Bhavanarayana Temple, Sarpavaram

Bhavanarayana Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu along with His eternal consort Lakshmi Devi. The Bhavanarayana temple building is around 500 years old holding two lakes in its complex. Located in the Sarpavaram region of rural Kakinada district in Andhra Pradesh (India), the high walls surrounding the temple is a unique sight to behold.

The temple was not simply constructed out of a human desire. Lord Vishnu is said to have appeared here in connection with the activities of His great devotees Anantadeva and Sage Narada.

The Bhavanarayana temple is referred to as Sarpavaram Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple popularly. Also called Trilinga Kshoni Vaikuntha as the temple complex houses three Deities.

The origin of Bhavanarayana Temple

The pastime behind the appearance of Bhavanarayana Temple has been narrated in the Brahmavaivarta Purana by Sage Agastya to Shaunaka Rishi and the other Sages of Naimisharanya forest.

Kadru was one of the wives of Sage Kashyapa. She gave birth to thousand serpents. To win a bet against her co-wife, Kadru ordered her children to go and embrace the tail of Ucchaishrava, the white horse of Lord Indra. By this act, she would be able to make Vinata, her husband’s co-wife, her maid-servant.

But Kadru’s sons refused to do so saying that cheating in the bet was against dharma. Angered by the refusal of her sons, she cursed them all to die in the sarpa-yagna (snake sacrifice) to be conducted by King Janamejaya in the future. Among the thousand sons of Kadru, Ananta was the most pious.

To please Lord Vishnu, he went around searching for a suitable place to perform penances. Finally, he reached the place called as Sarpavaram today. Ananta engaged in penances and pleased Lord Vishnu who blessed Ananta to be His bed and couch. Lord Vishnu declared that Ananta’s place of penance would be known as Sarpapura thereafter.

The Lord also said that His Deity and Lakshmi Devi’s Deity would be installed there by Sage Narada in the future. With time, Sarpapura became Sarpavaram.

Sage Narada installs Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi Devi at Sarpapura

Once Sage Narada went to meet Lord Brahma in Satyaloka. During the course of conversation, Lord Brahma said that the entire universe was covered in the maya (illusion) of Lord Vishnu. But Sage Narada asserted that he could not be touched by maya. Hearing this, Lord Brahma chastised Sage Narada for his arrogance.

While going around the world on a pilgrimage later, Sage Narada reached Sarpapura. The Sage took a dip in a lake he saw in Sarpapura to refresh himself. Sage Narada turned into a beautiful young woman immediately after the dip. He had forgotten his past.

While hunting in the forest, Nakunda, the young prince of Pithapuram reached Sarpapura. He saw and fell in love with the beautiful young woman who was Sage Narada originally. He married her and took her to Pithapuram. In course of time, the young woman gave birth to 60 heroic sons named Prabhava, Vibhava, etc.

Some time later, a king by the name Ripunjaya invaded Pithapuram. He killed Nakunda and all of his 60 sons. The woman heard about the tragic end of her husband and sons as King Ripunjaya was marching ahead. As the woman thought of ending her life, Lord Vishnu appeared before her as a brahmana.

He asked the woman to take a dip in the very same lake where she met her husband. On doing the same, the young woman transformed back into Sage Narada who now remembered all the events. He prayed asking Lord Vishnu for forgiveness.

Lord Vishnu declared “This lake would be known as Mukti-Kasara, the lake of liberation thereafter. I command all the holy places in the three worlds to reside here. Those who bathe here will become free from their sins. Of the months, Karthika, Margashirsha and Magha are the most auspicious. Of the days, Saturday and Sunday are the most auspicious. I shall remain here along with My consort Lakshmi. Please install Me and My consort with all the Vedic rites.”

All the sages and demigods came to Sarpapura and sung the praise of Lord Bhavanarayana who declared that he would always stay there along with Neeladevi and Bhudevi.

Bhavanarayana Temple: The Deities

Lord Bhavanarayana Swamy is the presiding Deity of the Bhavanarayana temple along with Sri Rajyalakshmi Devi. He appears atop Sri Garuda in the Paatala Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple. His consort Rajyalakshmi Devi resides opposite Him. Adjacent to Lord Bhavanarayana Swamy is the shrine of Manavala Mahamuni.

Garudadeva and Lord Hanuman reside in the temple complex too.

The Architecture of Bhavanarayana Temple

The mesmerizing 500-year-old architecture of the temple has a few points worth detailing. The temple complex is protected by high walls with the Gopura in the north and the Simhadwara in the east. The Kalyana Mandapam is in the north while the Dhwajastambha (flag-post) stands in the east.

The Asthana Mandapam houses Jaya and Vijaya, the door-keepers of Vaikuntha. The intricately carved shikaras and the gopuram are not worth ignoring. While the pillars have retained their beautiful structures and carvings, the entire temple structure will tell you many tales from the past.

The Festivals of Bhavanarayana Temple

There is no dearth of festivals celebrated at the Bhavanarayana temple. They are:

1. Ugadi, celebrated between March/April.
2. Three Ekadashis are celebrated here primarily. They are Vaishaka Shukla Ekadashi (May), Jyestha Shukla Ekadashi (June) and the Karthika Pournami Ekadashi (October/November).
3. The Sundays of the Magha month.
4. Ratha Saptami, which falls between mid-January and mid-February.

The Temple Timings of Bhavanarayana Temple

The temple offers you enough time to relish the darshan of Lord Bhavanarayana Swamy. Darshan is open at the following times:

Morning: 06.00 AM to 11.00 AM

Evening:   05.00 PM to 08.00 PM

How to reach Bhavanarayana Temple

There are ample means to reach the Bhavanarayana temple which is just five kilometers from Kakinada. You may also join the Pancha Rama Tour by Tirtha Yatra for a hazzlefree experience.

Else you can explore the following means of transportation:

By Road: There are frequent bus services from Kakinada. You can hire a cab too after reaching Kakinada by rail or air.

By Rail: The Kakinada railway station is the nearest to Sarpavaram. It is well-connected to important towns and cities in Andhra Pradesh and other states.

By Air: The nearest domestic airport is at Rajamundhry 56 km away while the nearest International airport is at Vishakapatnam (Vizag) 159 km away. Buses and private taxis are available from these airport locations.

Bhavanarayana Temple: Where sins flee in fear

Lord Bhavanarayana destroys the fear of this material world. Rather, sins flee when a devotee merely sees the door of the Lord’s temple. Hence, if you truly desire a peaceful and prosperous life, do not turn your face away from Lord Bhavanarayana Swamy Who resides in Sarpavaram eternally with His consorts Neeladevi and Bhudevi.

The Lord declares that this place is the best amongst all the 108 holy places of Lord Vishnu on earth. Staying here for merely three nights awards you the benefit of 100 ashwamedha yagnas. Even Ananta was able to attain the permanent service of Lord Vishnu by performing penances here.

You can’t imagine the potency of the holy dham of Sarpavaram. Your sincere prayers of devotion along with your sincere steps towards Lord Bhavanarayana Swamy is all what the Lord expects from you!