Venkateshwara Vinayaka Devalayam: Temple Marvel of Visakhapatnam

A unique hill of gods, Prasanna Giri is a magnificent summit in Visakhapatnam. This sacred apex located along the NH5 near BHPV, was originally built in 1976 by the employees and was further developed in 1982. Situated at a lofty height above the busy city, sprawled across 3 acres and 62 cents, it radiates spiritual energy and peace. It is a religious hub with a number of temples dedicated to various deities, famously known as the Venkateswara Vinayaka Devalayam.

At the base of the hill is a Bala Vinayaka Temple. Little ahead are 10 idols of lord Vishnu in His various Avatars, the Dasavatharam.  Further on is an exquisite orange coloured Anjaneya Swamy (Hanuman) temple. Next is temple dedicated to a radiant Goddess Saraswati. Finally, 108 steps above is the prowess flamboyant Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy at the pinnacle. The main idol was consecrated by the Vaishnava Peetadhipathi, Sri H H Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji. The temple endowment was done to Devadaya Shaka in 2002.

The popular belief here is that the Lord Venkateshwara Swamy fulfils desires of the devout. People offer prayers, mokkulu, make vows, tie mudupulu and also conduct Thula Bharam ceremony in which an offering is made equivalent to a certain weight. As per local legend, prayers at this temple ensure happiness, child birth, marriages and higher education in foreign countries. Aashara byasam for children is often carried out near the Saraswati idol. The devalayam complex is invariably crowded on Saturdays, but the Anjaneya Swamy temple draws lots of visitors on Tuesdays. In addition to the daily puja, archana and kalyanam are also conducted.

The complex draws a lot of crowd on festive and special occasions. On auspicious days like karthika suddha ekadasi (in November), the temple experiences an influx of over 20,000 devotees; on that day, the temple is open for darshan right from 2:00 am to 9:00 pm. Similarly for tirupavai seva in December, pushya suddha ekadasi in January, beshmasha shudda ekadasi in February, and the godadevi kalyanam, the devout from Vizag and neighbouring districts congregate at the temple in large numbers.

Generally the devalayam opens at 6:00 am with aradhana, it remains open till about 11 am. In the evening it opens at 5 pm and closes at 8 pm, after arati. The day-to-day affairs of the temple are overseen by the pujari K Jaganatha Acharyulu and the manager K Padmavathi. K Padmavathi can be contacted at 9866313000 for any further information.