శ్రీకూర్మం దేవస్థానం-విశేషాలు- హైందవసంస్కృతి-6 -Full video (Part-1&2)

Hi viewers. welcome all. I am very intrested to do youtubve vedios. Today i along wiht my family went to Srikurmam temple.
The Kurmanathaswamy temple, also known as the Kurmanatha temple , Srikurma or Srikurmam temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kurma – the second avatar of Vishnu. It is located in Srikurmam village, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, India. According to Prapannamrutam and earliest inscription of the temple, In saka 1035 CE Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha converted this temple to a Vaishnava khetra from a Siva temple.The temple was Built before 11th-century AD in a fusion architecture of kalinga Architecture and Dravidian Architecture. The temple's perambulatory were constructed by Eastern Ganga Dynasty king Anangabhima Deva III , and it is dedicated to Vishnu as Kurmanathaswamy and his consort Lakshmi as Kurmanayaki. The temple has century old Orissan Pattachitra style mural paintings in side wall of pradakshina mandapa.Srikurmam is the only known pre-14th-century Indian temple that is dedicated to the Kurma avatar. The sanctum of Kurmanatha temple has both a tortoise image and the anthropomorphic Vishnu with Lakshmi. The temple was an important centre of Vaishnavism in the medieval period along with Simhachalam. Later Naraharitirtha, a disciple of Madhvacharya, was instrumental in making Srikurmam the seat of Vishnavite religious activities. The temple has two dhvajasthambas, 108 ekasila (single-stone) pillars, with none resembling each other. These bear numerous inscriptions. A tortoise park has been built within the temple to honor and conserve the adult and young star tortoises. The temple has primarily Vaishnava iconography and murals, but also reverentially includes Shaiva (Ganesha, Shiva) and Shakti (Lakshmi, Durga) icons.Srikurmam follows both Shaivite and Vaishnavite traditions of worship. Four daily rituals and four annual festivals are celebrated in Srikurmam, out of which the three-day Dolotsavam is the major one. Gajapathi Rajus of Vizianagaram are the trustees of the temple, which is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian postal department issued a stamp featuring the temple on 11 April 2013.
The temple is situated in the Gara mandal of the Srikakulam district, which is located at a distance of 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Visakhapatnam. Considered the only Indian temple where the Hindu deity Vishnu is worshipped in the form of a tortoise, Srikurmam is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from Srikakulam town and 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) away from the Suryanarayana temple, Arasavalli. Inscriptional history of the temple begins in the 11th-12th centuries. The temple is popular among the Tamil diaspora as well because it is a Vaishnavite temple. Ramanuja's disciples established Vaishnavism in the temple with the support of Kalinga king Anantavarman Chodaganga, the eastern Ganga king. After this incident, a group of devadasis were employed to sing and dance daily before the deity in the morning and evening.

Srikurmam was regarded as an important centre of Vaishnavism in the medieval period along with Simhachalam and others.It was also regarded as the Gurupitha (sacred place of the master) of the Ganga kings of Utkala. Naraharitirtha, the disciple of Madhvacharya, was instrumental in making Srikurmam the seat of Vishnavite religious activities. He also defended the place from an attack of the Sabaras, a group of savage inhabitants of the Ganjam forests. Srikurmam influenced the kings, officials, and Vaishnavite devotees to change their names in accordance with the religious faith they followed. Due to his close association with the eastern Ganga kings, Naraharitirtha created the office of Bhoga Pariksha (religious head) with the aim of having the successive Madhwa saints supervise religious matters and pray for the welfare of the royal family and kingdom. Naraharitirtha later built a temple dedicated to Yogananda Narasimha in front of Srikurmam. The temple inscriptions mention Narasimha Dasa Pandita and Purushottama Deva as the Bhoga Parikshas.Currently, Srikurmam is under the trusteeship of the Gajapathi Rajus of Vizianagaram.