I initially was making trips to Visakhapatnam in A.P. to spend my holidays. Some time it was extended to Arku Vally, the another beautiful place, near vizag. It is always a nice experience to cross a series of dark tunnels and bridges to reach that place from Visakhapatnam while travelling by train . But once I visited Annavaram which is hardly 130 km from Visakhapatnam, on Rajahmundry – Vijaywada route, and now it has became a spot of regular visit to satisfy the agony of seeing the scenic beauty and spiritual place to ask for peace of mind to the super powers. The historic back ground is also non-ignorable.
The Mandir was constructed with a view of row of Eastern Ghats , the river Pampa encircling Ratnagiri and a distant view of Bay Of Bengal ( 11 KM ). It is said that there is a underground passage in the hills and was used by the then kings to attack the enemy from both sides. And also the Andhra revolutionary late Alluri seetharama Raju had some secret shelters for himself and followers in the hills ranges , to fight the British Rule. The front of temple designed as a chariot with four wheels, indicate that the juggernaut moves on the wheel of time and moves forward for ever. Mandir is at the top of the Ratnagiri hill about 300 ft above sea level and there are about 450 stone steps to reach on the top
Anna means “ what you desire “ and Varam means Godsend. The believe is that the diety will fulfil one with whatever one desires. Ratnagiri was the son of Meruvu, the lord of hills ( who, with his consort Menaka got blessing for two sons from Lord Vishnu - Bhadra & Ratnakar . Bhadra became Bhadrachalam, after pleasing Lord Vishnu , where Lord Shri Rama permanently settled) pleased Lord Vishnu by his penance and Lord Vishnu permanently settled as Veera Venkata Satyanaranaswamy. Ratnakar came as Ratnagiri.
The main idol is a combination of three LORDS. Lord Brahma at the bottom , Lord Shiva in the middle, Lord Vishnu at the top. The image of lords forming the trimurthis - Lord Brahma - the creator, Lord Shiva - the destroyer and Lord Vishnu - the protector , is the unique attraction, which representing the supreme power of the entire universe and is believed that worshipping in this temple will be beneficial of 108 times visit to Tirupati. There is a flood of visitors daily and as said ,that more than 5000 devotees are visiting Annavaram, per day. There are huge numbers of yagya pit and about 1500 worshippers can offer puja at a time. Worshippers mainly worship for wealth, education, prosperity, relief from trouble and sickness, success in business etc. There are shrines of Ramalaya, Kanak Durga and Vana durga on the way to top and it is believed that they still roam around the Mandir premises in the night for guarding the Lords or Lords’ premises.
The nearby sites to watch are Kakinada sea beach , a Shakti pith at Samalkota ( near Samalkota Rly Station ), Shiva Lingam in this temple is nearly 9 ft. height and upper part is seen at the first floor and the early morning sunlight falls on the Linga. The deity of Siva is known as Bhimesvara Swamy There are nearly 800 ancient scripts on the walls of the temple. As per local belief, the Siva linga at the temple was an act of the god Surya.
Very easily reachable by train from Howrah , Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore and is situated on the way to vizag-vijaywada route. Very frequent bus service is also available from vizag, vijaywada and Hyderabad. But it may be convenient , if staying at vizag, to take a cab to start at the early morning and back in the same day. Hotel fecilities and arrangement for staying at Mandir premises are also there. Lunch is an important factor for the visitors and in the age of globalisation , food choice has also taken a sea change shape all over the country. In the mandir premises, one can have beautiful and simple hot samber rice and nice card rice to avoid outside hotel food.
Author/Traveler : Dipankar Roy
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