The Lord Narasimha is Lord of Dharmapuri. A large number of devotees, daily 1,000 on an average, visit the sacred shrine of Lord Narasimha to pay their homage to Him. Hindus believe Lakshmi Narasimha to be a half man, half lion form of Vishnu. The story behind this is that the a local being, named Hiranya kashyapa had obtained from God Bramha immunity from attack from "man or beast". This person then began abusing his powers and began forcing others to worship him, as if he were a God. Among those abused was his own son, Prahlada a staunch worshiper of Vishnu. In order to surmount Bramha's condition, Vishnu assumed a form that was neither man nor beast, but a combination of both, and then went on to finish off this person with his nails. At that time he was very furious and called as UGRA NARASIMHA and subsequently the saints and Gods prayed him to be cool and Narasimha came to Dharmapuri and undergone a deep meditation with yoga mudra and was called Yoga Narasimha. At the same place a shrine was constructed by then king of Dharmapuri, Dharma Varma by whom the town was called as DHARMAPURI.
Dharmapuri is called after the name of King Dharmavarma who was a staunch devotee of Lord Narasimha, is known for its rich culture and and produced many artists in the disciplines of theatre, classical music and poetry. It has a rich treasury of temples and idols of Hindu Gods spreader allover the town The Shiva panchayatanam (Miniature temple formed with the idols of Lord Shiva, and Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesh, Nagaraja and Nandiswara)The town is well located on the banks of Holy River Godavary and by virtue of this it is called as Dakshin Kashi. The trishataka kartha Kavi Sheshappa hailed from this place only. A Vedic school and sasnskrit college are the boosting sanathana dharma and Vedic culture and transmitting in its vicinity. It is located in District Karimnagar of north Telngana of Andhra Pradesh of South India. It is nearly 220 KM from State capital Hyderabad And 65 km from the district Headquarters. It is also called as a great HARI HARA Kshetra with the presence of Lord Shiva in the form of Ramalingeshwara.
How To Reach Dharmapuri
Dharmapuri is well connected by Road from Various cities of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Nearest Railwaystation 'Mancherial' which is on Delhi-Chennai Highway is 40 Kms away from Dharmapuri.
Conveyance:
Pilgrims have the bus facility from major cities of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra such as Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Jagtial, Vemulawada, Mancherial Nagapur Bombay Bhivandi and Nanded .Overseas pilgrims can have flight facility up to Hyderabad, the state capital of Andhra Pradesh and further it is connect by road. The pilgrims come from other states can have direct train link up to Mancherial and Ramagundam from there they have Bus facility.
Tourist Places in and around
Dharmapuri is treasure-house of ancient temples, and rich Indian sculpture. The small Shiva temples called "Shiva panchayatanas" are found in every street of the town. There are many other religious places in and around the town.
The complex also includes ancient sculputure skills and the idols of many Hindu gods like Brahma, Shiva(idol, other than linga form), Yama dharma Raja, Kubera and Devendra (King of Gods).
Temples and other religious Places near Godavari River
Hanmandla Gadda Anjaneya Swami.
Godavari Mata Temple
Dattatreya Mandir
Sri Rama Temple
Goddess Santoshimata Temple.
Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple.
Goddess Mahalaxmi Temple.
Saibaba Temple
Other places of Interest :
Brahma pushkarini (Koneru)
Isuka stambam( Sand Piller)
Akkapelli Rajeshwara Swami Temple.
Other Tourst Places near Dharmapuri
Gudem - Shrine of Lord Satyanarayana swamy (10 Km)
Kondagaattu- Shrine of Lord Anjaneya swamy (45 km)
Vemulawada - Shrine of Lord Raja Rajeshwara swamy (70 km)
Basara - Shrine of Lord Saraswathi Devi ( 170 km
