Famous SriKalaHasti........

SriKalahasti temple is located 36 km away from Tirupathi in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradhesh, India.

The Kalahasti temple is dedicated to Kalahasteswara worshiped as Vayu Lingam. The Vayu Lingam, represents the element wind out of the five elements of Agni, Vaayu, Aakasam, Jalam and Prithvi. This temple is renowned for performing Sarpadosha (Rahu Ketu) Nivaarana Pooja. The inner temple is constructed around 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 12th Century.

There is a lamp burning inside the inner sanctum that constantly flickers despite the lack of air movement inside. The vayu-linga can be seen moving despite the doors being closed. The sanctum has no windows, the lamp flames keep moving despite no air movement. The linga is white and is considered Swayambhu - self-manifested.

Kalahasti is surrounded by two hills. The Durgamba temple on the north hill and the shrine of Kannabeswara on the south hill, in memory of the Sage Kannappa, who offered an eye to the Lord. There is also a temple dedicated to Subramanya on one of the hills. A river flowing in the north washes the foot of the temple. The main linga remains untouched by human hands, even the priests do not touch it. Abhishek (bathing) is done by pouring a mixture of water, milk, camphor and panchamrita. Sandal paste, flowers and the sacred thread are offered to the utsava-murti, and not the main linga. It has an enormous, ancient gopuram over the main gate, which is 36.5 metres (120 feet) high and the entire temple is carved out from the side of the hill. King Krishnadeva Raya built this temple in1516. The temple is very ornate with elaborately designed pillars, altars, etc.

According to ancient Tamil sources Sri Kalahasti has been known as the ‘Kailas of the South’ for slightly more than two thousand years and the small river on whose banks it sits, the ‘Ganges of the South.’ Kailas is perhaps India’s most revered spiritual symbol. It is the abode of Shiva, from whose head, according to legend, the Ganges is said to flow. Shiva, ‘that which is auspicious at all places, times and in all circumstances’ is a symbol of the Self and the Ganges flowing from his head represents the spiritualized or awakened mind. A mind sourced in Spirit is a river of immeasurable power and life-giving goodness. The claim that Kalahasti is the ‘Kailas of the South’ simply means that the small hill near the temple is to be taken as the spiritual equivalent of the Himalayan Kailas. Likewise, the small river flowing in a northerly direction beside the temple is to be taken as the mighty Ganges.

The God Dakshinamurthy whose name means ‘the one facing south’ and whose idol (murthy) is installed in the Kalahasti Temple, sits in the North and faces south. East often represents the dawning of wisdom, the sun being another common Self symbol.

SriKalahasti got its name because in days of yore a spider (sri), serpent (kala) and elephant (hasti) elephant worshipped Shiva with great devotion. A spider lived in the inner sanctum and worshipped the Lord by weaving elaborate temples and images of Shiva. One day a breeze came up and caused the altar fire to destroy the spider’s offerings. It became angry and was about to gulp down the flame, (realize the Self) endangering its (ego’s) life. Appreciative of its devotion, Shiva appeared and granted the spider a boon. The spider requested moksha, release from the cycle of births and deaths. Accordingly it became one with Shiva, the Self.

A cobra worshipped Lord Shiva by offering rare gems, pearls and rubies that it brought from Nagaland, a mythical place where Nagas (serpents) dwell. Serpents are one of India’s most visible symbols of the spiritual power of the Self. The spiritual power of the Self, called Kundalini, the latent electricity of Consciousness, is hidden in the dark recesses of the unconscious like a snake hidden deep within the earth. After the snake had worshipped, an elephant, fresh from its purifying bath in the nearby river, came to worship. In preparation it sprayed the altar with water from its trunk, scattering the gems. It then proceeded to decorate the altar with leaves from a holy tree. When the cobra returned it was angered to see its offerings disrespected and replaced by mere leaves. So it replaced the leaves with gems. This charade repeated itself every day until the cobra became fed up and decided to punish whomever was destroying its offerings. When the elephant returned to worship with its leaves the cobra slithered up its trunk and injected its venom. In agony the elephant dashed its head on the stone altar in an attempt to kill the snake. The snake fell out of the trunk and died from its wounds and the elephant succumbed to the poison. Understanding that both had sacrificed their lives for the sake of their love of the Lord, Shiva resurrected them, gave them liberation and took them into his own body. At the foot of the linga one can see a spider, two elephant tusks and a five-headed (the five elements) serpent to remind the devotee of these acts of supreme devotion.

