Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple, located in the busy business-hub of Vizag,
is immensely popular with the residents of the city, the visitors, and
tourists as well. Located a few kilometers away from Visakhapatnam
Railway Station, and the APSRTC bus complex, the Kanaka Mahalakshmi
diety’s benevolence is most sought after, by the poor and rich alike.
The temple received the ISO 9001:2015 certification, for it quality
standards in maintaining the temple, in October 2021. About the temple:The
absence of a roof is a unique feature of the Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple.
It is believed that the presiding deity herself wished thus. Perhaps to
let us know of her omnipresence and infiniteness. Another aspect that
endears the temple to all is the fact that the devotees can touch and
feel the idol of the presiding deity with their own hands. The believers
can perform puja and abhishekam all by themselves, without any
assistance or intervention. The deity, who is considered Satya Devata by
her countless devotees, blesses them with whatever they seek, spiritual
or material. There are stories of many miracles of this all-giving and
always-accessible Goddess. The Pulihora, or tamarind rice, offered as prasadam at the Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple is something that you can’t miss. The Legend:The
origin of the temple is traced to the year 1912, when people discovered
the idol of the presiding deity in a well near Burujupeta (fort of the
then rulers). The idol was then installed in the middle of the road and
devotees soon started offering puja and different sevas. In 1917, the
Municipal Authorities removed the idol and reinstalled it at the
roadside. Very soon, an outburst of a plague claimed thousands of lives
in that area causing immense suffering. Believing that moving the idol
from the middle of the road was the cause for the suffering, the idol
was reinstalled at its original place. Miraculously, the suffering
subsided, drawing more devotees from the city and other places as well,
who performed puja at the temple regularly. Information regarding the temple:In
a conversation with Yo! Vizag, Mr. Satish, an official at Kanaka
Mahalakshmi Temple in Vizag, informed the temple timings and various
pujas one may offer to the Goddess. The temple is open to the devotees
between 5am to 9pm daily. Though there is free entry, one may choose to
purchase line tickets at Rs. 50, Rs. 100, and Rs. 200. The Rs. 200
ticket allows the devotees an entry into the Garbha Gudi, where the
statue of the deity resides. Further, he added, the Panchamrutha Puja,
which costs Rs. 516, is performed by the devotees at three different
timings; between 5am to 6am, 11am to 12pm, and 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
Similarly, various pujas are offered to at the Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple
on different days of the week. These are the Ashtadala Padmaradhana
Puja (Rs. 1116) on every Tuesday, the Srichakra Navavarana Puja (Rs.
2500) on every Pournami (full moon day), the Ksheerabhisekam (Rs. 200)
on every Friday, and the Kumkuma Puja on the first Tuesday of every
month. |
