Temple of a Tortoise

We have all heard of temples of Gods but in India there is a temple in which though God is worshipped but God is there in the form of a tortoise. It is the only temple in the country which is dedicated to lord Vishnu’s (A Hindu God) second avatar, the tortoise. It is there in Srikakulam town in northern Andhra Pradesh which is about 120 km from Visakhapatnam in South India.

The name of the temple is Kurmamnatha Swamy temple. Over here Devotees believe that by worshipping the tortoise avatar (the Kurma avatar of lord Vishnu) one can earn many spiritual benefits. As per the Devotees human being is purified of all sins and is freed from the cycle of rebirth by worshipping the tortoise avatar of God.

It is very old temple & rock edicts from 11 AD decorate the walls of this temple. More that 200 pillars and many inscriptions in Devanagari script dating between 11th and 19th century are there in the temple. The temple also looks like a tortoise on the move.

Some say that this temple was once a Shiva temple, the Sri Pathala Siddeswara Kshetra temple. It was later converted into a Vaishnavaite temple by Great saint Ramanujacharya in the 11th century.

To some it may look weird but story of God incarnating as Tortoise is very common in Hindu Mythology & Hindu religious books.

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