Tirupati Balaji

Vinayaka Temple Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple or Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha is located at Kanipakam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh about 65 kms from Holy Tirupati. Kanipakam temple is a rare temple with a self-manifestation (swayambhu) idol of Lord The temple was constructed in the 11th century by Chola king Kulothunga Chola I and was expanded further in 1336 by Vijayanagara Kings. Ganesha.

"Kani" means wetland and "Pakam" means flow of water into wetland. The striking feature of the idol is that it is still growing in size. According to a legend, there were three handicapped brothers, Dumb, Deaf and Blind. They were farmers and used to draw water for farming from a well nearby. One day the well got dried and they could no longer continue cultivation. One of them got into the well and started digging it up. He was shocked to see blood coming out of the well. Within in a few seconds the entire water turned red. All the three became normal getting rid of their deformities. As soon as the villagers came to know about this miracle, they thronged to the well and tried to deepen the well further. They found swayambhu idol (the self-manifested) of Lord Vinayaka emerging from the swirling waters.

The Annual Festival (Brahmotsavam) is conducted for 21 days starting on the Hindu festival of Vinayaka Chavithi (or Ganesh Chaturthi) that generally falls in the months of August/September. Kanipakam is directly connected by bus with Tirupati (every 30 minutes) & Chittoor.

There are few other temples to visit in Kanipakam like Sri Manikanteswara Swami temple and Sri Varadaraja swami temple. Sri Ardhagiri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple, Sri Boyakonda Gangamma Temple and Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple are some other temples nearby Kanipakam. Timings: 4 AM to 9.30 PM

The legend behind Bahuda River- Long ago there lived two brothers Sankha and Likhita. They were on a pilgrimage to Kanipakam. As the journey was tiring, the younger brother Likhita felt hungry. Disregarding the advice of the elder brother he plucked a mango from the mango grove. Sankha felt bad and reported this to the ruler of that area and pleaded for punishment for the sin committed during the pilgrimage. Thus Likhita was punished severely being deprived of both arms.

Later they took bath in the river near Kanipakam temple. Lo Behold! The chopped arms were restored to Likhita as soon as he had a dip in the sacred waters of the river. These incidents lead the ruler to rename the river as 'Bahuda' (Bahu means human arm). Thus the river beside Kanipakam temple is now known as 'Bahuda River'.

Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka as up-holder of 'Truth' The swayambhu idol of Kanipakam is the up-holder of truth. Day to day disputes between people is resolved by taking a 'special oath'. The people in the dispute take a holy dip in the temple tank and swear before the lord. It is taken as gospel truth. Book A tour Package to Vinayaka Temple Kanipakam. Book A tour Package to Vinayaka Temple Kanipakam