Appalayagunta
Appalayagunta is the holy place of the Supreme Deity of Kaliyuga i.e., Lord Venkateswara Swamy in the name of ‘Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy’. Innumerable devotees worship Him with earnest devotion. The Lord of the temple is known for His graceful consideration towards His devotees who are in dire necessity of His blessings, and He blesses them all very liberally.
In the olden days a devotee named ‘Appulayya’ while going to Tirumala rested for some time in the present Appalayagunta area. After some time he resumed his journey. At this time he forgot his bag containing money.
Fearing about the bag, Appulayya prayed to Lord Venkateswara Swamy if the bag was available I would dig a pond in the Appalayagunta area which is in drought. After the grand ‘darshan’ of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, Appulayya reached the place where he rested and saw his bag. After that Appulayya dug a pond.
The place was named ‘Appulayya Kunta’ or ‘Appulayyagunta’.
Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy Temple – Legend
There is an interesting ‘sthalapurana’ regarding the temple. It also tells the reason why Lord Venkateswara stayed in Appalayagunta with ‘Abhayahastam’ instead of Varadahastam and how He got the name Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy. There were hills near Appalayagunta called ‘Yogula Konda’.
Many sages used to perform penance in the caves on this hill. A saint named Siddulayya reached this hill after travelling to many places. He identified that it is suitable for his penance. He started penance by worshipping Sri Venkateswara Swamy.
After some days Sri Venkateswara Swamy appeared and received prayers from the ‘maharshi’ and stayed in Appalayagunta with Abhayahastam as per the wish of the saint.
The Structure of the Temple
The temple of Sri Prasanna Venkateswaraswamy in Appalayagunta is located in a spacious courtyard. The temple faces towards the East. Opposite the main temple, one can see Sri Prasanna Anjaneyaswamy temple and Pushkarini. The main ‘gopuram’ consists of three stairs. After entering the temple, one can see ‘Balipeetham,’ Dwaja Sthambham and Garudalwar Sannidhi.
The main temple consists of Mukhamandapam, Antaralayam and Garbhalayam.
In Mukhamandapam, one can see Sri Vishwakshena Swamy, Sri Ramanujacharlyulu along with Vaishnava Alwars. On the way to Antaralayam, there are Dwarapalakas on both sides. In main sanctum sanctorum, one finds Lord Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy having four hands with Shanku, Chakra, Kati Hastam and Abhaya Hastam.
Abhayamudra
Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy is similar to Sri Venkateswara Swamy at Tirumala in His features. The only difference is that Sri Venkateswara Swamy shows His feet with Varadamudra and Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy bears the Abhayamudra.
As the Lord is with the Abhayahastam, He gives refuge to the devotees and fulfils their desires. Thus, devotees overcome hardships and sufferings. They believe that if they visit the Lord on Saturday, all their wishes will be fulfilled quickly.
On the northwest and southwest premises of the main temple, there are two more temples. In these temples, one can see the consorts of the Lord Sri Padmavathi Devi and Sri Andal. Sri Padmavathi Devi appears in sitting posture with four hands, wearing Padmas in two hands and Abhaya, and Varada Mudras in the other two hands.
Sri Andal appears in a standing posture with two hands, wearing a lotus in one hand and the other hand down in a graceful form.
History of the Temple
The temple was built nearly one thousand years ago by the descendants of Akasaraja who had also built the temples in Tirumala and Narayanavanam. Later, their descendants and the kings who ruled the city of Karvetinagaram renovated the temple. Around 1750, Sri Venkata Perumalraju of Karavetinagaram renovated the temple and gave charity.
Sri Sarangapani (1750- 1820), a court poet of Karvetinagaram wrote hymns about this Lord. In the year 1988, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams took over the management of the temple. Currently, the temple is under TTD administration. In recent times, a ‘rajagopuram’ has been constructed over the main entrance of the temple.
The Sevas
The Brahmotsavams of Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy at Appalayagunta are performed in the month of Jyeshta for a period of nine days apart from daily rituals every year. During the Brahmotsavams different ‘vahana sevas’ including the Rathotsavam will be performed grandly. Besides the Bramhotsavams, and Vaikunta Ekadashi, other festivals and special pujas will be performed during ‘Dhanurmasam’ every year.
Accommodation
Accommodation facilities are not available for devotees in Appalayagunta. So it is better to return to Tirupati after a visit of Appalayagunta. It is located approximately 18 km away from Tirupati and 12 km away from Tiruchanur.
Local tour buses run by the Department of Tourism are available from TTD Vishnu Nivasam (Rest house) in Tirupati.
