Yadagirigutta

The place was named Yadagirigutta after a hermit called Yadavarishi who religiously meditated to be blessed by Lord Narasimha, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Temple of Yadagirigutta is situated at a height of 300 feet on a hill, in Nalogonda district of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is famous and attracts a huge number of local devotees and outsiders. It is said that Lord Narasimha was satisfied with the hermit's devotion and materialized in five different forms. The five different forms are Jwala, Yogananda, Lakshminarasimha, Gandabherunda and Ugra. As legend goes, the first form of Narasimha was so fiery that the yogi wanted him to appear him in a peaceful form. He then appeared in the form of Yoganarasimha, but the yogi is still not satisfied and he wanted to see him with his counterpart i.e. Goddess Lakshmi. So Narasimha appeared with goddess Lakshmi on his lap. It is said that these three Narasimha forms were so fiery that the hermit could not endure it. Hence, they are worshipped inside the cave. These five forms of Narasimha have now been sculpted into idols and worshipped in a place within the temple, which is known as Panchanarasimha Kshetram. The principal shrine of Yadagirigutta temple is the Lakshminarasimha who is believed to be the healer of incurable diseases, witchcraft, black magic and the harmful influence of planets. Locals believe that worshipping here for a time period of 40 days would alleviate devotees of incurable diseases.