Krishnapuram - Interesting Venkateswara temple near Tirunelveli

Through this post, I introduce you to a small village called Krishnapuram located in South Tamil Nadu. Krishnapuram, the name, stands for the land of Krishna. Accordingly, the primary temple of the place belongs to Lord Vishnu. The primary temple deities here share the same names as Tirupati. The temple, although not large in size, is definitely worth a visit for some interesting wonders it offers.

REACHING THERE: Krishnapuram is located near Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu. The village is located en route to Tiruchendur, from Tirunelveli and hence could easily fit into your tour itinerary. The nearest town would be Tirunelveli, at a distance of just about 10kms. The nearest rail head would also be Tirunelveli.

KRISHNAPURAM TEMPLE: The outside look of the temple may not be really stunning. By its exterior appearance, one could easily pass it on as just an other temple. But the real beauty definitely lies inside. The temple deities here share the same name as that of Tirupati Venkateshwara. As such, the presiding deity is known by Venkatajalapathi, with his consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.

As soon as you enter the temple, the main hall that leads to the temple sanctum, leaves you amazed. The pillars of the walls carry wonderful work of art that leaves you thinking that this place has something unique to offer and makes you feel good that you did the right thing by visiting the temple and did not shrug it off as a regular one.

What is unique about this wonderful sculptures in the temple, is the sheer size of it. Each of these sculptures is huge in size, almost the size of a human. This adds great life into these sculptures, and as they say, they are truly life-like. Creating these six feet sculptures calls for intricate detailing and the sculptors have truly lived up to this task.

Each of these sculptures carry so much of detailed work that one could easily pass off an entire day just observing the finer aspects of the work. These stone marvels depict a variety of themes. Some of these sculptures relate to war heroes, some of them are manifestations of the Lord and some depict an artist at work.

The astonishing work of art at the entrance hall is just a precursor to what is found inside the main sanctum. Here again, you are loaded with great sight for your eyes, as you come across more life-like sculptures adorning each pillar. In fact, each side of the pillar is decorated with an unique sculpture. As you stay engrossed in this spectacle, you are forced to wonder, how many people must have worked on these sculptures and how long this exercise would have taken.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISITS: The Nava Tirupati circuit, of nine Vaishanvite temples located on both banks of the river Tamirabarani is not far off from here. So, one could easily start of early morning from Tirunelveli, visit Krishnapuram and then proceed for Nava Tirupati temples. As the name suggests, each of these Nava Tirupati temples is associated with a particular planet and is definitely worth a visit. Some of these temples have their own interesting wonders to offer (more on Nava Tirupati later).

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: Plan for a day long trip. Start from Tirunelveli, make the first halt at Krishnapuram, then complete the Nava Tirupati circuit by after noon. After lunch on the way, proceed to Tiruchendur. On the way, do not forget to check out Vana Tirupati, the new abode of Lord Venkateshwara. You can find all about Vana Tirupati, located at Punnai Nagar near Nazreth, in my older blog post, http://www.travelwithguru.blogspot.com/2009/12/vana-tirupati-new-abode-of-lord.html

So, push off to check out this great wonder at Krishnapuram.