Yaganti Temple or Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Nandyal district Nandyal district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with Nandyal as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 4 April 2022 to become one of the resultant 26 districts. It is part of the Rayalaseema region. The district ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state of

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 ...

. It was built according to Vaishnavaite traditions.

History

This temple was constructed by King Harihara Bukka Raya of the

Sangama Dynasty The Sangama dynasty was a Veerashaiva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire founded in the 14th century by two brothers: Harihara I (also called ''Vira Harihara'' or ''Hakka Raya'') and Bukka Raya I. They were the sons of Bhavana Sangama. They ...

of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

in the 15th century. It was built according to Vaishnavaite traditions. One story of the site's origin is as follows: The sage

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

wanted to build a temple for Lord

Venkateswara Venkateswara (, ), also known as Venkatachalapati, Venkata, Balaji and Srinivasa, is a Hindu deity, described as a form or avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the presiding deity of Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati. Hi ...

on this site. However, the statue that was made could not be installed as the toe nail of the idol got broken. The sage was upset over this and performed a penance for Shiva. When Shiva appeared, he said the place suits Shiva better as it resembles Kailash. Agastya then requested Shiva to give the devotees a

Parvathi Parvati (, , IPA: / pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: / gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, d ...

Goddess as Lord Uma Maheswara in a single stone, which Shiva obliged. A second story is as follows: Chitteppa, a devotee of Shiva, was worshiping Shiva and Shiva appeared to him as a tiger. Chitteppa understood that it was Lord Shiva in tiger form, and shouted ''Neganti Shivanu ne kanti'' (meaning: I saw Shiva I saw), and danced with joy. There is a cave called Chitteppa nearby. Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple is one of the few temples patronized by one of the great dynasties of India. Every year

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

is celebrated and a large number of devotees from all over Andhra Pradesh visit.

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

and

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

are the main deities in this temple. This temple is 14 km away from Banaganipalli in kurnool dt. The saint lord Veerabrahmendra swami stayed here for some time and wrote Kalagnanam.

Architecture

Pushkarini

A feature of this temple is its ''Pushkarini'', a small pond of water on the temple premises. Water flows into this ''Pushkarini'' from the bottom of hill through the mouth of a Nandi (bull). The water is fresh and sweet, as it comes from the hills. No one knows how the water reaches the pond all year round and this temple architecture in terms of its sculpture shows the skills of ancient Viswakarma Sthapathis. Devotees find that a holy bath in ''Pushkarini'' is highly beneficial. After taking a bath in ''Pushkarini'', they pay tributes to Lord

. The sage Agasthya bathed in ''Pushkarini'' and worshipped Shiva. Caves present in and around yaganti temple are:

Agastya Cave

This is the cave where Agastya performed his penance for Shiva. One can enter the cave by climbing 120 steep steps. A

murti In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

is installed and may be worshipped here.

Venkateswara Cave

The damaged murti of Lord Venkateswara is present in this cave. Compared to Agastya cave it is easy to climb though the steps are steep. According to the story this murti was present in this cave before the

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple The Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala or Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hills of Tirumala, Tirupati Urban Mandal in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a for ...

was constructed. But as the murti is damaged near the foot, it could not be worshipped. Sri Sri Potuluri Veera Brahmendra Swami tells us in his ''Kala Gynanam'' that this place can stand as an alternative to Tirupati.

Veera Brahmam Cave

This is the cave where saint Sri Madvirat Potuluri Veera Brahmendra swamy wrote some of his ''Kala Gnaanam'' (prophecy). The height of the cave is less and one needs to bend half over to enter it.

Popular beliefs

Growing Nandi

The devotees believe that the Nandi murti in front of the temple is continuously increasing its size. The locals say that the murti was initially much smaller than its present size. They say that certain experimentation was carried out on this murti and it was said that the type of rock out of which the murti is carved has a growing or enlarging nature associated with it. It is said that people used to do Pradakshinas (rounds) around it in the past. The temple staff has already removed one pillar as the size of the Nandi has increased. According to Sri Madvirat Potuluri Veera Brahmendra swamy, the Basavanna (stone nandi) of Yaganti will come alive and shout when

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. I ...

ends.

Absence of Crows

Legend has it that while the Sage Agastya was performing his penance, crows disturbed him and he cursed that the crows cannot enter the place. As the crow is the

Vahana ''Vāhana'' () or ''vahanam'' () denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindus, Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's "mount". Upon the partnership b ...

for Lord

Shani Shani (, ), or Shanaishchara (, ), is the divine personification of the planet Saturn in Hinduism, and is one of the nine heavenly objects ( Navagraha) in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male Hindu deity in the Puranas, whose iconography cons ...

, it is believed that Shani cannot enter this place.

Transportation

Yaganti is located in the Nandyal District in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, approximately 100 km from the city of

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

. The temple is 14 km west of

Banaganapalle Banaganapalli is a town in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It lies in Nandyal district, 38 km west of the city of Nandyal. Banaganapalli is famous for its mangoes and has a cultivar, ''Banaganapalli'', named after it. Between 1790 and ...

(Mandal headquarters) on the Banaganapalle-Peapully road.we can reach the temple even from the Historic site

Belum caves The Belum Caves, located in Nandyala district of Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema region, is the second largest cave system on the Indian subcontinent, known for its speleothems, such as stalactite and stalagmite formations. The Belum Caves ...

in 1.5hrs and measures a distance of 45 km.

Gallery

File:Yaganti 1.jpg, Hills around the temple File:Yaganti_10.jpg, The ''

Pushkarini Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex near Indian temples. They are called pushkarini, kalyani, kunda, sarovara, tirtha, talab, pukhuri, ambalakkuḷam, etc. in different languages and regions of India. Some ...

'' is suitable for holy baths. File:yaganti3.jpg, The Agastya cave File:Yaganti venkateswara cave.jpg, Venkateswara cave File:Yaganti 9.jpg, Ancient Tulasi Kota File:Yaganti 7.jpg, Main

Gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...

References

{{Hindu Temples in Andhra Pradesh Hindu temples in Kurnool district Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh Shiva temples in Andhra Pradesh