Nagalapuram is a Mandal Headquarter in

Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. Tirupati ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. It is the mandal headquarters of Nagalapuram mandal in Srikalahasti revenue division. This town is home to Vedanarayana Temple, where the presiding deity

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

is in the form of

Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...

, the first incarnation of Dasavatara.

History

Nagalapuram the temple town is built at the time of

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

regime in memory of his mother ''Nagamamba Devi''. Hence, it became Sri Nagalapuram. Before the change of its name to Nagalapuram, this village was known as ''Harigandapuram''.

Geography

Nagalapuram is located at . It has an average elevation of 64 meters (213 feet).

Culture

Temple reflects the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

architectural style Vedanarayana swamy idol facing west. The

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of t ...

has Vedanarayana swamy with his consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side. This is a

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

of Lord Vishnu first Avatar, who saved the four vedas from Somakudu and returned to

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

. Temple Brahmostavam comes on Shukla Dwadasi, Trayodasi and Chaturdasi of Phalguni masam (Agama calendar). Temple architecture is done in such a way that during these three days, the sun rays fall on the main deity feet, navel and forehead, called as "Suriya Pooja". This remarks the start of Summer season as per the holy inscriptions available in the temple.

Nagalapuram Falls

Nagalapuram Falls is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

which attracts many tourists. It offers a great trekking opportunity as you go into the forest in the Eastern Ghats. The trek is very scenic and one can see streams along the trek route. There are 3 waterfalls you come across and each of them has a pool next to it. The water is very clean and refreshing. Nagalapuram Trekking Route

Trekkers can visit the trekking route which is about 4 km in length and has views of three waterfalls. Paid parking facilities are available at the beginning of the trek. Due to its proximity to Chennai, large number of people visit the waterfalls each year and this has started taking a toll on the environment around the trek which is now heavily littered with waste left by trekkers. The third waterfall, which is last in the series, has a deep pool which should not be explored without adequate safety equipment such as life jackets and due to negligence this has resulted in several drownings at this pool. Naglapeak

Demographics

Total Number of House Hold : 2830 Population Persons Males Females Total 11,166 5,468 5,698 In the age group 0–6 years 1,072 588 484 Scheduled Castes (SC) 4,296 2,164 2,132 Scheduled Tribes (ST) 228 118 110 Literates 7,216 3,917 3,299

Gallery

File:2nd gopuram of vedanarayanaswamy temple at nagalapuram2.JPG, temple File:Nagalapuram Hill Streams.JPG, temple

References

External links

Nagalapuram falls
{{Authority control Villages in Tirupati district Mandal headquarters in Tirupati district Tirupati district Hindu pilgrimage sites in India