Sri Kurmam also known as Srikurmu or Srikurmais a village near

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, India. Srikurmam village is situated at a distance of 14.5 km to the South-east of Srikakulam town. It is in the Gara mandal of

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme northeastern direction ...

. The village was named after the Srikurmam temple dedicated to Kurma avatar of the Hindu god

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, which was re-established by

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty (also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas) were a large medieval era Indian royal Hindu dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas rul ...

King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.

Geography

Sri Kurmam is located at a latitude of 18° 16' N, a longitude of 84° 1' E and an altitude of 17 meters (59 feet). This location puts the temple about 3 km from the Bay of Bengal.

Sri Kurmam Temple

Sri Kurmam (holy tortoise) is a famous place of pilgrimage and the temple here is unique of its kind in the entire India. The temple is noted for its architectural beauty and contains many inscriptions ranging from the 11th century CE to the 19th century CE. According to inscriptions in the temple dated 1281 CE, the holy place of Kürmakshetra was re-established by

Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

charya under the influence of Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of Kalinga. Eastern ganga king Anangabhima Deva built its pradakshina mandapa. Later the temple came under the jurisdiction of the king of Suryavanshi Gajapatis of

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

. The inscriptions throw light on the dynasties which held sway over this region. The temple is dedicated to Sri Kurmanatha, the second avatar of

, Kurma

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

. Dolotsavam is the important festival and more than 20,000 pilgrims congregate on this occasion.

Pilgrim attractions

* Ancient temple constructed between 9th and 11th centuries in its pristine form. * The Trinity of Madhukeswara, Someswara and Bheemeswara temples. * The Vishnu lingam is formed by the trunk of Madhuca tree ('' Madhuca indica'') with a naturally carved face. * Architecture grandeur of red stone sculpture. * Located on the banks of beautiful river Vamsadhara. *There is also a Turtle sanctuary nearby the temple pond.

References

{{Hindu Temples in Andhra Pradesh Villages in Srikakulam district Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Uttarandhra