Temple Visit to Sholinghur Narasimhar

Trip to Sholinghur Narasimhar Temple

You can write to me on templeashok@yahoo.co.in for any clarifications /doubts..i shall try my best to be of use to u so that u have a good dharshan..you can also write to me on the mail id above for adding anything more to make it more useful and informative every small info will help as it has probably helped you so please write in..…

I thank Mr.Harish Shankaram for his inputs from his tour....have done some modifications...

Hi Ashok,I came across your blog while reading about various temples in India.I have a write up on Sholinghur Narasimhar temple.You can perhaps include it in your blog so that others may also benefit.ThanksHarish----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Details about the temple through links:

Official Website: http://www.sholinghurnarasimhar.com/

Other Links:

http://www.doddacharya.org/


Temple Phone Number:

Std Code-04172 Phone Number : 262225


Background:We came to know of this temple through our guide and god Shiva Shankar Baba.


How to go:

THis link gives the distances http://www.sholinghurnarasimhar.com/eTravel.html

You can reach this place by bus from Koyembedu bus stand chennai or train to arakkonam and then by bus also.

We went by car from Chennai. The trip takes approximately 3 hours from Chennai.(http://www.doddacharya.org/directions.html).

Hotels in Sholinghur:

http://www.sholinghurnarasimhar.com/eLodge.html


The only decent hotel in Sholinghur is C.A.M motel. We took a couple of hours of rest there(rate was around Rs.250)

We then proceeded to climb the hills.Temples:There are 2 temples-One for Yoga Narasimhar situated on the big hill and one for Yoga Anjaneyar situated on the small hill.Big hill temple:We went to the big hill temple of Yoga Narasimhar first to get darshan of Lord Narasimha.The climb takes around 40-50 minutes. It is not a hard climb but can be a bit strenuous for the older folks. However if one takes rest every so oftenit can be easily managed. There are also "dholi" services available for folks who cannot do the climb.Lord Narasimha is in a calm yogic pose in this temple. It is said that worshipping here for just 24 minutes gives immense benefits to the worshipper.The steps are protected by a tin shed. Hence it is easy to climb even in the sun.Small hill temple:The Yoga Anjaneyar temple is in the adjoining hill called as the 'small hill’. The climb is much less strenuous and should take only 20-25 minutes. Here Anjaneyar is in a yogic pose giving blessing to devotees and fulfilling their wishes. There is also a nice temple pond at the top of the hill.Note that there is no tin shed covering the steps in the small hill. Hence it can be a difficult climb in the hot weather.(By baba's grace there were rain showers as we were getting down the big hill temple. Hence the climb up the smallhill was cool and pleasant).Useful tips:-We didn’t find good eatery in Sholinghur.It is better to pack some food and snacks with you.-Always have a water bottle (preferably one per person) while climbing the temple. It is really useful.-Try to arrive early .Climbing gets much harder if the steps get hot (small hill temple).-It might be better to visit the small hill temple first (before the weather gets hotter) though I'm not sure if it is okay to visit the small temple first before the big temple.-Tirtuttani is close by(only 25 kms away).It makes sense to visit both the temples.The 2 websites (see above) )provide lots of information and useful phone numbers.

How to reach

Nearest Airport – Chennai

Nearest Rail Head/ Railway Station – Arakkonam Junction. Take a bus from there.

Road Access: There are many buses from Chennai.

Preferred travel base: Chennai

STD Code of Sholinghur -04172

Railway Station code for Chennai Central – MAS Sholinghur - SHU

Have given the train timings from chennai as on 6th june 2007 below

2609 BANGALORE EXP 13:15 14:31 M T W TH F S SU

6669 YERCAUD EXPRESS 22:30 23:57 M T W TH F S SU

6222 MYSORE EXPRESS 21:30 22:54 M T W TH F S SU


For Internet/ Mobile Railway ticket Booking in India use

http://www.irctc.co.in/

For Travel by Private bus to and fro to any major town in Tamilnadu and some interstate destinations use the links below for bus booking through internet.

http://parveentravels.com/E-ticketing/index.php


http://kpntravels.in/ou/frmuserhome.aspx

Trip to Ahobilam

Trip Visit to Ahobilam Ahobila -17th 18th & 19th March 2007 -U may mail me on templeashok@yahoo.co.in for any queries /clarifications/doubts. I will be glad to help you from what I know...

