{"id":1759,"date":"2015-06-29T23:51:46","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T18:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.padayatra.com\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2015-07-01T23:59:21","modified_gmt":"2015-07-01T18:29:21","slug":"padayatra-india-on-the-roads-of-andhra-pradesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.padayatra.com\/padayatra-new\/padayatra-india-on-the-roads-of-andhra-pradesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Padayatra India on the roads of Andhra Pradesh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are \u00a0the main places where Padayatra<\/em> India visited from January to June 5th.\u00a0 Some of these places \u00a0have already been mentioned in previous articles. The reason \u00a0they again appear here is\u00a0 because we later received many photos of these locations, some without captions, alas. Life on the road is very intense, as you can all imagine.<\/p>\n

Ichapuram<\/strong> (January 9):on the border of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. \u00a0Raghupati Dasa, disciple of \u00a0Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, did all the arrangements, and Murli \u00a0Dasa, a retired military man, provided us with books in the local telegu language, which he had brought form Hyderabad.<\/p>\n

Sompeta<\/strong> (January 11): a census town in the Srikakulam district<\/p>\n

Narasannapeta:\u00a0<\/strong>We were welcomed by Sevanidhi \u00a0Dasa, disciple of Jayapataka Maharaja. With his help we organized a shobha yatra<\/em> in the city and did nagar sankirtan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Srikakulam <\/strong>(January 26): \u00a0Two kilometres from this town is the temple of the Sun God in Arasvalli, constructed by a king of the Kalinga dynasty. It is the only Sun God temple in South India. Padayatra<\/em> arrived for the festival of \u00a0\u00a0Ratha Saptami or Rathasapthami marking the birth of Surya, also celebrated as Surya Jayanti (the Sun-god\u2019s birthday).\u00a0 Ratha Saptami also marks the gradual increase in temperature. We had darsana<\/em> of the Sun God and had a grand harinama on the streets of Srikakulam, during which\u00a0 we distributed 500 Bhagavad-gitas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sri Kurmam: <\/strong>It \u00a0<\/strong>is located13 kilometers East of Srikakulam near the sea. This is the holy place of Kurma-ksetra (also known as Kurma sthana), with a temple dedicated to Sri Kurmanatha, the second avatar of Lord Vishnu, ( the tortoise incarnation). We all went with Nitai-Gaurasundara for the darsana <\/em>of Lord Kurmadev\u00a0 and had a big kirtana<\/em> there.\u00a0 To make the pilgrims\u2019 meditation easier, locals had made a pond with different types of tortoises.We also saw the footprints of Caitanya Mahaprabhu established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur.<\/p>\n

Ranasthalam <\/strong>(Feb 1 to 3): \u00a0This village is located 28 kms West of Srikakulam.\u00a0 Trivari Govinda Dasa, a brahmacari <\/em>from ISKCON Tirupati, came there to receive the Padayatra<\/em> and Their Lordships. He did the necessary arrangements, and with his assistance we celebrated a wonderful festival for the appearance\u00a0 of Lord Nityananada. We had kirtana<\/em>, abhisheka<\/em> of Gaur Nitai and we all sang vaisnava<\/em> songs. Many devotees had arrived for the occasion.\u00a0 A grand shobha-yatra<\/em> was organized and Gaur Nitai were carried through the streets, mercifully giving Their darsana<\/em> to everyone. After the program prasadam<\/em> distribution was done.<\/p>\n

Vishakapatnam : <\/strong>Padayatra<\/em> stayed at the ISKCON Vishakapatnam \u00a0temple on Beach Road, \u00a0a few kilometers away from the city. \u00a0Samba Dasa, a disciple of Jayapataka Maharaja, welcomed us and Sri Sri Gaur Nitai with love and affection. The devotees were glad to see us and Their Lordships, and did all the necessary arrangements for our comfort. On February 17 we celebrated Mahashivaratri in the Shiva Temple of Vishakapatnam. With the congregational devotees we organized a grand celebration with harinama<\/em> and prasadam <\/em>distribution; every evening we did nagar sankirtana<\/em> and book distribution in the area.<\/p>\n

