Devotees join hands to develop Mallur Temple at Mulugu

Works on Gopuram, Mandapam and other structures are taking place as part of the development of the temple which attracts devotees from different parts of Telangana and also from neighbouring States

Mallur (Mulugu): Thanks to the generosity of the devotees and philanthropists, the Hemachala Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple, nestled in the thick forest near the Godavari River at Mallur village in Mangapet mandal in the district, is witnessing some development after several years. Works on Gopuram, Mandapam and other structures are taking place as part of the development of the temple which attracts devotees from different parts of Telangana and also from neighbouring States.

Speaking to Telangana Today, temple hereditary priest, K Raghavacharyulu said that they had begun development works about three years ago with the help of the donors. “We have constructed the Gopuram and Mandapam in front of the sanctum sanctorum by setting up pillars as the temple is located on the hill slope. The major portion of the construction works have been completed, while the plastering works are pending,” he said adding that it was a herculean task for him to collect the material for the works. “Majority of the donors have contributed to the work in the form of supplying sand, stones, cement, iron and other material,” he added. It is estimated that the worth of the total development works is about Rs 2 crore.

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Located 1,500 feet above the sea-level on Puttakonda (hillock), Lord Narasimha is believed to have incarnated from a volcano and his body is felt and sensed the same as that of a human body – even with ‘hair’. If you press your fore-finger on the chest of the idol, you can see the finger sinking into the rock without resistance. Once you take out the finger, a trough formed due to the press slowly fills up leaving an impression on the chest.

According to the priests, the temple has a history of more than 4,770 years and it was Agastya, the great sage, who named the hillock as Hemachalam. One cannot see an idol of this kind in any temple in India. The 9.2 feet tall idol of the deity oozes out some liquid like water from the navel which is served to the devotees. It is a divine wonder to note that the sandal in the fluid form flows through the umbilicus (navel) of the great Maha Vishnu. Chintamani waterfall and Koneru originate at the lord’s feet. It is learnt that it was Rani Rudrama Devi who named the stream (small Jalapatham) after Chintamani.

Devotees either take a bath in the stream at the hillock or fill up the water in the bottles to take them home due to its ‘medicinal values’. Kommidi Rajeshwar Reddy, a devotee from Ghatkesar near Hyderabad, said that he had come along with his friends from Hyderabad to take a bath in the water from the hillock as it has many medicinal values. It may be added here that the State government had also declared it a protected biodiversity zone of herbals.

Lakhs of pilgrims throng the temple during the Vaishaka Masam to witness the Brahmotsavams every year. “The TRS government has announced plans to develop the temple with Rs 4 crore a few years ago. But it has not allotted a single rupee so far to the temple,” a priest said and urged the government to allocate funds for the completion of the pending works and to provide more amenities at the temple.

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