PATHAGUTTA-2
THE ANCIENT ORIGINAL LORD
NARASIMHA TEMPLE
As mentioned earlier the area of Pathagutta temple is a vast stony
surface formed by a series of big horizontally-lying boulders buried deep in
the ground. Each boulder may perhaps be fifty meters long and only a little
less wide! At some places two or three small room-size boulders are stacked one
above the other by nature. Seeing the stacked boulders every person wonders how
such gigantic stones were lifted at all. No humans can lift them. Simple rural
people feel that it is nothing but one of god's great visible miracles. They
feel that if they similarly arrange a little stack of stones one above another
somewhere on the stony ground they surely would get god's grace. We can see
scores of such tiny stone-stacks created with much devotion by devotees on the
stony ground in isolated areas. Large numbers of people worship at pathagutta
temple daily. The temple history says that Patha gutta was the main temple of
Lord Narasimha before the large temples with huge gopurams were constructed 100
or 150 years back on the high Yadagirigutta hill (yadadri hill). The road level
temple at Pathagutta is spacious inside. The entrance is by a few wide cement
steps. There are big statues of "Dwarapalas" on either side. There
are strong iron doors and iron railings all painted in bright orange and
yellow. Inside the temple there are wide spacious halls with all facilities. The
temple lies under a huge tree. On the other side of the tree and on a flat
ground-level stony surface --( really a long horizontally lying and meters-long
and meters-wide boulder lying buried in the ground for thousands of
years)---requiring climbing of about a 100 stairs the temple of the mighty Lord
Hanuman all painted in orange can be reached. The stairs are painted on front
side in wide stripes of orange and white. The orange and white stripes are
religious symbols imitating the very holy “Urdhwa Pundram” worn on the forehead
by traditional Hindus of the Vishnu cult. Some beggars sit near the stairs
under the cool shade. A few monkeys play among the low branches while a steady
stream of devotees moves up and down the stairs . Near the stairway there are
also two small temples—one for the Great Mother Goddess and the other for
"Nava Grahas"(sun god and other gods guarding all directions of the
universe). Innumerable great old temples like Patha Gutta existed in rural
areas all over India since last two thousand years and had been giving
spiritual solace to millions of people. There is no need to visit huge temples
like Madurai and Varanasi (Kasi) and spend thousands of rupees. The great god
can be worshipped with equal satisfaction and equal spiritual joy at these small
temples in rural areas. ****** For further developing Yadadri town from
spiritual angle , boarding and lodging facilities for the tens of thousands of
devotees that would be coming everyday have to be provided. New shopping
centers, new recreation centers, new spiritual centers etc. have to be
developed. Both governmental and private investment is needed on a large scale
for infrastructure development. Many building ventures are coming up all around
the new Yadadri temple for permanent residential colonies and new townships.
For the people of the megacity of Hyderabad which is hardly an hour's journey
away the great new heaven-like temple complex on Yadadri hill is a great boon.
Many devotees, after visiting the main Yadadri temple( the newly inaugurated
temple complex inaugurated on----) , are likely to visit the other important
temples, monasteries existing in the town. Pathagutta temple ---being for
centuries before great temple gopurams came up on the Yadagirigutta hill top
about 100,150 years ago--- should be treated as the most important place in
Yadadri town next in importance to the new temple complex on the hill top. As
such one feels that Pathagutta has to be developed as a big modern temple
complex at the ground level so that pilgrims make a visit here without fail
after visiting the hill top temples. Gardens and clusters of shade giving trees
can be developed in temple area. Modern shopping malls and restaurants can be
developed around Pathaguuta temple .
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