Sri Kurmam

Sri Kurmam శ్రీ కూర్మం
Village
Sri Kurmam Temple view
Sri Kurmam Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 18°10′N 84°06′E / 18.16°N 84.1°E / 18.16; 84.1Coordinates: 18°10′N 84°06′E / 18.16°N 84.1°E / 18.16; 84.1
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	Srikakulam
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	532 404

Mandapam at Srikurmam Temple

Sri Kurmam is a village near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located approximately 13 kilometers east of Srikakulam town near the sea. It is in the Gara mandal of Srikakulam district.

Geography

Sri Kurmam is located at a latitude of 18° 16' N, a longitude of 84° 1' E and an altitude of 17 meters (59 feet).^[1] This location puts the temple about three kilometres from the Bay of Bengal.^[2]

History

According to inscriptions in the temple dated 1281 AD,^[3] the holy place of Kürmakshetra was reestablished by Sri Ramanujacharya under the influence of Jagannatha Deva at Jagannatha Puri, Orissa. Later the temple came under the jurisdiction of the king of Vijayanagara. The deity was worshiped by the Vaishnavas of the Madhvacharya Sampradäya. Some Oriya inscriptions are said to be written by Sri Narahari Teertha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvacharya(not to be confused with Madhavacharya). He later became the ruler of Kalinga Province(ancient Orissa) and fought with the Sabaras, and saved the temple of Kürma. Narahari Teertha was a very religious and powerful king who died in the Saka Era 1203. The temple was constructed and dedicated in the holy name of Yogananda Narasimhadeva. This temple was built in the Orissan temple architecture style.

SriKurmam Temple

This is a temple dedicated to Sri Kurmanatha, which is the second avatar of Lord Vishnu, Kurma Avatar (Tortoise). There is another temple of Kurmanatha in Kurmai of Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh,India. There is also a Yoganandha Narasimhan temple in front of Sri Kurmam temple. Simhachalam Devasthanam took the responsibility for the temple improvement.

The moolasthanam (central piece) is considered to be large saligrama.^[4] The Kurma(Turtle) is known as Sri Kurmam in the 'Sampradayam'. The image is not a sculpture crafted by man, but the fossil of an actual (large-size) turtle. The head of the deity is in the form of a Kurma (tortoise) and is represented by a Vishnu namam, the tail being represented by a Saligrama presented by Adi Sankaracharya. The artistic beauty of the temple lies in the carvings of Vishnu and other deity statues in a glorious way of architecture. There is a mandapam in front of the temple on Lion pillars. One unique feature of this temple is that it has Dhwajastambams in the front and back of the temple. That is because the deity faces the back of the temple on the west.

Group of tortoises at Srikurmam
Srikurmam Temple sky-view
Carvings on pillars at Srikurmam Temple
Paintings at Srikurmam Temple walls
Sculptures at Srikurmam Temple

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sri Kurmam.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurmanatha Temple.

Hindu temples in Andhra Pradesh

Anantapur	Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi

Chittor	Ardhagiri Temple Boiyakonda Gangamma Temple Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple Kapila Theertham Koneti Rayala Temple Kulandeshwara Temple Srikalahasteeswara Temple Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

East Godavari	Chalukya Kumararama Bhimeswara Temple Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Antarvedi Neelakanteshwara Temple, Antarvedi

Guntur	Amaralingeswara Temple Kotappakonda Lakshmi Narasimha Temple

Kadapa	Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta Pushpagiri Temple Complex Gandi Anjaneya Temple

Krishna	Jaladheeswara Temple Kanaka Durga Temple Paritala Anjaneya Temple Andhra Maha Vishnu

Kurnool	Yaganti Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple Kambagiri Koulutla Chenna Kesava Temple Sangameswara Temple Mantralayam

Nellore	Ranganatha Temple, Nellore Kodandarama Temple, Buchireddipalem Penchalakona

Prakasam	Gangamma Temple, Dhenuvakonda Tripurantakam

Srikakulam	Arasavalli Srikurmam Mukhalingam

Visakhapatnam	Balighattam Nookambika Temple Simhachalam Temple Padmanabham Panchadharla

Vizianagaram	Ramatheertham Punyagiri

West Godavari	Ksheerarama Somarama

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