Sri Chennakesava Swamy Temple
Tallapaka is the Birthplace of Padakavitha Pitamaha Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya who wrote more than 32 thousand kirthanas on Sri Venkateswara Swamy of Tirumala. There is a Vishnu temple in Tallapaka. The deity of the temple is Sri Chennakesava Swamy who is known for His benevolence towards the devotees who are in dire need and He is known to bless all the devotees liberally.
Tallapaka is located at a distance of eight kilometers from the Rajampeta town in the Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh. Previously the place was known as Tatipaka as the people of the area used to live in palm leaf huts. The hut is also known as Paka in Telugu. Later Tatipaka changed to Tallapaka. Sri Chennakesavaswamy Temple is one of the ancient temples of Tallapaka.
Legend
There is an interesting Sthalapurana about the temple and the deity there. As per legend, the temple of Tallapaka Sri Chennakesava Swamy temple was established by Janamejaya Maharaja. Along this temple, many Vishnu temples and Shiva temples are associated with the name of Janamejaya. Janamejaya’s father Pareekshit Maharaja was the grandson of the Pandavas and Son of Abhimanyu.
One day, Parikshit Maharaja went hunting, and when he saw an animal, he chased it. The animal entered the ashram of Shameeka Maharshi. Pareekshit entered the Ashram and asked the Maharshi about the animal. However, the Maharshi did not answer as he was in a yoga sleep (Yoga Nidra). With this King Pareekshit got angry and put the dead snake around Maharshis neck and left from the Ashram.
After some time, the son of Maharshi entered the Ashram and saw a dead snake around his father’s neck. He got angry and cursed that – “Whoever put the dead snake around my father’s neck will die within a week due to a snake bite”.
After some time Shameeka Maharshi woke up from his yoga sleep and was upset to know what had happened and told Pareekshit Maharaja about the curse. With this, the Maharaja built a large building to escape the curse and stayed in it. Finally one day the Maharaja died after being bitten by a snake. After that, Janamejaya Maharaja the son of Pareekshit did the Sarpayaga. He wanted to completely eradicate the snakes that had caused his father’s death.
After Sarpayaga Janamejaya built 108 Shaiva temples and 108 Vaishnava temples and worshiped the deities to get rid of the sin he had incurred by Sarpayaga. Local mythology reveals that Chennakesava temple was one of the temples built by Janamejaya.
History of Sri Chennakesava Swamy Temple
According to historical sources, the temple was built by the Chola kings around the 11th century A.D. It is believed that the Kakatiyas, the Vijayanagara emperors, and the local rulers developed the temple. During the last decade, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams undertook the development of the temple.
At present, the temple is administered by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Sri Chennakesavaswamy was worshipped by the ancestors of the Tallapaka Annamacharya. The history of Annamayya shows that Annamayya’s grandfather Narayanaiah was a devotee of the Swami. Local legend also reveals that Sri Chennakesava Swami wrote the Beejaaksharas on the tongue of Tallapaka Annamacharya.
Temple Description
Sri Chennakesava Swamy Temple is located next to the house where the Annamacharya lived in the village of Tallapaka. Sri Sudarsana Chakrattalwar Temple is located in front of the temple. The temple consists of Mukhamandapam and Garbhalayam. In Garbhalayam, we can see Sri Sudarshan Chakratalwar carved on a black stone.
At the bottom of the Sudarshana Chakra, we can see Lord Krishna in a reclining position with butter in hand. Sri Sudarshana Chakrattalwar is worshipped as Sri Sudarsana Chakrattalwar and as Sri Santana Venugopalaswamy also.
Sri Chennakesava Swamy Temple is located in a spacious courtyard facing east. There are Balipeetham, Dwajasthambam, and Garudalwar Mandapams in front of the main temple in temple premises. The main Temple consists of four mandapas i.e. Mukhamandapa, Antaraalayam, and Garbhagruha.
In the main sanctum sanctorum, we find the idol of Sri Chennakesava Swamy having four hands with Shanku, Chakra, Gadha, and Abhaya hastam.
In temple premises, to the northeast side of the main temple, there is a separate temple for Sri Anjaneyaswamy. Devotees believe that by worshipping this Swami they will get rid of planetary sufferings and attain all kinds of victories.
Brahmotsavams
Tallapaka Sri Siddeswara Swamy Brahmotsavams will be performed every year in the month of Ashada for Nine days apart from daily poojas. During Brahmotsavams different vahana sevas including Rathotsavam and Kalyanotsavam will be performed in a grand style. Besides Brahmotsavam, every year Vaikunta Ekadasi, and Dhanur Masa Pujas will be performed grandly.
Accommodation and Transportation
No accommodation facilities for the devotees in Tallapaka. Accommodation is available only at private lodges in the towns of Rajampet and Kadapa. Tallapaka is located at a distance of 50 km from Kadapa, 8 km from Rajampet, and 95 km from Tirupati.
Transport facilities are available from Rajampet. There are regular buses to Rajampet from Tirupati, Chittoor, Anantapur, Nellore, Kadapa, Kurnool, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Srisailam, Bangalore and Chennai. All trains stop at Rajampet Railway Station on the Chennai- Mumbai main railway line.
