord incarnated here under a ‘Maddi’ tree.
Click here for the temple location
History of the temple
The main temple priest narrates the following story, Vedantam Venkatacharyulu: Madvasura was a demon in the kingdom of Ravana. But he was leading a pious life like Vibhishana.
During the war between Lord Rama and Ravana, Madvasura fought on behalf of Ravana, and he had seen admiringly how Lord Hanuma was destroying the demons and fighting the war with utmost devotion towards Lord Rama.
He was so captivated by the valour of Lord Hanuman that as he was being killed in the war, he pronounced the name of Lord Hanuman. Because of this, he took another life as Madvakudu in Dwaparyuga. During the mighty battle of Kurukshetra, he took the side of the Kauravas and fought with the Pandavas. During the war, he saw a flag hoisted on the chariot of Arjuna with Lord Hanuman. He died uttering the name of Lord Hanuma during the war.
He took another birth as Madvudu in Kaliyuga, and as a devotee, he toured the entire country. On his tour, he reached the village of Guravaigudem, which is on the banks of a rivulet called Yerra Kaluva (the water in this rivulet is red in colour). He used to take a bath in this rivulet and meditate on Hanuma. He had done it for several years till he became old and could not walk even to take a bath before he meditated.
One day, he went to take a bath with a lot of effort, but due to his weak body, he was about to fall into the rivulet. A monkey saved him from falling into the river and served him with a fruit to eat. This was happening every day until he realised that the monkey that had been feeding him with a fruit every day was none other than Lord Hanuman. He pleaded with the Lord to pardon him for taking his services to survive.
Having been pleased with the appeal and devotion of his devotee, Lord Hanuma granted him a boon. He requested the Lord to be with him all the time. Hanuman said that he should take the form of a maddi tree, and he would seat himself at the base of the tree. The Lord holds ‘Mace’ in his right hand and a banana fruit in his left hand, and blesses the devotees.
The temple was founded in 1166 CE during the rule of Reddyrajulu. The architecture of the temple was designed by the famous temple architect, Ganapathi Sthapati. The temple has a very beautiful Gali gopuram, but the main temple does not have a gopuram because it is covered with the branches of the maddi tree.
Devotees take 108 circumambulations in clockwise around the temple to fulfil their desires. Here, the Lord ‘Kalyanam’ is performed with Suvarchala, the daughter of Lord Surya, on Jyesta Sudda Dasami every month when the star is Purva Bhadra. Hanumath Deeksha is considered the most ancient form of devotion to please the Lord. Many devotees come to this temple and take the ‘Deeksha.’
How to Reach
This temple is situated around 50 km from Eluru on the way to Dwaraka Tirumala. The temple closes at 7 pm every day. Devotees can have ‘Nija darshan’ of the Lord before the main gates of the temple are closed.