Famous Horsely Hills - Andhra Ooty....

Horsely Hills is one of the important Tourist places of the Chittoor District. It is a Summer Resort Station located nearby Madana Palle Town. Many people termed as Andhra Ooty. Horsley Hills is a mesmerizing place where lofty peaks appear to be conversing with the blue skies. Horsley is the one of the three hill-stations in Andhra Pradesh. It is the only coolest place in the southern and western parts of Andhra Pradesh. Travel to Horsley Hills, where divine fragrance of flowers flanking the roads will enthrall you to the core of your heart. Hills enveloped in green forests with exotic variety of flora, make a great resort for the people engaged in chaotic city life.

Horsley Hills is named after a British officer named W.D. Horsley, the Collector of Cuddapah district. He visited this place around 1840-43 and was impressed by the beauty of the hills and chose this spot for his summer residence. Now the Governor of uses this house as a summer residence and hence this house is called the Governors bungalow.

The forest area boasts of flora like Eucalyptus, Jacaranda, Allamanda, Gulmohar, Reeta, Shikakai, Amla, Beedi leaves, Bay leaves, Sandalwood, Red sanders, Blue Gum, Mahogany and Bamboo.

The last stretch of the Horsley hill, which is of 10 km, has difference of height of 746 meter. This difference between the point and the base shows how steep the hill is. The hill is about 1265 meter above sea level. The discoverer of the hill constructed many houses here. The beauty of the hill was increased by the cool mountain here. A panoramic view of the lower lands can be enjoyed from the top of the Horsley hill. This place has a very pleasant climate and the temperature is average 18°C less than the plains below. The visitors need to carry warm clothes if planning to spend night there.

The old name of Horsley Hills was Eenugu Mallamma Konda. According to legend, there used to be a little girl named Mallamma who was taken care of by Elephants. She used to heal the tribal people on the hills. When she disappeared suddenly, people thought that she was a goddess and built a temple for her.

The Horsley`s Bungalow can be visited by the tourists. Another interesting thing here is the eucalyptus tree, which is believed to be more than 100 years old. A sericulture centre is also worth visit here, which is often visited by numerous birds.

There is a school in the Horsley hill named `Rishi Valley School`. It is about 16 km from Madanapalle and is run by American Management on public school lines.

Talakona Water Falls......

Talakona is famous for the temple of Sri Siddheswara Swamy and beautiful waterfalls. Talakona Waterfalls is 40 km from Tirupati. People from Chittor district and neighboring districts will gather on 1st January and Mahasivaratri festival days and weekends to pray god and enjoy the water falls. Puranas says that those who do not have children come here and pray god for children and name their children as Siddaiah or Siddamma. The water falls are four km from the temple.

This waterfall is considered as the entrance to the hills of Tirumala on which the shrine of Lord Venkateshwara is located. This 270 ft cascade is a perennial one and famous for its medicinal effects. November to January is the best season to visit.

The water is rich in minerals which flows through herbs and it has healing & increases our immune resistance. Talakona was declared as Bio-Sphere Reserve since variety of herbs and plant species avaliable plenty.

Film shootings will be going round the year, you have resorts and cottages avialable to enjoy your plesant stay. It is advised to visit during the months Dec - March, Jan and Feb will be ideal.

Sri Ashtalakshmi Sametha Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Group Temples-Vepanjeri .....

