The Ahobilam is a famous temple of South India. It is situated on the Nallamalai ranges near Nandyal Railway Station of Andhra Pradesh state. The Nallamalai ranges south of river Krishna, down to Tirupati and are called `Sesha Parvatha`.
Sesha is the name of the king of serpents. The hood of the sesha is at Tirupati, the tail at Srisailam and the middle is situated at Ahobilam. Nallamalais at the tail are called Sringiri, at the middle are called Vedagiri and Garudagiri referred to as at the hood.
The shrine of the Ahobilam temple is situated on the top of the first range and is referred to as Upper Ahobilam and down below is called Lower Ahobilam. A huge temple surrounded by a number of buildings can be seen at the Upper Ahobilam. The main shrine or the "sacro sanctum" at Upper Ahobilam was carved out of a big egg like rock with mandapams.
There is a tank here, which supplies water to the residents of the Upper Ahobliam temple. It is mainly for growing flowers for the shrine. There is a Lower Ahobilam in the below with a big temple and enclosures, It was built according to the South Indian style. Thousands of pilgrims can stay here in this temple.
Hill top temple from 7.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m and 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m., Foot hill temple from 6.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Moolavar : Prahladavaradan, Lakshmi Narasimhan
Urchavar : There are 9 procession deities in both theTemples at the foothill and at the top.
Ahobhilam also known as Ahobalam is located in the Allagadda mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh,India. It is located at a distance of 40 km from Nandyal and about 150 km from Kurnool, the district headquarters.
There are two temple houses, lower Ahobilam and upper Ahobilam. According to the legend, this is where Lord Narasimha blessed Prahlada and killed the demon Hiranyakashipu.
According to legends it is believed that when the Devas saw the manifestation of Lord Vishnu as half-lion, half-man, they shouted "Ahobala" (great strength) as well as "Ahobila" (great cave in which the current sanctum is).
Hence, this place could be called either "Ahobalam" or "Ahobilam". The mention of this place is present in Brahmanda Purana. The place where Lord Narayana appeared from the stone pillar to kill Hiranyakashipa can be seen in this place.
The name of this pillar is Ugra Sthambha, which is now referred as "Ukku Sthambha in Telugu, which incorrectly translates to iron pillar.
There are in nine forms of Lord Narasimha in the temple, his appearance from the pillar, tearing Hiranya's stomach, roaring ferociously and finally the peaceful form (shanti form) all quite realistically depicted.
Do:
Do pray your Ishta Devata before pilgrimage to Temple.
Do contact Temple Devasthanam information centre for enquiry, temple information and for Pooja details etc.
Do reserve your travel and accommodation at Temple well in advance.
Do bath and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
Do concentrate on God and Goddess inside the temple.
Do maintain silence and recite your Istamantram to yourself inside the temple.
Do observe ancient custom and traditions while in Temple.
Do respect religious sentiments at Temple.
Do deposit your offerings in the hundi only.
Don't s:
Do not come to Temple for any purpose other than worshipping of God and Goddess.
Do not smoke at Temple.
Do not consume alcoholic drinks at Temple.
Do not eat non-vegetarian food in the Kshetram.
Do not approach mediators for quick Darshanam. It may cause inconvenient to others.
Do not carry any weapon inside the temple.
Do not wear any head guards like helmets, caps, turbans and hats inside the temple premises.
Do not perform Sastanga Pranama inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Do not take much time while performing Sparsa Darshanam to God in Garbhagriha.
Do not buy spurious prasadams from street vendors.
Do not encourage beggars at Temple.
Do not spit or create nuisance in the premises of the temple.
Temple Pedia
Devotion
Statues & Paintings
Fashion & Jewellery
