Around Vinayaka Chaviti time this year, we were driving our parents back to our hometown when our dad insisted we took the Nagarjuna Sagar route, upon further enquiry, it turned out that he wanted to sprinkle the holy water of Krishna during the "Antya Pushkaralu" of the Krishna River. Since reaching the river at Nagarjuna Sagar is not easy unless you take a boat ride, we decided to take him to Wadapally where in addition to the Krishna River, one can also visit the ancient Meenakshi Agasteswara Temple.
Musi's high point
We started from Hyderabad early in the morning towards Nellore and breaking from our tradition of breakfast at Hotel Vivera, this time, we stopped at the newly opened N Grill Resto near Narketpally. The hotel has a nice ambience, sit back and watch the vehicles zoom on the highway.
Any food joint that serves Pongal gets a hi-five from us and so does this Resto !
We then hit the NAM Expressway and we drove till the Telangana-AP border after where Wadapally is located on the banks of the Krishna River. A few metres before the Krishna River bridge starts, one can find a sign board directing towards the Meenakshi Agasteswara temple. At this spot, one can also see the ghats leading down to the river. It is quite amusing to see the ghats on either side painted in pink and yellow to represent the ruling parties of Telangana and Andhra !
A village road leads you to the Meenakshi Agasteswara Temple. We had heard that the temple was built on the banks of the Krishna River but only when we reached the place it struck that the temple was actually located at the confluence of the Krishna river and the Muchukunda or Hyderabad's favourite river, the Musi !
Climb down a few steps from the temple and you arrive at the confluence point. Here is the Krishna River.
One the other side is a scene that will warm any Hyderabadi's heart ! Musi River flowing cheerfully !
Only someone from Hyderabad would understand why this is so significant ! The Musi River, which was once a life-giving river for Hyderabad, has now been reduced to the city's drain ! To see the river with clean, flowing water seemed like a miracle !
This is the point of confluence.
People were performing rituals on the banks, while we lapped our feet in the waters of the Musi, we were too over joyed that the river was alive atleast towards the end of its journey.
Despite the cement factories dotting the landscape, the location was serene and quite picturesque. Here is another click of the two rivers entering into a partnership.
We then visited the Meenakshi Agasteswara Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The name Agasteswara comes from the legend that the Shiva Linga was installed by Sage Agastya.
The temple was built during the Kakatiya reign, though the structure that stands today has been completely renovated. The doors were locked but we managed to have a darshan from the grills.
There were monkeys playing around and the monkey phobic photographer handling a mobile phone could click only from this angle !
A short distance from the Shiva temple is the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, belonging to the same time period.
There is an interesting phenomena of the oil lamps lighted inside the Garba Griha of this temple. There are lamps closer to the Lord Narasimha's idol's face flicker while the rest of the lamps do not. The priest told us there was no vent anywhere inside the sanctum for air to flow and the flickering is believed to be caused by the breathing of Lord Narasimha. Our temples abound in such legends and beliefs which make them all the more interesting.
Outside the temple, there are some ancient ruined structures like this wall.
Wonder what these temples were like in their heydays.
We left Wadapally and continued our journey to Nellore, on NAM Expressway, the drive is as delightful as always.
We owe it to our rivers
After the Krishna and the Musi, it was the turn of the Penna to show off her charm. A day before heading back to Hyderabad, we visited the Jonnawada Kamakshi temple on the banks of the Penna river near Nellore. It was sun set time and river gleamed like gold !
We need to honour and save our rivers, without them our civilisation is nothing.
On the return journey, we took the Nagarjuna Sagar route, just for a change (considering we travel on the NAM Expressway once every 2 months!). It was a lovely, rainy day.
The distant hills were cloud covered and the green landscape looked straight out of a canvas painting !
Scenes like these will tell you why travel is so essential in life.
Info tidbits
Wadapally is 6 kms from Damarcherla and 25 kms from Miriyalaguda. We suppose there is transport available from Miriyalaguda.
As you drive from from Damarcherla just before the Krishna bridge, look for sign board to the left directing to Meenakshi Agasteswara temple or simply follow Google Maps.
Both the temples at Wadapally are open from 6 AM to about 11 AM and probably open in the evening around 4 or 5 PM. These are small temples with not much crowd except on festival days.
Miriyalaguda is your best bet if you are looking for food options.
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