Vedadri Narasimha Temple

Vedadri Narasimha Temple stands on a hillock beside the Krishna river at Vedadri and is one of the Pancha Narasimha Kshetras, drawing thousands of pilgrims each year. Its legend says the demon Somakasura took the Vedas from Brahma and concealed them beneath the sea; Vishnu took the form of Narasimha to rescue them and turned them into this hill, Vedadri, on the river.

The temple is said to have risen to prominence under the Kakatiyas, and the Telugu saint-composer Narayana Tirtha visited it regularly. In the 1800s the zamindar Raja Vasireddy Muktiswara Prasad Nayudu renewed the flagstaff and built 108 steps from the hill down to the river. The main image shows Narasimha with Lakshmi on his left lap, and five forms of the god are worshipped: Vira, Salagrama, Jwala, Lakshmi and Yoga Narasimha. There are also shrines to the 12 Alvars and to the sages Kashyapa and Atri. Narasimha Jayanti is the main festival.