A spiritual abode on the banks of Krishna
Anjaneya idol in the temple was found in the river
The Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy Temple in Beechupally is located on the banks of the Krishna river, on the national highway to Bengaluru. It is about one km from Kondapet village in Itikyala mandal.
“The Krishna and the Godavari are Jeeva
Nadis. There is always a stream of water flowing,” says Raman Goud, the executive officer of this temple for the last 15 years. The river is about 200 metres away from the temple. The idol of Anjaneya installed in the temple was found in the river.
The temple was built in the 16th century during the time of Krishnadevaraya. Guru Vyasaraja, the rajaguru of the kingdom did the prathistana of this temple between 1457 and 1539.
Legend says that Sage Kanva of the Treta Yuga, who wrote some of the hymns of the Rig Veda meditated here and so when Guru Vyasaraja found this place, he decided to install an idol of Lord Anjaneya. Every idol of the lord has a
Shanku and Chakram and can only be seen during the abhishekam.
Guru Vyasaraja camped at this place, says the legend, and then he began to worry that daily worship might not be possible since the place was a little away from civilisation. Lord Anjaneya came to him in a dream and told him that the first person who came and worshipped him here should be appointed as the priest. A young Boya tribal boy came in the morning and he was given the responsibility. Since then, the same family takes care of the temple. “The water
abhishekam and naivedyam is still taken care of by them. The rest is done by the Brahmins,” says Goud. Both sets of pujaris are hereditary. The Brahmin priests follow the Madhuwa Sampradayam on account of them being from the Hampi kingdom. On Ekadasi there is no abhishekam of the Lord and the devotees can get a nija swarupam darshanam. “There is no decoration or alankaram of the deity,” says Goud.
According to legend the place is called Beechupally because that was the name of the tribal boy. A small temple was built about 200 years later by the Gadwal kings. The temple continues to be looked after by the Gadwal Samasthanam and the family members still conduct and attend the chariot festival of the temple every year. In fact, Bharata Simha Reddy is the chairman and dharmakarta of the temple. The fort of the Gadwal rulers can be seen about a kilometre away from the temple, in the middle of the river. There is talk that the Telangana Tourism department is planning to make it into a tourist spot. In fact there are some idols even here and some people visit and worship here.
Lord Anjaneya’s statue at Beechupally faces east and the spacious mantapam faces south. The idol is made up of a combination of nine stones and the priests say that it shimmers when there is abhishekam. Devotees do not get to see this beautiful sight.
It is believed that all wishes are granted when you pray to Lord Anjaneya. People still tie their wishes on two trees, the Raya Chattu and the Yapa Chattu. But you never see the bundles because crowds of monkeys that are everywhere tear into every packet.
Apparently Guru Vyasaraja also installed other idols of Lord Anjaneya. “The one at Chintarevula has the
Ugra Rupam, and here at Beechupally Lord Anjaneya is in Shanta Swarupam,” says Goud. There is one at Kasapuram also. But at Chintarevula Brahmins do all the pujas. There are 30 acres of land adjoining the temple. In fact it is a small town abutting the river Krishna.
The Rajagopuram was started only last year and will take some more time to be completed. There are two rathams, with stone wheels, one called the Chinna Teru and the other Pedda Teru. Many devotees take deeksha and stay at the temple for 11, 21 or 41 days. There are rooms at the temple for this purpose and marriages are also conducted here. Devotees also take vows here. They take a dip in the river and then purchase a new mud pot. They cook rice in the pot and offer it to the lord before eating themselves. Lord Anjaneya is said to be the 11th avatar of Lord Shiva and is also known as Mahavir and Sri Anjaneya Swamy and Hanuman is believed to be the living God of the Universe and is believed to solve the problems of the people and hence has also been given the name of ‘Sankat Mochan Hanuman’.