Keywords: Ahobilam Mutt math

http://www.ahobilamutt.org/temples/ahobil/toahob.html

How to reach ahobilam from chennai bangalore mumbai..please alight at cuddapah the nearest railhead.

I proceeded from Dadar(Mumbai) to Cuddapah because I had to pick my son…Prahalad (whose story is what this shrine brings out).. I belong to Chennai and u can take a train from Chennai to cudappah too…I reached cuddapah by 3pm on 18th…took a bus from there(new bus stand) to Allegeda(frequent busses are available—it is two hrs frm cudappah) and from there took a bus to ahobilam(rs 10 per tkt) which runs roughly every 45 min…u can also take an auto (rough cost Rs.100)…there is a guest house called malola guest house where I stayed(single room was Rs.200 with fairly clean room attached bath) ..Manager is mr.Badri Narayanan who was very helpful..ph no of guest house..08519-252045 or 252089..address-Shri Ahobila Mutt Sri Malola Guest house Ahobilam 518545 Kurnool District Andhra Pradesh India…there is a very good canteen very nxt to the guest house where good food is available..Of interest here is 9(nava) Narasimhars each representing a planet, pillar from where Narasimha emerged (ugra stamba-u can clim this but it is for very high risk takers),Prahalad Padi(his school), Lower Ahobilam and upper ahobilam Narasimhar temple..I skipped the pillar which can be seen easily from near the Jwala Narasimhar shrine and the prahalad padi which is nothing great except for a step with om written..u get guides for 350 rs..it is best to hire them which I did from malaoa guest house..my guides name by chance happened to be mr.Narasimhan..The path u take is a climb up the mountain through river bed(bhavanashini river-remover of sins river) and the climb is real steep and rocky and the view something u jus cant miss..there are steps leading to Jwala and malola each about 300 and 400 which is slighty difficult for old people..i clim tirupati hills regularly which is 3700 steps so found it easy..all the others are descending steps and pathways only..so we coverd 5 narasimhars on the way up and down the mountain in 3 hrs…lower and upper ahobila temples can take ½ hr each..there are 3 narasimhars very near lower ahobilam of which one is bhargava which has 100 odd steps to climb..the most difficult is the only one left which is Pavana which u can access from upper ahobilam..it is a 1 km step climb and 7 km walk and 7km return..i did not walk this I took a jeep instead which cost me 1500 rs..the ride is real bumpy and anyone with spine trouble should never take it..we reached pavana from lower ahobilam by jeep in 1.15 hrs and then returned..on the way back are Yoganand and chatravata which we saw and paid rs 100 more to take us to bhargava..so in tot ors 1500 for the jeep..it is a fare for the jeep any no can go in it till about 8-10 persons..we were only two my son and me..but still took it since we wanted a dharshan of all 9 narasimhars the same day..we started at 8 am and could finish all by 4.pm…then retraced to allegeda and cuddapah to take the chnnai mail from Mumbai 6009 at 10 pm from cuddapah to reach Chennai at 4.30 am the next day..to summarise.. then go to upper ahobilam temple(1)--(order food in the Brahmin food chatram(only if u tell them to make will they prepare food..its free I think because though we ordered food I went there a little earlier at 11.30 and they said it can be served at 12 pm only..so we skipped it..) there which will be served after 12 pm.. pray to lord of upper ahobilam and finish jwala(2),malola(3),varaha(4)(Kroda) and have food and then visit karanja(5) on the way back from upper to lower ahobilam it is on the way on the roadside… visit lower ahobilam temple and then take a jeep to paavana(6) narasimhar..see yoganand(7) and Chatravata(8) on the way and then visit bhargava(9)….

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