From March 11 to 12\u00a0 we were hosted at the Gaudiya matha<\/em> of Srila Puri Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada had also stayed there for 4 to 5 days. Lokanath Maharaja had instructed us to visit the\u00a0 Maharsatra Society ( a group of Maharastrians staying in Vishakapatnam) and have a program with them. Our Maharastrian brothers were very happy to see us and welcomed us warmly. We had a special katha<\/em> describingthe glories of the holy names. The members of the \u00a0Maharsatra Society were very pleased and gave us a donation for \u00a0padayatra<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As Gaur Purnima was approaching 15 devotees went to Mayapur to attend the\u00a0 Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama while the \u00a0rest of us stayed back in the temple and took advantage of this break from the road to renovate the cart by repairing the damages done and giving it a fresh layer of paint.<\/p>\n

Simhachalam<\/strong>\u00a0(March 17): Simhachalam – the hill of the lion\u00a0 (“Simha” means lion and\u00a0 “Adri” or “Achala” means hill) \u00a0is located at a distance of 18 km from Vishakapatnam. \u00a0The temple of Lord Nrsimhadeva \u00a0located at the top of a hill \u00a0is said to be the place where \u00a0the Lord appeared in His ugra (ferocious) form to kill the demon Hiranyakashipu. This form of the Lord is so fierce that it is kept covered by sandalwood paste throughout the year, and can be seen without it for only 12 hours per year. In the month of May is the festival of Chandana yatra or ‘Chandanotsavam’\u00a0 during which the deity is again covered with sandalwood paste. The priests of the Simhachalam temple belong to the Sri Sampradaya, the line that follows the revered devotee and philosopher Ramanujacarya. Simhachalam is one of the 108 places recognized by the Sri Sampradaya as\u00a0 divya-devams, spiritual places in this material world. The temple functions are performed by Vaisnava<\/em> priests as they have been since Ramanujacarya visited there nine centuries ago.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0padayatris<\/em> went for darsana <\/em>of the Deity and we all prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva\u00a0 to remove all the obstacles on our bhakti marga<\/em>.\u00a0 The\u00a0 temple on the hill is accessed via a motorable road, and it attracts scores of pilgrims from both Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. On the hill\u00a0 we also saw\u00a0 the footprints of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu\u00a0 established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and had a grand kirtana<\/em>\u00a0 at that spot.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget to mention Simhacalam Prasad Dasa, who did all the arrangements for our party.<\/p>\n

Rajahmundry <\/strong>(April 16 to 18): We stayed at the local ISKCON temple.\u00a0 Many congregation devotees and children participated in the shobha-yatra <\/em>and many women did book distribution with us.<\/p>\n

Kovvur <\/strong>( April \u00a021): It is an\u00a0 important town in the West Godavari District due to its location on the banks of the sacred Godavari River. We visited the Sri Ramananda Gaudiya Matha established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati\u00a0 Thakura on July 1932. \u00a0He had also installed the footprints of Sri\u00a0 Caitanya Mahaprabhu to mark\u00a0 the Lord\u2019s meeting with Sri Ramananda Raya on the banks of Godavari river. Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Nayanabhirama and Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu are the presiding Deities of that small temple. This matha <\/em>has very nice dioramas displaying \u00a0the pastimes of Lord Caitanya and Lord Sri Krishna, and also a small goshala<\/em>. Besides the streets of Kovvur we also did kirtana <\/em>in a boat on the \u00a0river Godavari.<\/p>\n

Ananthapalli <\/strong>(May 3): Celebration of Nrisimha Caturdasi.<\/p>\n

See previous article \u201cPadayatra India now in Andhra Pradesh\u201d, posted May 7<\/p>\n

Jangaredypalli\u00a0 <\/strong>(May 13):<\/p>\n

See previous article \u201cWho are these people walking in the hot sun and distributing so many books?\u201d, posted May 13<\/p>\n

