| Vishnu Mayam Jagat |
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| Temples Of India |
| KURMAVATAR KSHETRAS IN ANDHRA PRADESH | |
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| Origin In the high heavens: there arose a dire necessity in the bygone past to try for a stratagem to protect the entire Devaganas from the untimely death and abominable acts of cruelty, meted out to them by their own cousin-danavas a by-word fur wickedness and annihilation of everything laudable, meant for ushering in bliss and advancement The danavas by their inexhaustible powers and irrepressible hunger for destruction of the good. subjected devas to untold suffering by perpetrating atrocities of every kind. Result : dark clouds of fear and insecurity enveloped the heavens and poured down blood and tears. Day in and day out. All round the year at it. There came up then a question - how to overcome the formidable enemy? Heads gathered; prepositions mooted; comments considered; doubts cleared, and they ended -- procuring AMRIT -nectar as the only solution for it. It is an elixir, a sure remedy that cores all ills and prolongs life. A single drought blesses, the drinker with immortality. Scriptural wisdom illumined that it can be obtained by churning the Ksheerasagara. It is a task Herculean and size Olympian: yet it has to be undertaken and accomplished with strength immense and perseverance unyielding. Infinite potentialities and abundant strength are to be summoned up. When searched for man power, the wise among them put forth a proposition to take danavas into confidence and utilise their superior physical might Crafty leaders convinced the gullible danavas to join as partners and partake the product equally in the end. They agreed. Mandara mountain was chosen for the churning pole and the serpent Vasuki as rope. The problem did not end there; it only began then. How would the mountain stand erect without strong base? Does it not sink the very moment it tries to remain straight? Does water lose its natural power of swallowing anything thrown into it? So, there appeared the answer that the mountain must be set upon a strong solid, impregnable object. All the assembled turned to Sri Mahavishnu for instant clue. Is He not their protector? And holding the office of maintenance? He must alone save the Devaganas from perdition. He then incarnated Himself as the giant sized tortoise to bear upon His back the whole mass of Mandhara mountain and allow the churning go ahead. That is the occasion for the emergence of collosus Kurma. which with its gigantic size: super abundant stamina and Titanic strength became mean's for getting nectar. Should not that incarnation be venerated with all devotion sans reservation. Although it is only an amphibian belonging to aquatic world ? Would not adoration fetch instant bliss ? It enshrined in itself Srimannarayana. the jagadrakshaka and jagannataka sutradhari and enabled gods become amarajivis. So regular worship to that sacrosanct animal and its progeny was advocated; rituals fixer); temples built; festivals celebrated etc. on the spot itself without division of opinion. Among the many temples that were erected in the dim past. only two now are existing, surviving, withstanding wear and tear of the Kalachakra in its onward motion. One is in India, and other in Indonesia. 'this solitary Indian -Kshetra housing the icon of Kurma goes by the name of Srikurmam and is situated in the town of the same name in the Srikakulam district of Andhra pradesh. conferring inestimable spiritual eminence to the state, and heightening its spiritual glory. It was and is an all-India pilgrim centre for all classes of theists in general and Vaishnavates in particular. Now let us enter into the temple to avail the darsan of that archamurti of supreme divine significance - tortoise form of Sri Mahavishnu. |
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| About Kurmavatar Kshetras In Andhra Pradesh | ||||
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