Indrakeeladri Temple
This article is about Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada, where people visit a temple dedicated to Goddess Kanakadurga. This place has some interesting secrets, like a rock formation that looks like the goddess\’s face. The temple has different ticket options for people to look closer at the goddess, and some believe her size stays the same no matter which ticket you choose.
The story behind the temple goes like this: In ancient times, a yaksha named Keela did penance to please the goddess. She granted his wish and stayed on a mountain, which is now called Indrakeeladri. She later took a fierce form to defeat a demon named Mahishasura, and that\’s why she\’s sometimes called Mahishasura Mardhani.
History :
Arjuna, one of the heroes from the Mahabharata, did penance on this mountain to obtain a powerful weapon from Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. This is why the place is significant. Some interesting places and stories are associated with this area, but they are not well-known to most people.
Mysterious cave behind the temple where another fierce-looking goddess is said to reside, but it\’s not open to the public. The text suggests that there are more interesting things to discover in Vijayawada.
Vijayawada Durga Idol Mystery
These are words often heard when people talk about Vijayawada\’s Kanaka Durgamma. For a long time, there has been a question on many people\’s minds: \”Is there another statue of Durgamma (the original one) aside from the main temple\’s deity? Is there a statue of Durgamma in a cave behind the temple, showing her in a scary and furious form, with her tongue sticking out?\”
Some people believe that Adi Shankaracharya, a great sage, installed a statue of the goddess that was more pleasant and peaceful. Another belief is that the main deity is the original goddess, and Adi Shankaracharya used his divine powers to transfer the fearful features into another idol in a hill cave in Mugalrajapuram. These stories are mostly true, with a few differences.
A long time ago, the main goddess\’s idol was not accessible to everyone, so they built a small temple (Balalayam) and placed another idol there for people to see. However, priests and monks continued to worship the original goddess hidden behind the temple. This practice has been going on since the time of sage Vidyaranya, which is why these stories exist.
Kanaka Durgamma
So, is the original goddess really in the cave behind the Balalayam? Yes, she is! On the backside of Indrakeeladri, there\’s a large idol of the goddess called Chintamani Kali with 18 hands and a fearsome appearance. This idol is on a black hill to the left of the car parking area. There are eight carved figurines of Durga Devis, one of which is quite large and scary. In the past, this idol was hidden by other hills, so people used to take a back path to the hill.
To find it, take the ghat road to the left of the newly constructed Ganapathi temple. You\’ll see the black hill with the goddess\’s figure. So, you can choose to believe this story or not!
As for Adi Shankaracharya transferring the fearful powers of the original statue into another idol, that\’s true too. We found the cave diagonally opposite the black Buddha statue near Siddartha Degree College. Inside, there\’s a unique idol of a Goddess holding a rakshasa\’s head in one hand and a lion beside her.
What\’s even more astonishing is that when you enter the inner area of the cave, you can hear a continuous sound like \”MMMMMM\” or \”AUM,\” different from the outside traffic noise. The caves are called the goddess\’s \”Dhanapu kotlu,\” where Kanaka Durgamma\’s gaze falls. All these mysterious caves and idols make this goddess very mystical and support the second story about Adi Shankaracharya.
Conclusion
Adi Shankaracharya also rediscovered the location of Malleshwara Swamy and consecrated a Siva lingam in the exact same place on Indrakeeladri hill. He also placed a small \”Sri Chakram\” in front of the Goddess\’s idol for special worship. Finally, he insisted on reciting \”Lalitha Sahasranamam\” in the temple instead of \”Durga Sahasranamam\” to bring out the peaceful qualities of the Goddess.
