Sri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple - Ardhagiri

Sri Ardhagiri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple has its origin attributed to one of the most important events at Ramayana. It’s the occasion at which Veeranjaneya Swamy carried the Sanjeevana Parvatha to the battle-place to save the life of Sri Lakshmana. This ancient temple is located on the luscious hills of the Aragonda village, Chittoor District. 

Veeranjaneya Swamy is 3 feet in height facing North direction. The deity's right hand is showing Abhya Mudra, the left hand is holding the Sowganthika flower. He is seen wearing Kundalam, an ornamental mala adorns his neck, and his eyes are seen glowing.

This temple is located on hills

Temple faces north and the first days of the sun in the morning fall on the feet of Hanuman.

 

As the sun rises the rays start moving upwards from his feet and the rays disappear after they have reached his head.

 

Ardhagiri is a Sanskrit word that means arakonda (half mountain of ancient times) in this way this temple is called as Ardhagiri or Arakonda.

 

The temple was built in Dravidian style architecture. The temple has a 5-Tier Gopuram and doesn’t have a Dwajastambham. The  Temple has a koneru named Sanjeevaraya Puskarini.

 

There are at least two or three mountains that form the group of Sanjeevi medicinal mountains. The shortest of these is considered the main Aragonda. On the top of the mountain, there is a tank which is known as Sanjeevaraya Pushkarini. It is said that the tank is always full and never dries up. The water from this Puskarini was not spoiled even after four months in our case. The temple walls have sculptures of several gods and goddesses. The idol is covered with a copper plate.

 

It is believed that Sita, wife of Lord Rama was abducted by the mighty Ravana, the Demon King, and kept as a prisoner at Lanka (now Srilanka), the island kingdom of Ravana. Rama with the help of monkeys, waged a war and killed Ravana to get back Sita. During the battle, Lakshmana, the younger brother of Rama was battling with Ravana. He became unconscious when one of the arrows of Ravana hit him. So the Physician wanted a herb known as Sanjeevani to resurrect Lakshmana. This herb was available in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas which were far away from the Lanka. Hanuman who could fly long distances in no time and who had immense strength and intelligence was deputed to bring the herb, but before sunrise. Hanuman went to the Himalayas in no time. But he could not differentiate between the various herbs and plants available. So He just plucked the entire mountain and carried it back to the place where Lakshmana was lying unconscious.

 

During this journey, it is believed that a piece of rock from the mountain fell into the tank. Since a piece of mountain fell here it got its name of Ardhagiri or Arakonda. During this journey, it is believed that a piece of rock from the mountain fell into the tank. 

 

 This temple is 300 years old.

Temple Timings :

Morning: 5:00 am to 1:15 pm
Evening: 1:45 pm to 9:00 pm

Pooja Schedule :

5:00 AM to 5:30 AM – Suddi
5:30 AM to 6:00 AM – Suprabatham, Alanakaram
6:00 AM to 6:10 AM – Saswatha Archana
6:10 AM to 7:00 AM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
7:00 AM to 7:30 AM – Naivedhyam
7:30 AM to 9:00 AM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM – Abhishekam
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
11:30 AM to 12:00 AM – Aku Pooja
12:00 PM to 12:30 PM – Vadamala Seva, Naivedhyam
12:30 PM to 1:15 PM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
1:15 PM to 1:45 PM – Break (No Darshanam)
1:45 PM to 3:30 PM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
3:30 PM to 4:00 PM – Sahasranama Seva
4:00 PM to 4:15 PM – Temple Cleaning (Suddi)
4:15 PM to 5:00 PM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
5:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Aku Seva
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana
7:00 PM to 7:30 PM – Naivedhyam
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM – Sarvadarshanam and Archana

How To Reach the Temple :

80km from Tirupati

15km from Kanipakam

25km from Chittoor

Nearby Temples :

Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple – 15km.

Mogili Sri Mogiliswara Swamy Temple - 48 km