Talpagiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple

Nellore

Nellore is one of the major cities of Andhra Pradesh located by the banks of the Penna river, it was called as Vikramasimhapuri in ancient times. The current name comes from a Tamil word meaning “Town of rice(Nel)”, due to the abundant paddy fields around it. Nellore district itself contains many famous landmarks like the Sriharikota Space Center, the Pulicat Lake, Udayagiri Fort, Penchalakona Narasimha Temple, Somasila Dam.

And it has been the home of many luminaries ranging from Potti Sriramulu, whose fast unto death created Andhra State, Tikkana , one of the Kavi Trayam of Telugu literature along with Pothana and Nannaya, famous singer SP Balasubramanyam,actress Vanisri one of Telugu cinema’s major stars during the 70s, veteran actors Ramana Reddy, Nagabhushanam, Rajanala, lyricist Acharya Atreya, communist leader P.Sundarayya, former Chief Minister Bezawada Gopal Reddy and former Vice President M.Venkayya Naidu.

Nellore district is also famous for it's distinctive dialect, more closer to Chittor one. And of course the famous Nellore Chepala Pulusu, one of Andhra Pradesh's famous cuisines, as also the Malai Kaaja. Sea on one side, hills on other side, it's known for it's lush green paddy fields.

The Talpagiri Ranganathaswamy Temple is one of the oldest Vishnu temples in Andhra Pradesh, located by the banks of the Penna River. As per the Sthala Purana, Rishi Kashyapa performed the Poundarika Yagna here, pleased with his devotion, Vishnu appeared here in the form of Shri Ranganatha. As per the Skanda Purana from the flames of the Yagna, this temple had emerged, along with the Jonnavada Kamakshi Temple and Vedagiri Narasimha Temple.

This is one of the prominent Ranganatha Kshetras in India, with a large courtyard, flanked by a 7 story, 95 feet Rajagopuram in the east, from which you enter the temple. The Penna river flows to the west of the temple, devotees take a dip here, before visiting the temple. The temple contains a mukha mandapam,garba gudi which has Shree Ranganatha sleeping on Adisesha here, with Sridevi and Bhudevi at his feet towards the Northern side. Tikkana translated the Mahabharatam into Telugu at this temple.

The temple was originally called Sri Vaikuntam, later during the 17th century it was called as Talpagiri Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple. It’s believed that the temple was originally built during the 7th, 8th centuries by the Pallavas. During the 12th century it was Raja Raja Narendra and Kullothunga Chola II, who expanded the temple and built upon the existing structure. The Rajagopuram to the East was built by Shri Yerragadipati Venkatachalam Pantulu in 1879, while in early 20th century, Muppirala Narasimhacharyulu gifted a gold plated Garuda Vahanam, and also got an Addala Mandapam( Hall of Mirrors) built here, which has a beautiful image of Shri Krishna on the ceiling.

Located on the NH-5 and also a major railway junction, Nellore is easily accesible by road and rail, while Tirupati is the nearest airport. The city has many good hotels to stay, and is quite close to Chennai, 3 hours drive. Apart from the Sri Ranganatha Temple here, you can use it as a base to visit many other attractions like Mypadu Beach, Pulicat Lake, Udayagiri Fort.