Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Antarvedi
Antarvedi, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Deities
- Narasimha, Lakshmi
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- Antarvedi village, Sakhinetipalle mandal, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh, opposite the Vasishta Godavari distributary, near its confluence with the Bay of Bengal
- Coordinates
- 16.3333, 81.7333
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult the temple's own management for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- October to February, for cooler weather; the nearest town, Narsapuram/Palakollu area is best reached outside the monsoon months when the Godavari's flow near its mouth is calmer.
- How to reach
- Palakollu is the nearest town with rail and road connections; from the mainland side, a launch/boat crossing over the Vasishta Godavari reaches the small island near Antarvedi from which the river's confluence with the Bay of Bengal can be viewed.
Location
Open in Google MapsWhere the Vasishta Godavari, one of the Godavari’s principal delta distributaries, meets the Bay of Bengal on the Andhra coast stands the village of Antarvedi – a name that describes its own geography, the land held between river and sea. The village takes its religious identity, and per Wikipedia’s account its alternate name “Narasimhakshetra,” from the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at its heart, dedicated to Vishnu’s man-lion incarnation alongside Lakshmi. Stone inscriptions record that the present temple structure was completed in 1823 CE (Shalivahana Saka year 1745), its construction credited to Koppanathi Krishnamma, remembered in the temple’s own tradition as a ruler of Pallava lineage and a devotee who endowed the shrine with substantial land, gold, and gems.
Reaching the temple today still involves crossing water: a launch carries pilgrims from the mainland over the Vasishta Godavari to a small island near the village, from which the point where the river gives way to the open sea can be viewed directly – a vantage that makes Antarvedi one of the Godavari system’s notable mouth-of-the-river pilgrimage sites, distinct from the river’s more inland shrines such as Bhadrachalam and Draksharamam already documented elsewhere in this directory, and from its Maharashtra source at Trimbakeshwar.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's Antarvedi article: confirms the temple is dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and is located in Antarvedi village, Sakhinetipalle mandal, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh, on the Vasishta Godavari distributary near its confluence with the Bay of Bengal (coordinates given as 16°20'00"N 81°44'00"E for the village). Confirms, per stone inscriptions cited in the article, that construction of the present temple was completed in 1823 CE (Shalivahana Saka year 1745), credited to Koppanathi Krishnamma, described as a Pallava-line ruler and Agni Kula Kshatriya devotee, who is said to have endowed the temple with extensive land and wealth. Confirms the village itself takes its name, meaning roughly 'land between the waters,' from its position between river and sea, and that it is referred to in the article as 'Narasimhakshetra' in the deity's honor. Confirms a launch service carries visitors across the river to a small island from which the Godavari-sea confluence can be viewed.
- oral tradition: Details beyond the 1823 CE inscriptional record -- such as any founding legend predating that construction, or the specifics of the temple's major annual festival (locally known in regional tradition as the Antarvedi kalyanotsavam/jatara) -- were not confirmed in the sources checked for this entry and are accordingly omitted rather than stated as fact.
For review
- Coordinates are taken from the Wikipedia article's village-level infobox rather than a temple-specific coordinate; the article gives the completion date of the present structure (1823 CE per inscription) but no earlier founding history was confirmed in the source checked, so any older temple/shrine on the site prior to that date is neither confirmed nor ruled out here. No specific festival name/date beyond the temple's general Vaishnavite observances was independently confirmed in the source checked, so festivals are omitted rather than guessed.