As Navratri is set to begin, visit these famous Devi temples in Vizag

Navratri is a nine-day long Hindu festival where devotees of Goddess Durga observe a fast, perform rituals, and pujas. Each day of the Navratri festival has a dedicated colour and significance attached to it. As the auspicious period of Navratri is set to commence from tomorrow, here are famous Devi temples in Vizag you must visit for peace and love.

List of famous Devi temples in Vizag:

#1 Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple

The holy shrine is arguably one of the most popular temples in Vizag. About two or three decades ago, it was a wayside idol on a concrete pedestal in the midst of the packed narrow lanes of One-Town. Today there stands a huge hall, a covered path for the serpentine queues, an office, a prasadam counter and much more. Known for its oddity of not having a roof, the idol of the Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple is exposed to the vagaries of nature. The idol too is seemingly incomplete, with the lower torso embedded into the concrete pedestal and a hand apparently broken off. As per legend, the idol was found in an adjacent well and installed on the road in 1912 according to the Goddess’s instructions conveyed in a dream to a young girl. About five years later in 1917, the local authorities shifted the idol, following which a plague hit the city. When the locals reinstalled the idol in its original place, the plague came under control. Since then, faith in the deity has only seen an increasing trend. Though regular pujas and sevas are conducted by the priests, devotees have unfettered access to the idol for most of the time.

#2 Polamamba Temple

Allegedly netted by fishermen almost 600 years ago, Polamamba is considered to be the reigning deity of Waltair. Though the origins of the idol are unknown, the features of the idol suggest that it could have belonged to a temple dating back to the Chalukya-Chola period in the twelfth century. The salvaged idol was reverently placed in the shelter of a Karaka-Chettu (sage-leaved gall nut tree) and since then the Goddess has been alluded to as Karakachettu Polamamba. Subsequently, an old fisherman had a dream as per which, the care and upkeep of the deity were entrusted to the Maddi family of the Reddika community in Peddawaltair. The communities came together to build a temple, and a priest was engaged for the daily rituals. The biggest festival, the Jatara happens in January, just after Sankranti. It is a 12-day celebration that attracts more than a million devotees.

#3 Kali Temple

Bhabatarini Matha Mandir, popularly known as Kali Temple on the RK Beach Road, shines as a sparkling jewel blessing the devotees from far and wide in the beautiful port city of Vizag. Visitors to the beach never miss this magnificent temple in all its grandeur offering a spiritually elevating experience to them. A unique feature of the temple is that the golden rays of the morning Sun bathe the feet of Goddess Kali as though offering prayers to the Divine mother with regularity. Another miracle to which many devotees testify is that on the Pratista day when the utsav vigrah of Mother Kali is taken for the ceremonial bath to the sea opposite the temple, three waves wash the deity as though offering reverential prayers to Her. By divine coincidence, the temple was opened on 18/10/1984 whereas the famous Dakshineswara Temple in Belur too was inaugurated a hundred years before exactly on 18/10/1884.

#4 Kanyaka Parameswari Temple

Revered by the Arya Vysya community, as their ‘Ilavelpu’, the Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Temple near Kurupam Market in Vizag is more than a century old. This temple is particularly favoured by the business community in the north coastal districts. Sri Kanyaka Parameswari is the august incarnation of the Universal Mother Parvathi.

It is believed that those who pray to Her will be blessed with wealth surpassing Kubera. Devotees believe that She will guide them in all their spiritual and materialistic endeavours as well as guide them their favoured final destination ‘Kaila’.