5.11 crore oil lamps lit for state peace on Karthika Pournami

Karthika Samaradhana at Gundlakamma

Bhairavakona water falls

Prakasam: Nature’s wonder

• September 2, 2011
• By Iliyas M.
• DC
• Hyderabad

• inShare

Natural waterfalls, walls of a crumbling fort at Bhairavkona

Prakasam district in Andhra has a history that sets it apart.
It can be traced back to 250 BC — to the Mauryas, through a brief period when Buddhism flourished, and to the rule of Ikshavaku and Vijayanagar Kings, the Qutub Shahis and the Mughals. This is why you find Hindu temples as well as Buddhist stupas and monastries here.
The district headquarters is Ongole, which is connected by rail and road. The place is home to the short-horned Ongolu Gitta — a world-famous breed of oxen.
Among the main attractions that draw thousands of tourists and devotees to the Prakasam district in South India are: A 7th century AD Shiva temple, the only Buddhist Hinayana stupa to be found in the south of India, the Lakshmi Chennakesava Swamy temple, the ancient Tripurantakeswara temple at Tripurantakam and the Ramayapatnam light-house built by the British during their reign in India.
Other attractions include the second largest pond in Asia, the first two completed projects by Jalayagnam Gundlakamma and Ramateertham, the craftsmanship of the Chirala weavers, and a 102 km coastline. The seventh century Shiva temple in the dense forests of Bhairavakona is a wonder of the Prakasam district. The temple has been cleverly built into natural caves, some of which are hidden behind huge waterfalls and draws devotees and tourists by the thousands each year. In 1964, archeologists discovered a second century BC Buddhist stupa, the only Hinayana stupa at Chandavaram on the banks of the river Gundlakamma which indicated that Hinayana Buddhism was practiced in the area that time.
The historical Cumban Chervu pond — the second largest in Asia — was built by King Srikrishna Devaraya in memory of his wife. Also keep a lookout for the handloom and weaving industry that Marco Polo mentioned during his visit here in the 13th century.
It was the artisans of Chirala who had produced the seven-yard sari that fit in a match box much before the industrial revolution.
The place
Chirala town, 100 km from Vijayawada gets its name from Ksheera Puri because the sea looks milk white. This town is a major textile hub and is known as Mini Bombay. Just six km from Chirala is the Vodarevu beach. The beach is fringed by coconut plantations and even offers some forms of water sports for the adventurous traveller.
Pit Stop
The Alluraiah Sweet Shop has been as famous as Pulla Reddy Sweets for the past 50 years, not only in the Prakasam district, but in other areas of the state too. In 1960, Alluraiah started the sweet shop on the arterial Grand Trunk road of Ongole. After the demise of Alluraiah, his grandsons are continuing the business.
Only a few items such as mysorepak, boondi, badushah, kaja and pakodi are available in the shop. The mysorepak is available only on order. Alluraiah Sweets dispatch their sweets to other cities like Chennai and

Bangalore.

 

Bhairavakona: Devotee’s delight

Bhairavakona: Devotee’s delight

• November 25, 2011
• By Mohammed Ilyas
• Hyderabad

Bhairavakona, in the dense Nallamala forests, is a true natural wonder with beautiful caves, ponds and waterfalls. It is also a big attraction for devotees and tourists who come in large numbers to the Kalabhairava temple.

Prakasam district in which the temple is situated, was recently declared drought- ridden. Yet, in a wondrous manner, precious water is available 24/7, 365 days a year at Bhairavakona. The Nallamala forest once was garrison to Maoists but the temple stood undamaged despite these activities for the past several decades.
The main attraction here is the Durga temple and devotees, after bathing in the holy pond, tie threads around a nearby tree in the hope of having their prayers answered.
According to a legend, Lord Siva and goddess Parvati once visited the place and were captivated by its beauty. They left behind a Siva lingam that resembles the one at Amarnath. According to archaeologists, this temple belongs to the 7th or 8th century AD.
Kalabhairava is said to have once reigned over this region and from there stems the name, Bhairavakona. Kalabhariva temple is sometimes called the temple of the Holy Trinity. This is perhaps the only temple in India where Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara are worshipped at one place. An interesting feature of this place is that eight temples were carved out of one rock.
Lord Siva appears in eight different forms of Shashinaga, Rudra, Visweswara, Nagarikeswara, Bhargeswara, Rameswara, Mallikarjuna and Pakshamalika Linga. Devotees also come to Bhairavakona to see the moonlight fall on the idol of goddess Durgadevi on the days of Kartika Pournami and Maha Sivaratri.
Sadly, there are no facilities for people to stay at this natural wonder, which is situated on the borders of Prakasam, Nellore and Kadapa districts about 120 km from Ongole. There is also no train service to Bhairavakona and people have to travel in APSRTC buses, operational on festive occasions. It is also a world away from civilisation as mobile phones also fail to work in the forest.
The fort on the hill, built by the Pallava dynasty, is in ruins due to the negligence of the archaeological and tourism departments. Recently, on November 21, three teenagers went missing in Bhairavakona and it took the police 20 hours to trace them around 10 km into the jungle.
Public demand is for appointed guides to help devotees and tourists who visit the area.
Pit stop
Another temple tourists can visit is Mittapalli Lakshminarsihma Swamy temple which is located 24 km from Bhairavakona. Local people believe that Lakshminarsimha Swamy in the loin avatar protects them from wild forest animals. A jatara (village festival) will be conducted every year during Dasara when people from all over the state come to the temple and worship the Lord.
Trivia
The ragi sankati (soup prepared with natcheny and other ingredients) is famous delicious food available at Bhairavakona.
Localites mix ragi sankati with rice and they prefer this combination better than rice with chicken or vegetable curry. Ragi sankati is very easy to cook and is quite delicious.
Ingredients
1 cup of ragi flour
Fistful of rice
¼ teaspoon of salt
4 cups of water
1 teaspoon of ghee
Method
Take water and rice in a saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil. When the rice is soft, add ragi flour into the pot. Do not stir. Cover and put this mixture on medium heat for few minutes. Stir the ragi-rice mixure vigorously.
Reduce the heat and let it steam cook for about 15 minutes. Switch off the heat. Let it cool a little bit and make balls with it. Place the ragi mudda in a bowl and pour the sambar over it.