Sylvin Thomas at 21:35, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T21:35:58Z

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{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Village in Andhra Pradesh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Ahobilam
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name = 1st Nava Narasimha Temple
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = File:Upper Ahobilam temple Gopuram 02.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Upper Ahobilam temple Gopuram
| pushpin_map = India Andhra Pradesh
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
| coordinates = {{coord|15.1333|N|78.7167|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Andhra Pradesh]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Nandyal district|Nandyal]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 327
| population_total = 3,732
| population_as_of =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate = AP
| website = http://ahobilamtemple.com
| footnotes =
| official_name =
}}
'''Ahobilam''' is a town and holy site in the [[Allagadda]] mandal of [[Nandyal district]] in the [[India]]n state of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/book-on-ahobilam-temple-released/article26444528.ece|title=Book on Ahobilam temple released|date=2019-03-06|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-05-17|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> It is surrounded by the [[Eastern Ghats]] with several mountain hills and gorges. It is the centre of worship of [[Narasimha]], the lion-headed [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]], along with his consort [[Pratyangira]], an avatar of [[Lakshmi]]. It is one of the nine [[Hindu temple]]s and shrines dedicated to this deity. The main village and a temple complex are at Lower Ahobilam. Upper Ahobilam, about 8 kilometres to the east, has more temples in a steep gorge.<ref>Michell, 330</ref> The site has evidence of historical patronage from a number of regional dynasties, with the most significant being that of the [[Vijayanagara Kingdom]].

== History ==
The history of Ahobilam before the 16th century is obscure. One of the earliest literary references to Ahobilam is in the 9th-century [[Tamil-language]] religious work ''[[Periya Tirumoli|Periyatirumoḻi]]'' written by [[Thirumangai Alvar]], where it is eulogized; this led to it being codified as one of the 108 canonical ''[[Divya Desams]].'' Ahobilam finds subsequent mention in several [[Sanskrit]] and [[Telugu-language]] texts between the 12th and 16th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dębicka-Borek |first=Ewa |date=2023-12-15 |title=Storied Hills: On Landscape, Narratives and Sacredness of Ahobilam |url=https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/5491 |journal=Cracow Indological Studies |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=113–158 |doi=10.12797/CIS.25.2023.01.04 |issn=2449-8696|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ambach |first=Malini |url=https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/xa/catalog/book/906/c13941 |title=Temples, Texts, and Networks: South Indian Perspectives |last2=Buchholz |first2=Jonas |last3=Hüsken |first3=Ute |last4=Nachimuthu |first4=K. |last5=Ganesan |first5=T. |last6=Sarma |first6=S. a. S. |last7=Czerniak-Drożdżowicz |first7=Marzenna |last8=Sathyanarayanan |first8=R. |last9=Dębicka-Borek |first9=Ewa |date=2022-10-20 |publisher=Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing |isbn=978-3-948791-23-0 |language=en |chapter=Connected Places, Networks of Shrines: Ahobilam in the Nets of Spatial Relationships |doi=10.11588/hasp.906.c13941 |chapter-url=https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/catalog/book/906/chapter/13941}}</ref>

Inscriptions and other material evidence indicate that the shrines of the town received patronage from the [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiya]] and [[Reddy dynasty|Reddi]] dynasties during the 13th and 14th centuries. The historical record is more prominent during the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] period. The site received significant patronage from rulers of the Vijayanagara kingdom, starting with the [[Saluva dynasty]] in the 15th century, and sustained by the [[Tuluva dynasty]] in the 16th century. Most inscriptions at the shrines date to the Tuluva period. The ruler [[Krishnadevaraya]] visited and patronised the town's shrines in the 16th century. The town is also the birthplace of the [[Ahobila Matha]], a monastic institution founded during the medieval period; scholars have proposed the late 15th or early 16th century as the possible periods of origin.<ref name=":0" />

Ahobilam lost imperial patronage with the decline of the Vijayanagara kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vemsani |first=Lavanya |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hinduism_in_Middle_India/0PqKEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ahobilam+history&pg=PA138&printsec=frontcover |title=Hinduism in Middle India: Narasimha, The Lord of the Middle |date=2022-10-06 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-13852-0 |pages=79 |language=en}}</ref> The site faced a raid in 1579 by Murahari Rao, a commander of the [[Golconda Sultanate]]. Ahobilam's temple was sacked and its bejewelled idol presented to Golconda's sultan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard Maxwell |title=Temple desecration and Muslim states in medieval India |date=2004 |publisher=Hope India |isbn=978-81-7871-027-3 |series=Social justice series |location=Gurgaon |pages=44–45}}</ref>

==Geography==
Ahobilam is located at {{coord|15.1333|N|78.7167|E|}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/02/Pedda_Ahobilam.html|title=redirect to /world/IN/02/Pedda_Ahobilam.html|work=fallingrain.com}}</ref> It is located in [[Nallamala Forest]], along the [[Eastern Ghats]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/090918/ahobilam-a-journey-into-spirituality.html|title=Ahobilam: A journey into spirituality|last=KUMAR|first=R. SANDEEP|date=2018-09-09|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en|access-date=2019-05-17}}</ref>

== Structure and shrines ==
[[File:Prahlada Varada Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Ahobilam in February 2024 (3).jpg|thumb|Entrance to the Prahladavarada temple]]
[[File:Ugra stambham rock at Ahobilam 02.jpg|thumb|250px|Close-up shot of ''Ugra stambham'' peak at Ahobilam, [[Nallamala Hills]]]]
The town of Ahobilam is home to ten shrines of [[Narasimha]], the man-lion incarnation of the god [[Vishnu]] in Hinduism. The town can be divided into Lower and Upper Ahobilam, which are separated from each other by 8 km. Upper Ahobilam refers to a forested area that sprawls up a ravine. The area is marked by nine different shrines of Narasimha representing nine aspects of the deity, as follows:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_India/GdBbBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Southern India |date=2012-08-10 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=978-81-7436-903-1 |language=en}}</ref>

* ''Ahobilanarasiṃha''
* ''Bhārgavanarasiṃha''
* ''Jvālānarasiṃha''
* ''Yogānandanarasiṃha''
* ''Chatravātanarasiṃha''
* ''Karañjanarasiṃha''
* ''Pāvananarasiṃha''
* ''Mālolanarasiṃha''
* ''Vārāhanarasiṃha''

The shrine of ''Ahobilanarasimha'' is the earliest shrine of Ahobilam, and is dedicated to the ''ugra'' (ferocious) aspect of Narasimha.<ref name=":0" />

Lower Ahobilam is contiguous with the populated area of the town, and hosts the town's main pilgrimage attraction, termed the ''Prahlādavarada'' temple. This shrine dates primarily to the 16th century; its construction may have begun during the reign of [[Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya]], first member of the Saluva dynasty, around the 15th/16th century. It is the last of the shrines built at Ahobilam. It is dedicated to the ''saumya'' (mild) aspect of Narasimha. Most inscriptions at Ahobilam are found at this temple.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Commons category}}
*Blurton, T. Richard, ''Hindu Art'', 1994, British Museum Press, {{ISBN|0 7141 1442 1}}
*Michell, George (1990), ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', 1990, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|0140081445}}

{{Vishnu temples}}
{{Hindu Temples in Andhra Pradesh}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites in India]]
[[Category:Divya Desams]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Kurnool district]]
[[Category:Devi temples in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Narasimha temples in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Hindu temples sacked in the Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent]]

Ahobilam - Revision history

Sylvin Thomas at 21:35, 25 March 2026