Sunday 28 February 2021

Caves and Pushkarini, Yaganti

"It doesn't matter if a cave has been in darkness for 10,000 years or half an hour, once you light a match it is illuminated"-Paramahansa Yogananda

There are three mystifying caves in the Yaganti Hills just adjacent to the Sri Yaganti Uma Maheshwara Temple. A well-paved bridge lead us to the base of the cave. The task of climbing up and down the rocky caves seemed tough considering the time of the day. Our only hope was that the interiors of caves will provide some respite. 

Venkateshwara Cave: After climbing a flight of stairs we were at the mouth of the first cave, Venkateshwara, which was at the western corner of the rocky mountain. Because of a tiny opening in the mountain beam of light illuminated the cave moderately, yet not bright. The steps were broad so the flight was not tough. At top on the porch lies the idol of Venkateshwara, the one we have mentioned in our previous post. Presumably this idol was present in the cave long before Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple was constructed. The temperature dropped dramatically inside the cave as we expected. We relaxed at the corner of steps without blocking crowd's ascension or descension.






Agastya Cave (Rokalla Cave): By far this is the toughest climb. The steps were dangerously steep with narrow treads. We had to hold the jagged wall for support for the fear of slipping. Inside was dim, yet not dark; dank yet not stench. As you can guess sage Agastya observed penance to Lord Shiva when he was disturbed about the broke nail of Venkateshwara idol. One more story is that Agasthya cursed crows to be absent from this place when they were troubling his atonement. Hence, it is said there are no crows in the temple premises. Since crow is the vehicle of Shani, the feared deity of planet Saturn will not be able to come to Yaganti who is capable of bringing misfortune and fortune to people according to their deeds. In our limited time we could not put that theory to test. Amazement was the feeling when we looked at the elderly people who were clambering up and down these 120 steps or so. Having said that we do not recommend this adventure to elderly people, small children, or parents carrying babies or toddlers.







Shankara Cave (Veera Brahmam Cave): The last and the easiest. This cave is extremely short and congested. To pass through we had to squat and crouch, another kind of workout. The priest was about to close the gate When we reached the spot. It is supposed to be his lunch time we guessed. Seeing us he retracted back to allow us few moments. Considering his kindness we decided to move out as soon as possible. There were nothing much, but for few idols. The sage Shree Potuluri Veera Brahmendra swamy wrote his book on Kalagnana (future predictions) in this cave. He was the one who said Yaganti Hills can be alternative to Tirupati Timmappa. There was porch outside where we sat to the blowing breeze. From here we could see the panoramic view of Yaganti.  Uma Maheswara Temple, Nandi, dhwaja sthamba (pole), gopura (tower), and Pushkarini were visible from these caves.










Pushkarini is were we are headed now, again. Earlier we had dipped our feet in the Pushkarini (pond) before entering the temple, and seeing the beauty around the place we decided to relax here a bit before heading out. Water flows into Pushkarini through the mouth of a Nandi idol. The water reaches pond throughout the year from the hill and is considered one of the marvels of architects of that period. It is said no one knows from where the water reaches here, which is hard to believe according to us. Some people were swimming in the pool while others like us were relaxing on the portico. The square-shaped Pushkarini is surrounded by stone courtyard on all sides, with elegant pavilion in the middle. Due to continuous flow the pond remains fresh all the time. It goes without saying taking a dip in the holy water before going to temple is considered auspicious. The breeze that ran over the rippled surface was a balm to our tired selves.

There were few shops outside selling artifacts, toys, artificial jewellery, typical for temple town. We noticed one big water tank near the parking lot. We bought a kilo of Indian plum that looked tender, crunchy, and juicy to satiate our craving.











Tips:

Temple visiting Hours: 6 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 8 pm

Entry: Free (Though collecting 10 INR at the entrance)

Car Parking: 20

Sunday 7 February 2021

Sri Yaganti Uma Maheshwara Temple and Growing Nandi, Yaganti

We read somewhere about the the growing Nandi (bullock statue) of Yaganti. Initially the cynic in us thought it must be another legend to draw devotees. When cross-verified the Archaeological Survey of India confirmed this saying the idol grows by an inch every 20 years. So, we decided to pay a visit and check for ourselves.

Route: Anantapura-Pamidi-Gooty-Vengalam Palle-Jaladurgam-Yaganti (125 KM)

After Vengalam Palle the road turned from bad to worse. The last 50 kilometers stretch was hectic, strenuous, and bumpy. We were almost near the temple when a person stopped us informing the temple is going to be closed at 1 p.m. We looked at the clock and it was 12. After parking the vehicle we hurried first to see the famed Nandi. A huge crowd was gathered around it, trying to take selfie with the star. There was a notice attached saying no-selfie. There were two dedicated priests to stop people from doing so. They were rude and pushy, not an ideal candidates to be priests. You maybe wondering if we were the part of selfie-crowd. No, we mostly try to follow rules even though we don't agree on restriction of photography in any historic monument, Yaganti being one such. 

The idol of Nandi indeed looked like it has grown haphazardly or growing. According to an expert from Mines and Geology department "stones grow due to chemical reactions, particularly this rock has silica substances and iron particles". When a mineral is converted to other granules of Silica, it expands. At present the idol's height is 5 feet and width is 15 feet.










We overheard a gentleman explaining hundred years ago there was free area around the Nandi to do pradakshina (rounds) that is not the case now. There was a saint named Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra in the 16th century who wrote Kalagnanam, a Telugu book on prophecy. In that he predicts Yaganti Nandi will come alive and shout when Kali Yuga ends.

Legend has it Sage Agastya hoped to construct a Vishnu temple on this premises. However, toe nail of the idol got broken once it was chiseled to perfection. Installing a deformed idol in a temple is barred as it is considered inauspicious. The sage was very agitated to know about this and he wanted to find a solution. He did an absolution to Lord Shiva. Pleased with Agastya's penance Shiva appeared. Hearing about sage's dilemma, Lord Shiva suggested Yaganti suits better for Shiva as it resembles Kailasha parvatha. Then Agasthya appealed to Lord Shiva to be present with Goddess Parvathi as Uma Maheshwara in a single stone, which Shiva obliged. From then onward Yaganti temple is abode to Lord Shiva and Parvathi in Ardhanareeshwara form. Here Lord Shiva is worshiped in idol form rather than the usual Linga form that we see in most of the Shiva temples. We were curious to know why Agasthya had penanced to Lord Shiva when he wanted to build a temple of Lord Vishnu? Should not he worshiped Vishnu to find the solution for his problem?

Another folklore is that Chitteppa, a local of Yaganti was praying to Shiva and the simpleton Shiva showed up in the form of a tiger. Realizing that it is Lord Shiva, Chitteppa screamed with joy 'Neganti Shivanu ne kanti in Telugu (I saw Shiva I saw). It is easy to deduce how Neganti went on to become Yaganti.


















The early existence of temple dates back to 5th century. It flourished under different dynasties from Pallavas to Cholas to Chalukyas to Vijayangara. Harihara Raya and Bukka Raya (known as Hakka-Bukka) of Vijayanagar empire contributed immensely to the development of this temple. Though the entry to temple is free the authorities were collecting 10 INR from devotees, which was ridiculous. Since the photography was prohibited inside the temple, our entry and exit to temple was quick.  

Tips:

Temple visiting Hours: 6 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 8 pm

Entry: Free (Though collecting 10 INR at the entrance)

Car Parking: 20

(To be Continued in Caves and Pushkarini, Yaganti)