Vepanjeri means a sacred place. Vem+Pancha+Hari = Vem, Pancha, Hari means, Vem = Sins, Pancha = Five, Hari = that removes; a sacred place that removes five sins. And in course of time Vem pancha hari became Vepanjeri.

Vepanjeri is a village situated 15km east of Chittoor in AP. Except the sacred image of the Lord Lakshminarayana with the Goddess Lakshmi Ammavaru seated on te left side of the Lord's lap, most part of the temple was non-existent. 1986 saw the religious exercises in the newly constructed temple with necessary masonary support. After His re-emergence since 1986 and onwards the wishes of the people are fulfilled consequently drawing more and more devotees to narrate th esame experience of fulfilment justifying the name "Kalpavruksha" and Venpanjeri steadily emerged as a subcentre of pilgrimage.

Lord Lakshminarayana in His sublime bounty is here to assist te humanity by participating in various religious components. The temple management has to plan to facilitate participation of the individals in the Nitya Kaikaryams of the Lord.

Puligundu - About 1000 feets from the Ground......

This place is about 18 kms from Chittoor district center. It is on the way to a small town called Penumur.

Puligundu is a dual rock mountail with a height of about 1000 feets from the ground. From a distance it looks like a huge Shiva Lingam. It has a very narrow peak with the temple of Puli Gunteeswara (Lord Shiva) at the basement. On the rock top, an Ayyappa temple is under construction. There was no supporting aide available all these years to climb up these steep rocks. But with the support from govt, tourism department has installed metal ladders at places to help people to reach the peak now. Even then it is not an easy task, steepness will make anyone to shiver a bit for sure! This doesn’t happen at at just one instance, there are atleast 3-4 such points to test your fear factor for sure! There is a small and very narrow railing that paves path to move between these two rocks at the top.

Nearby villagers come to the Shiva temple at the base of this rock to offer special pooja during Makar Sankranti time, on the ‘Kanumu’ festival day. This day usually falls on January 15th of every year. One gets to see huge crowd of people coming here on that special day. Otherwise, hardly anyone goes there during rest of the year. People do make the adventure of reaching the peak and it is a breath holding experience out there.

Chittoor-The Mango City.......

Chittoor Commonly called as Mango City, this city exports mango to other countries from its market yards in Bangarupalyam and Penumur Mandals and Damalcheruvu - it is a great market center for mangoes.

In one season more than 58 varieties mangoes were sold here. Today, the mangoes grown here are exported to all over India and to some parts of the world as well

Most Famous Jaggery From Aragonda.........

Aragonda is predominantly an agro-market place. It has major production for mango, tamarind, coconut, grain, sugarcane, jaggery and peanut.The jaggery comes in two categories, the white or golden yellow colored, mostly from Aragonda or western region is for consumption. and fetches a better price. Farmers have increasingly taken to adding bleaching agents such as sodium thiosulphate, (Hydros) which is prohibited for human consumption. The second variety is of darker even black colour due to the nature of the soil. Generally, soils which are alkaline will give rise to paler jaggery, which though attractive by look is not as sweet as the darker one.It is mostly meant for brewing illicit liquor.


Jaggery is used as an ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes across India and Sri Lanka. For example, a pinch of jaggery is sometimes added to sambar, rasam and other gravies which are staples in India.

Jaggery is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, moisture content of up to 20%, and the remainder made up of other insoluble matter such as ash, proteins and bagasse fibers.

Jaggery is a rich source of iron due to the process involved, using iron utensils, it retains more mineral salts. Moreover, the process does not involve chemical agents. Indian Ayurvedic medicine considers jaggery to be beneficial in treating throat and lung infections; Sahu and Saxena found that in rats jaggery can prevent lung damage from particulate matter such as coal and silica dust. Gandhi felt that jaggery was healthier than refined sugar, as it was not introduced into the blood as rapidly. As such, he used it in his own personal diet and recommended it to use in his invented goat-milk diet (and all other diets/eating styles) as well.