If you have not visited Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Mattapalli, this should be on your bucket list. All throughout my life I have lived in Big Cities like Mumbai and Singapore and without realizing you get used to the noise of a big city. You do not realize what it means to be close to nature and away from the invisible toxic mesh of man-made EMFs and pollution.
One with Nature
When I visited Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Mattapalli for the first time, I felt what grounding really means. For the first time in my life, I could feel I am truly in the midst of nature and engulfed in the powerful frequencies of the earth, also called the Schumann Resonance. For the first time, I felt what pure air feels like, what it feels like when you are one with nature. The Krishna River flowing in all its glory and standing tall by the river is Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple.
I flew down from Singapore to Chennai to meet Sri KSR Aarudra Iyengar (or Guruji) and it was very kind of him to guide me in this journey. We took off on a Friday morning via flight from Chennai to Vijaywada. Guruji had his regular private taxi waiting at the Vijaywada airport to take us to Mattapalli.
By the time we reached the temple, it was evening. Every Friday evening the temple holds a Lakshmi Puja and on Saturday at 4 am is the most special ritual of bathing the lord, called Tirumanjanam. During this time various Sanskrit mantras from Vedas, Suktas, and Upanishads are chanted while bathing the Lord and finally decorating him beautifully with flowers.
The moment I stepped out of the car, could feel the instant connection with nature and the strong grounding experience. At a distance, we could hear chanting from puja going on in the temple. Clean crisp air without any pollution and the Krishna River in all its grandeur flowing majestically. There was no sign of any habitation on the other side of the river.
Untouched by Commercialization
The temple is about 160 km from the airport and is situated deep inside in a forest area, away from any commercialization and the city. The place is essentially untouched and thus is able to maintain its original feel. The feeling is very different from many of the popular temples, which are so much commercialized. This temple is believed to be built in the 13th Century.
Keeping religion aside, just the feeling of being in front of a piece of history that has withstood the test of time is a surreal experience by itself.
History of the Temple
Guruji shared with me the story of the temple.
The temple was built by King Machi Reddy. The area of the temple was a deep jungle and the Lord placed in a cave on a hill. It is believed that Maharishi Bharadwaj and his disciples used to worship the Lord. With the passage of time, the cave was forgotten and it was completely engulfed by the jungle.
Fast forward many years, the Lord appeared in the dreams of King Machi Reddy of Thangoda. The Lord told the King that he is residing in a Cave in Mattapalli and ordered him to find him and start performing regular pujas. The King and his men initiated a massive search but even after extensive lookout, they could not locate the cave. Unable to locate the cave, the tired King fell asleep in the jungle itself. The Lord appeared in his dream again and told him that he is almost there and the cave is covered by plants and bushes. This led to the King finding the cave and constructing a place of worship for him.
The Deity – Sri Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy
Lord Narasimha is carved on a rock and is seen in his calm yogic sitting posture. This is called the Yoga Narsimha posture and the complete name of the temple is Sri Rajyalakshmi Chenchulakshmi Bhakta Prahlaada Sameda Yogaananda Lakshmi Nrusimha Swami Temple. It is one of the Five Narasimha Kshetras. Here the Lord wears body armor or also called Kavacham. He also wears a mustache.
Lord Narasimha is a fierce Avatar of Lord Vishnu, half-lion, and half man. The carved posture of the Lord in the cave has four arms. The upper right-hand holds the Sudarshan Chakra (a weapon literally meaning disk of auspicious vision) while the lower right hand is not completely visible. He holds the Sankha (Conch) with his upper left hand while the lower left-hand rests on his knees. The entrance to the Sanctum Sanatorium is a narrow passageway and the ceiling of the cave spreads in a way that it feels like the head of Sesha Nag protecting the Lord.
One of the activities which are deeply rooted in the Hindu culture is pradakshina or circling around the deity barefooted. Pradaskhina in the Hindu culture is a way of offering prayers. Due to this temple being in a cave, it, unfortunately, does not offer a pradakshina path. Instead, the worshippers do a pradakshina of the Dhwaja Stambha (sacred pillar) of the temple. The temple also houses a temple of Lord Hanuman and Lord Garuda situated outside the main cave but facing the Lord in the Cave.
Sri Mukur Swamy and Mattapalli Mangalashtakam
Anything to do with Mattapalli Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple is incomplete if you do not talk about Sri Mukur Lakshmi Narasimhachariar. He was a Vedic scholar par excellence and a great Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Upasaka. There had been many occasions where Sri Mukur Swami held Yagnas for days in a trance-like state and go without food. During one of these trance-like episodes, he conceived the famous Mattapalli Mangalashtakam.
The Mattapalli Mangalashtakam is an integral part of the regular rituals and no ritual is complete without chanting this. The temple authorities play the original version of Sri Mukur Swami and if you get to hear it, you will feel the power of the chanting.
The People
The people associated with the temple are extremely nice and welcoming. The head priest Sri Ch Padbmananbhacharyulu is a brilliant person with amazing diction and a very kind man at heart. Similarly, the other people there, the cooks at the Yagna Vatika, and the caretakers are simple and humble. You will be blown away by the simplicity of the locals there.
We stayed at the Yagna Vatika which is run by a group of devotees. The rooms are very basic with a bare wooden cot, they provide a pillow and a blanket. The staying conditions have tons of room for improvement. The Yagna Vatika also runs a small kitchen and they never charge a cent. People donate as per their wish. The food is basic and simple and I thoroughly loved it. The coffee is amazing.
After having breakfast post the Tirimanjanam on Saturday, we left for Vijaywada for our flight to Chennai. It takes the entire day from Mattapalli to Vijaywada and then to Chennai. I was dead tired by the time I arrived at my hotel. Had a shower and called it a day. Had a morning flight to catch the following day for Singapore.
Summing Up
I have visited Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Mattapalli a few times. The first time makes you fall in love with the place and the powerful vibrations of the place call you to visit again. This place is also frequented by many famous people and once you go there you understand what calls them back.
I look forward to my next visit once we come out of the current pandemic.
Sri Lakshmi Nrusimhae Mangalam.
