Kanipakam - Swayambu Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Swamy Devasthanam

Sri Swayambbu Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple History-Origin-Importance-Architecture


The formation of Sri Vara Siddhi Vinayaka temple and the idol of God have an amazing history behind it. According to the legend of the temple, there were three brothers, each of them dumb, deaf or blind. They were earning their livelihood by cultivating a small piece of land. One of them used to irrigate the field th

rough channels while the other used to work on drawing water from the well. One day they noticed that the water in the well got dried up and they could no longer continue their work. Seeing this, one of them got into the well and started digging it up. He was startled to see the iron implement hitting a stone like formation. Later, blood started oozing out from it and the entire water in the well turned blood red in colour. Witnessing this divine sight, all the three brothers were reinstated to normal form, from their deformities. The news spread like a fire and the villagers gathered at the well to deepen it further. But their attempt was in vain as the 'Swayambhu' idol of Lord Vinayaka emerged from the swirling waters. Ultimately they offered many coconuts with all prayers and modesty offering Mangalarathi (hymns of God). The coconut water flowed into the channel to a distance of more than a quarter acres. Even today the idol is in the original well and the springs of this well are perennial and eternal. Even now, during the rainy season, the holy water from the well overflows. This water is offered as theertham to devotees. Another amazing feature of the idol is that it is still growing in size, earlier only face was visible and now abdomen and knees. There is a legend on the river that is flowing besides the temple. The tale goes that, there lived two brothers Sankha and Likhita who were on their way, to pilgrimage, to Kanipakam. As the journey was tiring, the younger brother Likhita felt hungry and he plucked a mango from a mango grove in which they were resting, much against his brother's wish. Sankha felt bad, reported this to the ruler of that area, and pleaded for punishment for the sin committed by his brother during the pilgrimage. Thus, Likhita was punished severely being deprived of both his arms. Further on their journey, they took bath in the river near Kanipakam temple and were astounded to see the chopped arms of Likhita were restored as soon as they took a dip in holy water. This incident spread like fire and the river was named as 'Bahuda', meaning 'Human arm'. Thus the river beside Kanipakam temple is known as 'Bahuda River'.