This study focuses on five temples dedicated to Nṛsiṁha that are situated along the Kṛṣṇā River in the region of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temples are located at Vadapalli and Mattapalli in Nalgonda District, Ketavaram and Mangalagiri in Guntur District, and Vedadri in the Krishna District. Although built during different time periods, the five Nṛsiṁha temples function as a religious collective. While some of the temples have been the subject of individual study, the temples as a group have received very little attention from scholars. My research provides the first contextual analysis of the five temples as a group.
Religious cults have played a significant role in molding the life and institutions of India from early times. Among the Vaiṣṇava religious practices, the cult of Nṛsiṁha, the fourth incarnation of the Hindu god Viṣṇu, is an important and powerful one. Nṛsiṁha, the Man-Lion incarnation, one of the ten main incarnations of Viṣṇu, came to earth to rescue the world from an evil king named Hiraṇyakaśipu. There are numerous centers of Nṛsiṁha worship spread across India. However, Nṛsiṁha seems to be particularly popular and important in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Based on original field research conducted in the Andhra Pradesh region, this study documents and examines each of the five monuments separately, and explores the nature of their association as a group of five. Through this investigation, I have identified three prevalent iconographic themes that are associated with the five temples. These are the role of the goddess Lakṣmī as the primary śakti of Nṛsiṁha; the importance of the Kṛṣṇā River; and, the underlying Tantric affiliation within the Vai≈∫ava ritual practices. Additionally, my findings show that the iconographic program of the five temples and the Kṛṣṇā River parallels Vaiṣṇava Tantric practices, and correlates the macrocosm of the universe with the microcosm of a yogin’s body.
Finally, my investigation brings to light previously little known monuments and the devotion to Nṛsiṁha that is so prevalent in Andhra Pradesh region. In addition, this study contributes to the broader knowledge about Hindu temple customs, pilgrimage practices, ritual conventions, and local traditions that are associated with Nṛsiṁha, through the examination of collective grouping of temples as a phenomenon.