Devendra Varma Archives

15/Sep/2022

Location

The famous Arasavalli Temple or Surya Narayana Swamy or the Sun God is located in the village of Arasavalli, which is about 5 km from the town of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. It is ancient and is one of the two Sun God temples in India. This temple was built by the Kalinga ruler of Orissa origin Devendra Varma in the 7th century AD.

Devotees Believe

The deity is Suryanarayana (Sun God) Bhagwan. The legend claims that the people still believe that the darshan of Suryanara yana Bhagwan is very good for the eyes. A 41 days ritual course during the cold season can be taken preferable, because of the difficulty of the ritual. 108 Pradikshana around the sanctum and worshipping the deity increases eye vision. and cures several other ailments.

One of the most distinctive features of Arasavalli Suryanarayana Temple is that it is constructed in such a way that twice a year, in March and September, the rays of the sun touch the feet of God’s statue. This is a hilarious scene. Indra Pushkarini is believed to have been dug by Indra using his Vajrayudh. People attach great importance to it and believe that taking a dip in the lake before performing the puja will bring the blessings and blessings of the Sun God.

Legend

Once Lord Indra ignoring the words of the gatekeeper Nandi attempted to force his entry into the ancient temple of Sri Rudra Koteeswara Swamy at an untimely hour when Lord Shiva was alone with his consort Parvatiji. The gatekeeper Nandi, while discharging his duties, kicked the intruder out. Indra fell down senseless about two miles away.

In an unconscious stage, Indra dreamt that he would be relieved of his pain of injury if he built a temple and installed an idol of the Sun God. Following the dream, he picked up a handful of the earth three times at the place where he was lying and to his great joy, found a beautiful idol of Sun God with His three consorts: Usha, Padmini, and Chaya. Thus, Lord Devendra founded this temple and installed the existing idol of the Sun God commonly known as SURYANARAYANA SWAMY. The Lord here is Swayamvaktha.

According to mythology, Lord Indra, the king of the gods, wanted to enter the Koteshwar temple but thrown out by Nandi. Therefore, Lord Indra established a temple for the Sun god at Arasvalli and performed rituals as an apology for his arrogant behavior in an attempt to force his entry into the temple.

About the Arasavalli Temple

Here, the Sun God seen riding on a chariot, which pulled by seven horses and driven by Aruna, a charioteer. The greatness of this temple is that the rays of the sun touch the feet of the deity twice a year in the months of February and June through a closed entrance. There are two more deities in this temple, Lord Indra and Navagraha.

The temple has five idols of Lord Surya, Goddess Parvati, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva at the same place, which carved out of a single black granite stone. Hence the temple known as Panchayatan Mandir. It believed that people suffering from skin and eye diseases cured by worshiping the Sun God in this temple.

The Arasavalli Temple has a 5 feet tall, black granite image with lotus buds, Padma Pani surrounded by his consorts the Padma, Usha, and Chhaya. The temple also has images of Pingala, Danda, Dwarapal and Sanaka and Sananda, sages.

The Arasavalli Temple has a special pillar, the base of which decorated with gems as offerings to the Sun God.

The prayer for Sun God given as under:

Harshavalli Purivasam

Chayesha Padminiyutam

Suryanarayanam Devam

Nowmi Sarvarthadyakam

Important Information:

People will pray for bone strength, wealth, longevity, and the cleansing of sins. Those who do Surya Namaskar that Arun Mantra and Maha Saura have powers to have good health.

Festivals and Celebrations

Many festivals like Ratha Saptami, Kalyanotsavam, Maha Shivaratri, Dolostavam, Maha Vaisakhi, Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Dussehra, Naraka Chaturdashi, Diwali, Vaikuntha Ekadashi and Makar Sankranti celebrated with joy in the Arasavalli Temple.

Special pujas like suprabhatam, Nitya Archana, and maha nivedha are performed in this temple. Sundays are considered more sacred in this temple and special rituals are performed every Sunday.