Sri Varah Lakshmi Narsimha Temple popularly known as Simhachalam Temple is Located at an altitude of about one thousand feet in Visakhapatnam, the largest city of Andhra Pradesh, the main deity of this temple is Lord Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha.
This temple also serves free meals and I will recommend all pilgrims visiting this temple to have this meals. There is a small fee too to keep luggage/footwear/Mobile. There are counters for keeping Mobile/luggage/footwear near gopuram of temple. Mobile phones are not allowed inside temple. I think on weekdays, even free darshan can be finished in say 30 minutes to one hour.
I opted for free darshan and it took 3 hrs.
First option is free Darshan, second option is Rs 100 Darshan and third option is Rs 300 darshan. The journey time is around 10 minutes.įor having darshan of lord, pilgrims have three options. There is a ticket counter which issues tickets only for these buses and presently the ticket fare is Rs 15. Tickets for this bus must be taken before entering the buses. The second way is by bus which starts from near simhachalam bus stand which goes near this temple. People having leg pain/senior citizens will find it difficult. One way is to walk from simhachalam bus stand to this temple which will take say 30-40 minutes and involves climbing lot of steps. The journey from RTC complex to simhachalam bus stand took 25 minutes.įrom simhachalam bus stand pilgrims have two options to reach this temple. Ticket fare from RTC complex to simhachalam is Rs 15 and from RK beach bus stop to Simhachalam it is Rs 25. There are also direct buses from RK beach bus stop to Simhachalam. The first sight of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy now always falls on Sri Lakshmi Varaha Swamy and only after that, the devotees enter the sanctum.There are direct buses from RTC complex, Vishakhapatnam to Simhachalam bus stand. Even today, before opening the door of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy Mantap, the door of Sri Lakshmi Varaha Swamy’s garbha griha is opened first. To pacify the lord, Sri Lakshmi Varaha Swamy Deity was installed directly in the line of sight of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy as the shanta moorty. Post this routine, the devotees used to enter the temple. Due to the ferocity of the deity, the husk bundle used to catch fire and burn into ashes. Due to this, before opening the door of the sanctum, devotees used to place a bundle of green husk in front of the door and then open it. The Deity was said to be ferocious until about 500 years ago until the Deity of Sri Lakshmi Varaha Swamy was installed. The Deity is in yogasana posture and hence called as Yoga Narasimhar. The Deity is sculpted in a beautiful Hoysalan style and is about seven feet tall. The main deity is Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy. The navaranga is supported by 4 huge stone pillars which are finely carved. the garbha griha which is a home to Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy, sukhanasi which separates the garbha griha from the navaranga. The temple is divided into three parts, viz. In front of the mukha mantapa, there is a sanctum (garbha griha) which houses Sri Lakshmi Varaha Swamy (the shanta rupa of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy). There is a flight of stairs to the temple and on climbing the stairs one can see the main sanctum (mukha mantapa) of the temple and a surrounding platform which is currently being used as seating place for devotees on special days. The temple is constructed on a platform of about ten feet above the ground. It is apparent from the finely carved circular pillar in the temple. The temple is constructed in Hoysala Style architecture.
This temple is believed to be built by the legendary draftsperson Jakanachari during the Hoysala times. This temple of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy at Mudigere is approximately 850 – 900 years old.