Tirupati Balaji got married here - Narayanavanam

Narayanavanam is a small town near Puttur in Andhra Pradesh state. It is located at a distance of around 35 km from Tirupati and 95 km from Chennai. The town has become popular because of the beautiful ancient temple, Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy temple.

The Vijayanagaras have built the current structure of the temple. However, the temple has an ancient story. 

As per the legend, the king Akasha Maharaja had a son and a daughter. The daughter was Padmavati, an incarnation of Maha Lakshmi. She fell in love with Venkateswara, popularly known as Balaji, an incarnation of Vishnu.  They got married at Narayanavanam. 

Padmavati's brother built two temples for Lord Venkateswara, one at Narayanavanam and another in Tirupati (the most famous Balaji temple of Tirumala). 

You can find a grinding stone in the temple, which is considered sacred. It is believed that this stone was used for grinding turmeric during the marriage of Venkateswara and Padmavati.

In Tirupati, Lord Venkateswara and Padmavati are not in the same temple. However, Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy temple's specialty is that both Venkateswara and Padmavathi are present in the same temple. 

The east-facing temple has a grand tower (gopuram) at the entrance.

The sanctum enshrines Lord Venkateswara. 

Padmavati and Andal are found in two separate shrines on either side of the sanctum.

In Maha Mandapa, the images Dasavataras and Alwars found. 

Ranganatha, Prayag Madhava, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana-Hanuman and Rajamannar are a few other deities found in the temple.

Happy travelling.

Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.