Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple

Vinayaka Temple at Kanipakam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha or Vinayaka. From Chittoor, it is about 11 km, and the deity here is considered to be self-manifested. The temple is managed by the Endowments Department of Andhra Pradesh, where 15 members of the board take care of the holy place.

 

The temple's history dates back to the early 11th century when it was first built by Chola king Kulothunga Chola I. Later the temple was expanded in 1336 when the Vijayanagara dynasty was in power and ruled the place. This makes the temple around a thousand years old, which also gains its significance among other Ganesha temples.

 

The Legendary Tale

 

Once there were three brothers who bought themselves a small piece of land close to Viharapuri village. All three brothers had a disability; one was deaf, one was dumb, and the third was blind. One day, one of the brothers was irrigating the land, and the other two were getting the water from the well via Piccota System.

 

They cursed their destiny when they found the well dried up. One brother then got down the well and started digging it even deeper in the hope of some water. While digging the well, his iron spade hit something. He founded the water as well as some stone-like structure underneath.

 

He called the other two brothers, and all three of them started staring at the stone. They became all astonished and afraid too when they saw blood coming out of the stone. In no time, that blood mixed with water in the well, and it became all red. However, at the same time, all three brothers got blessed, and they got rid of their disabilities.

 

This miracle caught fire in the village when the villagers heard about it. Everyone running approached the well to witness the miraculous stone, and with their hard work and efforts, they were able to get the stone out of the well.

 

The next second was even more mesmerizing when they found out that the stone was a self-manifested idol of Lord Ganesha.

 

Everyone was stunned and harmonious upon finding Lord Ganesha. They immediately established the idol there near the well and offered loads of coconuts and sweets, saying prayers and doing the Puja. The coconut water from the coconut that the people offered started flowing into a stream and covered more than one and a quarter acres. This miraculous event named the place "Kanipakam," where Kani means wetland and Pakam means water flow into the wetland.

 

The holy well also never dried up, and to this date, it is still the same. The holy water as it never dries up also shows the immortality of the Lord Ganesha established. In fact, in monsoon, the water of this well overflows, and devotees are offered by it as the divine blessing of Ganesha, which is believed to remove all their sins and ailments.

 

Some Incredible Facts about the Divine Idol of Ganesha

 

The divine image of Lord Vinayaka is growing day by day. Only the knees and abdomen can be seen for now. The evidence is the silver kavacham, which was offered to the idol fifty years ago, doesn't fit anymore.

 

The idol is believed to have divine power; people, before going for court cases, come here and pray to the Lord Ganesha. They get justice in their case! It is also said that sinners after taking a holy dip in the water of this place accept their sins immediately.

 

Once upon a time, when the Kanipakam was established, there were two brothers Sankha and Likhita. Once, they decided to go on a pilgrimage and started their journey. They took an oath not to eat anything until they reach the pilgrimage. However, as the journey was difficult, Likhita gave in to hunger, and ignoring his brother's advice, he plucked a mango from the tree nearby without its owner's permission.

 

As a sincere person, Sankha told the truth to the King of that place and asked for punishment for his brother. The King, in return, ordered his men to chop off both hands of Likhita as punishment. After the incident, both brothers didn't stop, and they reached the pilgrimage they planned for.

 

When they took a dip in the holy water, a miracle happened which none of them even dreamed of. Both hands of Likhita was restored as they were never harmed. After this incident, everyone got to know about it, and the place also got the name "Bahuda" where Bahu means arms and Da means giver, which makes as the giver of the arms.