Presiding deity: Yoga Narasimhar
Reputation : One of the Divya Desas
Name: Akkarakani
Form : Shila
Mother: Goddess Amirthavalli
Vimanam(Tower): Hemakoti
Place: Sholingar
Scriptural name: Thirukadigai
District: Vellore
Prayer:
Lord Narasimha in this temple is so gracious to offer a lasting cure to those mentally retarded and diseases of incurable nature. The devotee is also relieved of the evil effects of spells and witchcrafts.
Problems between husband and wife separated from each other, longing for a child, delay in marriages is also getting solved, if the devotee surrenders to Lord Narasimha. Loss in business, hunger, ageing, would not occur to the devotee.
Devotee’s use to place stones near the hill route and build a tower so that they face no litigations while buying or selling land or building properties.
Prayer commitments:
Offering sugar crystals, jaggery, banana fruits, offering new clothes, Curd rice nivedhana, and abishek are considered important prayer commitments to the Lord. Abishek to the Lord and the Mother during the Fridays is a regular Puja system in the temple. It is distributed among the devotees. The devotee may also undertake a festival to the Mother, which is chargeable. Devotees also undertake to meet the Mandahapadi (daily puja expenses) or for a period for a day according to their affordability.
Peyazhwar, Thirumangai Azhwar, Sriman Nathamunigal, Thirukachi Nambi, Sri Ramanuja, Manavalamamuni, are the great Acharya devotees who had sung the praise of Lord Narasimha in their hymns. Mother Goddess in the Temple is Amirthavalli, procession deity is Bhakthavatsalam and Procession Goddess is Sudhavalli.
Speciality:
Yoga Narasimha. The Lord with the Lion face on the temple is very powerful. He is in a Yoga position facing the east, wearing the Salagrama garland. Stones picked from the Kandagi River in Nepal in the round or Linga shape is called Salagramas. This form of Lord is called Shila Rupa.
Of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the Narasimha Avatar is considered to be very great and significant. It is in this Avatar, the Lord proved that he manifests in each every thing in the world and appeared spontaneously from a pillar, which Hiranya hit asking whether the Lord was there. He also proved that what Prahlada spoke to his atheist father Hiranya were but truth. This episode in the Narasimha Avatar should be understood that the Lord is ever by the side of the devotee who had sought refuge in him.
Small mount:
The Yoga Anjaneya temple is just opposite the main hill having 406 steps in a serene environment. It is noteworthy that the eyes of Anjaneya are set directly on the Lotus Feet of Yoga Narasimha on the opposite hill. Those who are under the influence of spells and witchcrafts and those suffering from prolonged illnesses are cured and relieved of the troubles if they have a dip in the spring of the hill in the prescribed manner and worship Anjaneya lying on the step of the temple. This is a regular prayer by devotees in the temple.
Reputation:
The shrine ensures salvation to the devotee even he/she stays in the temple for a couple of hours. Sholingar is one of the 22 Divya Desas in the Thondaimandalam geographical region, situated between Kancheepuram and Tirupathi. This is the place where the Lord shed his fury for the Saptharishis (seven rishis) and gave darshan in a meditation position with Dhyana Mudra. The rock on which the Lord is sitting is one till the ground level. The hill temple is 200 feet long, 150 feet wide covering almost one acre. The shrine is built at a height of 750 feet with 1305 steps. A peaceful meditation spot. The wind falling on the devotees with its herbal properties heals blood pressure and cardiac problems of the devotee. The temple was built by Parangusa Cholan in the 3rd century.
General Information: Sholingar is 60 Kms from Vellore, 125 from Chennai and 58 from Thiruvallur. Lodging facilities are conveniently available to the devotees in Thiruthani, Sholingar. Other hotels in the district headquarters, Vellore are Hotel Rearview- Tel. No. 25060, Hotel Ganga 23060, Hotel Vasanthavihar 21496 and Hotel Welcome Lodge No. 22401, the charges ranging from Rs. 200 to Rs. 600.
Sholingar lies on Vellore-Thiruthani route. Also those coming from Chennai can reach Arakonam by train and proceed further by bus. Buses are available to Sholingar from Vellore, Thiruthani, and Thiruvallur. Nearest Railway station is Thiruthani and Panavaram and the airport Chennai.
Festivals:
Five Fridays and five Sundays Karthikai festival is very grandly celebrated in the Sholingar temple drawing crowds in lakh. Other festivals are Narasimha Jayanthi and Kanchi Garuda Sevai in Vaikasi (May-June), Thiru Adi Pooram in Adi (July-August), Thiru Pavithrotsavam in Avani (August-September), Aipasi Manavalamamuni festival (October-November), Rapathu-Pagal pathu, i.e. 10 days during day time and 10 during night in Margazhi (December-January), Makar Sankranti or Pongal in Thai (January-February) Panguni Uthiram Wedding festival in Panguni (March-April) are the important festivals celebrated in the temple very devotionally.
History:
After killing the demon king Hiranya, the Lord was journeying from Ahobilam on the sky route. The Saptharishis seeing the Lord in the sky appealed to him that they didn’t have the Lord for worship in the place and begged Him to come down leaving his fury and in a peaceful and graceful form. Lord Narasimha was pleased with their prayer and graced them. The Yoga Anjaneya also graces the shrine facing Lord Narasimha and is believed to be performing his penance. It is the unshakable belief of the devotees that no prayer of them goes unheeded by the Lord.
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