Dwaraka Tirumala,<\/strong> \u00a0or Dwarakatirumala: <\/strong>( May 15) This village \u00a0is famous for the temple of Lord Venkatesvara. Dwaraka Tirumala, also known as ‘Chinna Tirupathi’. is located about 40 kilometres from the city of Eluru. \u00a0Here is the story behind the name of Dwaraka Tirumala: there was a great devotee of Lord Balaji who used to go to Tirupati regularly for darsana.<\/em> Once he could not make it to Tirupari so Lord Balaji appeared to him in his village, which then became known as Dwaraka Tirumala.<\/p>\n

Bhimadole <\/strong>(May 17): This village is located in the West \u00a0Godavari district.<\/p>\n

Hanuman junction <\/strong>(May 23): This town \u00a0got its name because of\u00a0 the junction of four \u00a0road near the Hanuman temple. The feet of the deity separate the Krishna and West Godavari districts. Locals believe Hanuman\u00a0 to be the protector of the town and people from different religions worship him and celebrate Hanuman Jayanti \u00a0day together.<\/p>\n

Vijayawada<\/strong> \u00a0(May 30 to June 2):\u00a0\u00a0 Vijayawada is situated on the sacred Krishna River. It is named after Arjuna, who was also known as Vijaya. \u00a0A disciple of Srila Prabhupada named Manihara \u00a0Dasa had started a school for orphans \u00a0in this city, trying to give Krishna consciousness to the students by doing \u00a0regular programs for them. \u00a0\u00a0The padayatris<\/em> all went to that school to do harinama<\/em> and perform bhajans<\/em>. After a small lecture \u00a0we distributed prasadam<\/em> to all the children.With about 300 members of\u00a0 the congregation we celebrated the Panihatti \u00a0dahi chida<\/em> festival\u00a0 on \u00a0the banks of the Krishna River, then gathered at the local ISKCON temple.<\/p>\n

Mangal Giri <\/strong>\u00a0(June 4 and 5):<\/p>\n

The temple of Pana-Nrsimha in Mangal Giri (Guntur district) still draws many devotees, who come to get the Lord’s darsana <\/em>in His Andhra Pradesh\u2019s abode. It is one of the most famous tirthas<\/em> visited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu during His South India travels. This tirtha<\/em> is briefly mentioned in the\u00a0 Caitanya-caritamrta ( Madhya Lila 9.66)\u00a0:\u00a0 “Everywhere Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went, His influence astonished everyone. He next arrived at the temple of Pana-Nrsimha. The Lord is extremely merciful\u00a0\u00bb Mangal giri<\/em> means \u00a0\u00ab\u00a0the auspicious \u00a0hill\u00a0\u00bb. We all took darsana <\/em>of the Deity \u00a0of Pana-Nrsimhadev on top of the hill. It is said that Lord Nrsimha rested here after killing Hiranyakasipu, and Lakshmi Devi then gave him a drink to quench his thirst.<\/p>\n

In making offerings to Lord Pana-Nrsimha, the temple priest takes a pot of sweet jaggery water and, with a conchshell,\u00a0 pours half of the drink into the Lord’s mouth and the rest is returned as maha-prasadam<\/em> to the devotee making the offering. This jaggery water is made of gour, water, camphor, black pepper, and cardamom. \u00a0While the water is being poured into the mouth of the Lord, a gurgling sound can be \u00a0heard, like the sound of someone drinking. We also offered jaggery water and \u00a0all of us heard this transcendental gurgling sound. Even though there is so much sugar water offered here, there is not a single ant on the hill.<\/p>\n

The temple is built around a self-manifest mouth of Lord Nrsimhadev. Over the mouth is a brass mask with an ugra<\/em> (ferocious) expression. The Lord’s disk and club are also self-manifested in the stone. The worshipable footprints of Caitanya Mahaprabhu are housed in a shrine known as Padapeet, which was established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur to commemorate Lord Caitanya’s visit to that place. On July 3rd 1985 Lokanath Swami visited this holy place with Padayatra<\/em> India. After that visit the padayatris<\/em> built a small temple around the footprints of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There a slab in telugu explaining that this temple was built by\u00a0 Padayatra India devotees under the guidance of Lokanath Swami.<\/p>\n

MAY 2015 BOOK SCORES<\/strong> (All in Telegu language):<\/p>\n