The ancient and miraculous #VaraSiddhiVinayaka #templestories1 at #Kanipakam

Lord Ganpati as Protector, Healer and supreme Judge, the Swayambu Vara Siddhi Vinayakar at Kanipakam is all this and more to his devotees. 

We had heard so much about the miraculous power of the Vara Siddhi Vinayakar at Kanipakam that when we were on our way to Tirupati from Vellore, and had the whole day on our hands, we made it a point to halt at Kanipakam to have darshan of the Swayambu (self manifested) Vinayakar.

Kanipakam is a village in the Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, is almost midway between Vellore and Tirupati. The distance from Tirupati to Kanipakam is approximately 68 Kms. So the halt was quite a welcome one.We parked our car at the designated car parking and walked towards the temple.

The Gopuram (temple tower) is engraved with beautiful sculptures and carvings. There is a temple tank which people call koneru. We learnt that the temple was established in the 11^th century by Kulothunga Chola 1, a famous Chola King. It was further extended by the emperors of the Vijayanagar dynasty. The temple is beautifully maintained and the premises are spic and span.

There is a long queue for free darshan, and some pilgrims, in case of urgency, opt for the paid quick darshan too. We opt for the free one as this gave us time to take in the serene atmosphere. Some volunteers are seen selling a booklet about the temple and the Seva details.  Since it is written in the Telugu language, which I unfortunately don’t know, I bought one and passed it on to another person in the queue.

He tells us about the history of the temple and how the deity was found. About 1000 years ago, three brothers were cultivating land close to the Viharapuri village. Interestingly, one of the brothers was blind, another deaf and the third dumb. Once, they found that the well which provided water for irrigation was almost dry. When one of them got down the well and started digging with a spade, he found that his space was hitting a stone like object and blood started oozing out from it. This blood mixed with the water in the well. The brothers in the meanwhile had been wonderstruck by the sight of the blood and to their joy they found that they had been cured of their ailments. When the villagers heard of this miracle they came running to the site. They were astonished by the discovery of a self manifested idol of Lord Ganesh in the well.  The divinity of the deity was such that the villagers humbly offered coconuts to the Lord. The coconut water started flowing like a stream and this led to the naming of the village as Kanipakam, where Kani means wetland and pakam means water flowing into wetland. The deity to this day remains in the well where it was originally found. And according to the priest, the water in this well never dries up signifying the divinity and power of the Lord. In the rainy season the water level rises and overflows and this water is given to the devotees as Prasad or theertham.

One of the locals in the queue gave us an insight into some incredible facts about the Swayambu Vara Siddhi Vinayakar. Apparently the deity is growing in size and this is a fact, as the silver kavacham given as offering by a devotee about fifty years ago does not fit the idol anymore.

Another significant belief is that the Swayambu Vinayakar of Kanipakam delivers justice. Many people have been visiting the temple to resolve disputes in the family or between friends. What they do is, they take a dip in the temple tank and swear before the Lord. There have been many incidents when the person who has sinned, accepts his wrongdoing before the deity and justice is immediately delivered.

The Bahuda river which flows besides the temple at Kanipakam is also said to be sacred. There is a legend about two brothers, Sankha and Likhita, who came on a pilgrimage to Kanipakam. During the journey Likhita was very hungry. Refusing to listen to his brother’s advice, he plucked a mango from a tree without taking the owner’s permission. Duty bound to tell the truth, Sankha reported to the King about this and the king chopped off Likhita’s arms as a punishment. The two brothers then proceeded to Kanipakam. When they took a dip in the temple tank, miraculously, Likhita’s arms were restored. This enhanced their faith and belief in the Lord’s justice. The King was amazed when he came to know about the miracle and he named the river Bahuda, Bahu meaning (arms) and da meaning (giver).
The temple opens at 4.00 am and closes at 9.30 pm.

Festivals celebrated with great pomp and splendor in this temple are Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, Ganesh Chaturthi and annual Brahmotsavam which starts 20 days before Ganesh Chaturthi, when the utsava murthi is taken in procession on different vahanams.
There are two more temples in the complex, the Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple and the Maragambika sametha Manikandeshwara Swami temple. Some of the main pujas offered here are Rudrabhishek, Rudra homam, Chandi Homam, Pradosha Puja and Rahu Ketu Sarpa dosha nivarana puja. There is a colorful park in front of the Shiva temple which has a number of beautiful statues. Presented below are some of the photographs I took of the statues in the garden.

#Kanipakam #Swayambu_Varasiddhi_Vinayakar #Brahmotsavam #Bahuda_river #GaneshChaturthi

#temple #Ugadi