Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy Temple, Surutapalli and Sri Vedanarayana Swamy Temple Nagalapuram

PalliKondeswarar Temple,
Surutapalli
About the Temple
s you enter the temple through the entrance, you’ll find the temple of Valmikeshwara (Sage Valmiki) and Goddess Marahathambihai (Goddess Parvati), on the left side and the main temple on the right side of the entrance. It is said that one has to visit these two temples first before visiting the main temple. The temple of Goddess Marahathambigai has to be visited first, even before the shrine of Valmikeshwara or the main temple. The garbha griha is guarded by Lord Kubera (God of wealth) with his consort Sanganidhi on left side and with his another consort Padumanidhi on the right side. The goddess inside is sitting with Kamadhenu on one side and Karapaha Viruksham on the other. There are some other images of Gods like Varasidhi Vinayaka (Lord Ganesha), Sri Venugopala Swami (Lord Krishna), Kasi Vishwanathan with Visalakshi and others present in the inner praharam (inner wall of the temple).
About the presiding deity
The presiding deity is Palli Kondeshwara (Lord Shiva) with His consort and many other Gods. The Lord is in reclining position (about 6 feet long) with his head on the lap of Goddess Parvathi who resides as Sarva Mangalaambihai. The uniqueness of the temple lies in Lord Shiva seen in the human form unlike His usual Linga form. Surya and Chandra are present on the either side of Goddess Parvati. Many others including Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Goddess Laxmi, Sage Maarkandeyar, Sage Agasthair, Valmiki, Indran, Sage Naradhar, Lord Subramaniya with His consort and Lord Ganapati are also present in the temple. It appears as if the whole Kailasham (Lord Shiva’s aboard) assembled here to know the well-being of Lord Shiva after He consumed poison to save the universe.
Stala Purana
According to Sthalapurana (history of the place), it is said that during the Ksheera Sagara Manthana Poison Halahala was the first to come, the Gods and demons then approached Lord Shiva to save them from the harm of poison. Lord Shiva transformed himself into Vishabhakarana Moorthy and consumed poison. The situation was such that if Lord Shiva did swallow the poison, the living creatures on the earth will die and if he does not, the Gods and Demons will be killed. Hence Goddess Parvati held her hand against his neck and stopped the poison from going any further and the poison remained in His throat without affecting His body. Hence Lord Shiva got the name as ‘Neelakantha’ (‘Neela’- blue with poison and ‘Kantha’- throat) because of the accumulation of the poison in his throat and Goddess Parvati was called as ‘Amudhambigai’. On their way to Kailasa, Lord Shiva due to the severity of the poison started feeling little giddy and rested on the lap of His wife for a while in the place where the village stands today. Hence the village got its name as Suruttapalli, Surutta meaning ‘Little dizzy’ and Palli meaning ‘Resting’
Sri Vedanarayana Swamy temple Nagalapuram History
Mythology says that Lord Vishnu in his first incarnation as a fish (‘Matsyavathara’) waged a relentless war with Somaka the asura here to rescue the ‘Vedas’. Maha Vishnu was said to be in a frozen state due to his stay in underwater for a long period. The half-fish and half-human idol of Sri Vedanarayana in this temple are said to represent this very ‘Matsyavathara’.
This is an ancient stone temple probably built either by Cholas or Pallavas. Beautiful sculptures can be seen on the huge pillars in the Prakaram (Circumambulatory and processional pathway) surrounding the sanctum. The idol of Maha Vishnu here is flanked by Sri Devi and Bhu Devi and the form of Matsya or fish can be seen at its feet. The idol holds Sudarsana Chakra.
Sri Vedanarayana Swamy temple Sub Temples
The Temple has several subsidiary shrines devoted to Vedavathi Thayar ( that faces the main sanctum and has huge many-pillared mandapam), Kodanda Rama swami, Lakshmi Varaha Swami, Venugopala Swami, Lakshmi Narayan and Sri Hayagriva. There are also the sculptures of Vigneshwara and other gods, on the outer wall of the Sanctum. There is a flagpost inside the main entrance.