The recent spiritual trip with my whole big fat South Indian family has literally amazed me with beautiful destinations and hidden pretty spiritual yet interesting things in the nooks and corners of Andhra Pradesh. I hope everyone knows the place called Vijayawada which has it's railway junction where many trains change their directions and get new attachments here and most of us may familiar with this city especially people who travels in trains more often.
Well, this place got it's spiritual tourist attraction of Hinduism because of the Goddess Kanaka Durga temple. The description of the temple itself portrays the scenic beauty of the place. The temple situated on the hill on the banks of River Krishna. Indrakeeladri, is the name of the hill where the deity Kanaka Durga has self manifested with the Lord Shiva in the form of Durga Malleshwara Swamy. These two main temples got their own piece of history and these two idols have many stories behind them. It's all about killing the evil and establishing the wellness to the people in this location is the main theme of these stories.
This place has the charm of attracting thousands of devotees every single day. The eight handed idol of the goddess Kanaka Durga welcomes everyone with her warm smile and turmeric colored face with glittery ornaments and many varieties of flowers.
Visiting this temple in the evening times gives a person, especially the one who appreciates nature, a great exposure. Because the blend of the natural beauty of Mountain, River Krishna, Prakasham Barrage(constructed across the river), the temple premises, the sunset, which falls behind the hill, the chanting of devotees, every small aspect adds the flavor of scenic beauty of Indrakeeladri Hill..!!
One can opt two ways to climb the hill to visit the main temple and the wonderful idol inside it. One can take steps from down stairs and one can directly court a bus from Railway station, bus stand or near the mountain stair case. Courting a temple service bus is the best way to explore the whole area. The ghat road travel ensures a person to have a 360 degree view of the hill, the river and the bridge.
Like, every temple, this Kanaka Durga Temple also provides facilities of locker systems and many more to the devotees for the smooth flow of Darshan. According to the abilities of a person, one can purchase the visiting tickets range from 100 to 300 Rs. There is a facility of "Antargarbha Darshan" to fill the beauty of the idol of Goddess Durga in one's eyes, which is chargeable too.
One interesting aspect of this temple, is, no matter how much crowded the temple is, the premises always remain peaceful with the chanting and the hill top breeze. One can view the whole developing city of Vijayawada from the temple premises which is situated on the hill top. After the Darshan of Kanaka Durga, one must climb down the stairs to visit the idol of Durga Malleshwara Swamy where Lord Shiva has situated in the form of Linga which was first established by Arjuna in the era of Mahabharat. Arjuna has worshipped this Linga to gain Pasupata Asthra which was very useful in the war of Mahabharat.
Like these, there are many stories that are wrapped up between the rocks of Indrakeeladri and flies in the breeze to make the devotees know the importance and prominence of this place. This place definitely makes a person get connected with the spirituality right from the bottom of the mountain where a big Omkara has situated.
The art and architecture is truly exceptional. The carvings on the main entrance of the temple and the Idol which is situated outside of the temple, the Ganesh idol which welcomes thousands of devotees are the main architect attractions of this hill. The colorful painted entrance with goddesses carvings and sculptures is just beautiful to witness. People who are into arts must give it a deep look into the detailing of each carving.
People who believe in Hinduism, consider this place as sacred. Not only sacred, but it is also scenic. The trees on the mountains, the ghat roads, the people and everything apart, the sunset time is unmissable. The cloud range nourishes the sky and the blush orange color spreads all over the mountain and the temple. The evening times are too beautiful to handle, especially the dawn times where the darkness about to spread the hill, those moments are just inexplicable.
As we visited this hill with the whole family, it was a total fun to explore every single inch of it. Though the mobiles weren't actually allowed inside the premises of the temple, we somehow managed to click a few to cherish the family moments.
So, regardless religion, caste and creed, this hill welcome every person who believes in faith and who loves the nature and mystery behind it. When you plan to visit Vijayawada, don't miss visiting this hill, because this hill is all about nature, belief, truths, beauty, art, architecture and spirituality. It's simply a mix of everything a person wants to explore the peaceful and hopeful side of a soul.
