My family decided to do a Yatra of six Narasimha Kshetrams in a Single day. A lofty ordeal considering that the kshetrams must be scattered around the length and breadth of the country. So or research began about two weeks in advance for an achievable itinerary. So I scoured the internet and cam up with the following list.
Tamilnadu
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After delibrations we decided on Poovarasan Kuppam, Singri, Parikal, Anthili, Singaperumal Kovil and the Narasimha Shrine at Velacherry. So on 29th July a full moon day we left Chennai at 5am by a Sumo. The light drizzle and foggy roads made the journey very pleasant. We had plenty of tea during the drive to keep us warm. We took the Maduravoil route and joined GST the road and drove towards Villupuram. Close to Villupuram we took the bye-pass to Kumbakonnam and sought directions to reach Poovarsan Kuppam. The Lord here is in Soumya (graceful) form with his consort Lakshmi.
After having darshan at Poovarsam Kuppam we set out for Singri. Infact Singri should have been first on the itinerary because we could have taken the detour on the Pondy Bye-pass from Dindivanam and reached here. To reach Singri we took the road to Siruvanthadu then onward to Madhukarai and Kariamanickam village to reach the Pakkam Coot Road. We had to see directions to locate the temple. Lord Narasimha is in his Ugra (fierce) form. We had darshan and immediately left for Parikal.
We reached Panrutti took the byepass to Ulundurpet-Parikal to reach the Villupuram-Ulundurpet highway and after a few kilometers detoured off the highway to reach the shrine. We made it just before the shrine was being closed after the morning rituals. We had darshan and still didn't have any solid food to eat.
We then took the Thirukovilur road and reached Arkandanallur. This is actually the railway station for Thirukovilur. We took the small road next to the police station (opposite to the railway station) and drove along a small hillock sometimes wondering if we were on the right track. Infact Anthili is relatively less known even among the locals because of a Divya desam temple at Thirukovilur which happens to be more popular among pilgrims. So we drove along and the I sighted two small shrines near a dried up lake bed on the right. What seemd very modest was in fact the temple. Fortunately the temple was open and we had darshan and a long chat with the Archakar who explained the Sthala Puranam. The Madhava Seer Sri. Vyasaraja is said to have visited Anthili and had darshan of the LordNarasimha atop a hillock that seemed like Garuda to him. He consecrated a temple for Hanuman during the glorious rein of the Vijayanagar emperors. The Archakar comes here every morning cooks Prasadam and does the daily rituals and leaves in the evening. It seemed to me that very few people visit the place because of the lack of awareness.
From Anthili we reached the outskirts of Villupuram and for the famished lot we were had Lunch (Sic) at a wayside Dhaba. All that was available was Chapatti and Kurma. We drove along the GST road towards Chennai and reached Singaperumal Kovil had darshan of Trinethra Narasimha Swamy and drove towards Tambaram. We took the by-pass from Tambaram and reached Velachery at about 8:30pm and had darshan of Lord Narasimha. With this we completed six Narasimha shrines in a single day without proper driving directions. I hope this post encourages others to visit these shrines.
Tamilnadu
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- Parikal near Villupuram
- Singri near Pondicherry and Cuddalore
- Poovarasan Kuppam near Panrutti
- Anthili near Villupuram
- Singaperumal Kovil near Chengalpet
- Polur near Thiruvanamalai
- Sinthalavadi near Thiruchy
- Namakkal near Salem
- Singar Kovil near Vellore
- Narasingapuram near Kanchipuram
- Avaniyapuram near Kanchipuram
- Palaya Sevaram between Chengalpet and Kanchi
- Sholingar near Walajapet
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- Thirunarayanapuram at Melkote
- Kunjala near Sosale
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- Simhachalam near Vishakapatnam
- Katri near Kurnool
- Ahobilam near Nandyal
- Mangalagiri near Vijayawada
- Yadagiri Gudda near Hyderabad
After delibrations we decided on Poovarasan Kuppam, Singri, Parikal, Anthili, Singaperumal Kovil and the Narasimha Shrine at Velacherry. So on 29th July a full moon day we left Chennai at 5am by a Sumo. The light drizzle and foggy roads made the journey very pleasant. We had plenty of tea during the drive to keep us warm. We took the Maduravoil route and joined GST the road and drove towards Villupuram. Close to Villupuram we took the bye-pass to Kumbakonnam and sought directions to reach Poovarsan Kuppam. The Lord here is in Soumya (graceful) form with his consort Lakshmi.
After having darshan at Poovarsam Kuppam we set out for Singri. Infact Singri should have been first on the itinerary because we could have taken the detour on the Pondy Bye-pass from Dindivanam and reached here. To reach Singri we took the road to Siruvanthadu then onward to Madhukarai and Kariamanickam village to reach the Pakkam Coot Road. We had to see directions to locate the temple. Lord Narasimha is in his Ugra (fierce) form. We had darshan and immediately left for Parikal.
We reached Panrutti took the byepass to Ulundurpet-Parikal to reach the Villupuram-Ulundurpet highway and after a few kilometers detoured off the highway to reach the shrine. We made it just before the shrine was being closed after the morning rituals. We had darshan and still didn't have any solid food to eat.
We then took the Thirukovilur road and reached Arkandanallur. This is actually the railway station for Thirukovilur. We took the small road next to the police station (opposite to the railway station) and drove along a small hillock sometimes wondering if we were on the right track. Infact Anthili is relatively less known even among the locals because of a Divya desam temple at Thirukovilur which happens to be more popular among pilgrims. So we drove along and the I sighted two small shrines near a dried up lake bed on the right. What seemd very modest was in fact the temple. Fortunately the temple was open and we had darshan and a long chat with the Archakar who explained the Sthala Puranam. The Madhava Seer Sri. Vyasaraja is said to have visited Anthili and had darshan of the LordNarasimha atop a hillock that seemed like Garuda to him. He consecrated a temple for Hanuman during the glorious rein of the Vijayanagar emperors. The Archakar comes here every morning cooks Prasadam and does the daily rituals and leaves in the evening. It seemed to me that very few people visit the place because of the lack of awareness.
From Anthili we reached the outskirts of Villupuram and for the famished lot we were had Lunch (Sic) at a wayside Dhaba. All that was available was Chapatti and Kurma. We drove along the GST road towards Chennai and reached Singaperumal Kovil had darshan of Trinethra Narasimha Swamy and drove towards Tambaram. We took the by-pass from Tambaram and reached Velachery at about 8:30pm and had darshan of Lord Narasimha. With this we completed six Narasimha shrines in a single day without proper driving directions. I hope this post encourages others to visit these shrines.
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