Kanaka Durga Temple

The Kanaka Durga Temple located in the Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh is an amour shrine dedicated to the Goddess Durga. The astounding architecture of the temple is built in a Dravidian fashion. The temple is surrounded by the hills of Inrakeeladri, right along the banks of the Krishna River. There are many sacred texts and Vedic literature in which it is mentioned the temple is a revered temple among devotees and followers.

People visit this temple every year to pray and show their respect and devotion to the Goddess Supreme and seek her blessings. There is also a food donation program run by the temple as a part of their charitable activity.The Kanaka Durga Temple of Andhra Pradesh is one of the many Shaktipeethas that are situated in the country.

The goddess appears in her Mahishasurmardini form here, along with the image of the slain demon king Mahishasura. It is believed that the deity is Swayambhu or self-manifested. The imposing image of Kanakadurga is a humbling and unforgettable sight. The deity’s face and body color are of molten gold shade, and the idol is also bedecked with golden jewelry from which the temple gets its name Kanaka Durga - Kanaka in Sanskrit means gold.

History of Kanaka Durga Temple

The temple of Devi Kanaka Durga has more than one legend about its origin and history. One legend says that this region was once strewn with mighty rocks which inhibited the flow of the Krishna River, thereby leaving this area uninhabitable. To put an end to this problem, Lord Shiva was called upon who directed the hills to make way for the unobstructed flow of the river.

The flow of the river gained strength through the tunnels or "Bejjam", and hence the name Bezawada was born, which later got modified to Vijayawada.Another myth claims that Arjuna prayed to Lord Shiva on the top of the Indrakeela Hill for winning his blessings and he was successful in passing the test that Lord Shiva had posed for him and gifted the middle Pandava with Pasupat weapon, hence the name Vijayawada was coined.

The most famous one has Goddess Durga at its center. It has two versions. One follows that the goddess visited the mountaintop where the temple is perched being worshipped and called by sage Indrakila, who is the inspiration behind the name of the hill range. The sage was tormented by the increasing menace of demons, led by Mahishasura and Durga responded to his plea, slew the demon king, and made Indrakeeladri her permanent abode.

Another one is that a Yaksha by the name of Keela got a boon from Devi Durga that she would always remain in his heart. Granting him the boon, she said that he would be a mountain and she would perch in the temple nestled within the mountain range when the time comes. After killing Mahishasura, she kept her promise and made her home at Indrakeeladri.

Architecture of Kanaka Durga Temple

The main sanctum's construction is in the form of a pyramid, with the surface embellished with delicate stone carvings. The most impressive aspect of the Kanaka Durga Temple is perhaps its golden crown, which can be spotted from miles away. Visit this destination for a soul-stirring experience. There is also a Lord Shiva shrine near the ancient temple premises that goes by the name Malleswara Swamy temple.

This temple is probably the only one in the world where the female deity is located on the right side of the male one, as against the traditional left-side seat of the female consort. This is significant as this shows that the Shakti or feminine power of the cosmic universe is predominant here. These two shrines are the center of attraction for anyone visiting the temple.