Sri Maha Meru Temple
About the Temple
Approximately 125 kms to the south west of the temple town Tirupati/Tirumala, famously known as Kaliyuga Vaikuntham in the Chittoor district of the state of Andhra Pradesh, nestling among the cool and pleasant range of Horsley Hills, is situated the quaint town of Madanapalle. On the west outskirts of this town, is the Ponnutipalem Panchayat, which houses Sri Maha Merupuram, Sri Bhuvaneshwari Nagaram.
This beautiful temple of Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mata along with Maha Meru was conceived, conceptualised, constructed for the welfare of humanity, under the care, guidance and supervision of Lord Anjaneya’s beloved devotee, Sri Swamy Venkatesh and made possible due to his resolute determination and the blessings of the Divine Mother.
Temple Architecture – A harmonious blend between the traditional and the modern, the construction of this temple has many striking and unique features. This project of labour and devotion to the Almighty has been underway for over a decade and a half now and even while it is yet to be completed, thousands of devotees have already visited the temple and paid obeisance to Mata Bhuvaneshwari. Some of the features that set this temple apart are given below.
Sanctum Sanctorum (गर्भ गृह)
The presiding deity is consecrated in the Garbha gruha or the sanctum sanctorum. This has been constructed with special type of stones particularly selected and collected from the sea-bed. When we touch the stone we can hear the echoing sound of the bell (घंठा नाद). Water used for the Abhishekham or Holy bath to the deity flows out through a channel that manifests on the outer wall on the north face of the temple through a Gomukha or the mouth of the holy cow. If one puts one’s ear against the Gomukha, one can hear the reverberating sound of the Omkara (ॐ) or the chant of OM.
[A similar feature can also be seen in the temple of Sree Bhramaramba in Srisailam where one can hear the sound of the honey bee fluttering its wings (Bhramara Jhankara), when one listens with one’s ear to the wall at the rear face of the temple]
Mahamantapam (महा मंटप)
Another word to describe the Mahamantapam, the imposing open hall, towards the East side of Garbha Gruha is Nada Mantapam (नाद मंटप) or the Hall of Melody – If one claps one’s hands while standing in the hall, one can distinctly hear a melodious sound that echoes like string vibrations of the musical instrument veena.
It is an architectural marvel and can be approached from the front of the temple structure. It has 16 pillars, symbolically the Shodasakshari mantra is made up of sixteen syllables and is one of the most powerful mantras rendered in the litany of Lalitha Sahasra Naama “Sri Shodasaakshari Vidya”. She is the perfect embodiment of all the 16 ‘Kalaas’. She has her stay in “Srimannagari” and also known as Sumeru Madhya Sringastha.
While 14 pillars are dedicated to Nava Avaranas or the Nine Corridors of the Sri Yantra, one pillar depicts the three headed elephant faced God, the destroyer of all obstacles, Sri Ganapati and the 16th pillar has Lord Hanuma on all four faces of the pillar, as if to stand guard to protect the temple from all sides.
The temple is built in the Hoysala architectural style. All the pillars are intricately sculpted with master craftsmanship. “Hoyasala” style of architecture has also been used to construct the Saalahara under the roof in the middle of Maha Mantapa.
A noteworthy feature here the representation of the 12 visible signs of the Zodiac, starting from Mesha (Aries) to Meena (Pisces) believed in Astrology to impact human lives. This is beautifully depicted on a single stone out of which is intricately carved a panel of the Raashis along with the stars that govern them, the Sun and the Moon, symbolically depicted on red and white coloured stones, respectively, flanking the Raashi panel which takes the shape of a half moon. The panel also houses, in the beams of the same mantapa, on the south and north sides, the snake shaped Rahu & Kethu grahas.
Exterior of the temple and its unique features –
You cannot afford to miss the mastery of the construction. Standing in front of the main door at a particular point you can have the glimpse (Darshan) of the presiding deity in the garbha gruha and if you look up from the same spot, you have the Bindu darshan of the the Meru form constructed above the sanctum Sanctorum. Such an artistic marvel is rare.
Mahadwaaram (महा द्वार)
We enter the sacred temple complex through the main entrance known as Mahadwaara .This is also called Maha RajaGopuram. The imposing entrance is constructed to the height of 18 feet with a special type of stone called Krishna Sila and beautifully carved. If one stands in the middle of the Raja gopuram and looks up, one will have the darshan of Chandi Maatha conferring blessings. The artistic expertise is evident in that there is no visible support on which this idol is suspended from the ceiling. The mastery of the sculptor cannot go unnoticed. Above this construction you find the gopuram ornamenting different forms of the Universal Mother, exemplifying one of the names “Bahu Roopa” (Many forms) in the Lalitha Sahasranaama.
Surya Darshanam (The blessed sight of the Sun)
On specific days of the year, from April 1st to 3rd, in the evenings, the Sun’s rays manifest through five pinhole like windows on five different levels of the main entrance or the Maha Gopuram, one by one, as the sun sets. The engineering prowess of the traditional Indian architects and the sheer brilliance of the spectacle is to be seen to be believed. We find such a parallel only in Sri AnanthaPadmanabha Swami temple in Trivandrum although it is well known that in the morning, the rays of the sun fall on the presiding deity in few temples elsewhere in India.
This only exhibits the supreme knowledge of Indian traditional Vastu shastra reflected in the design of this temple which undoubtedly establishes the supremacy of the artists and the architects.