Kanaka Durga Temple, Indrakeeladri

Deity

Kanaka Durga on the hill above the Krishna

Where

Vijayawada, NTR district, Andhra Pradesh · 16.52N 80.61E

Usual hours

5 am – 1 pm, 4 pm – 9 pm — hours change with festivals and the season; check before travelling. Were these right when you went?

Grahas

Rahu

Visited for

The Devi of Vijayawada, where Arjuna did penance for the Pasupata. Dasara and the Theppotsavam are its days.

The sthala purana has it that the hill itself, Keeladri, did penance to be made the Devi’s seat, and that she settled here and killed Mahishasura at this place. The city below takes its name from that victory.

Arjuna is said to have done penance on the same hill for the Pasupata weapon, and to have been tested by Sivan in the form of a hunter — the episode the Kiratarjuniya is written about. The hill is called Indrakeeladri from the story.

The Devi stands with eight arms over Mahishasura, and the image is small and heavily ornamented.

The Malleswara Swamy shrine stands on the same hill and is older in the tradition of the place.

The hill is climbed by steps or a ghat road, and the view from the top takes in the Krishna, the Prakasam Barrage and the whole of Vijayawada.

Sharannavaratri is the season. The Devi is dressed in a different alankaram on each of the nine days, and the crowd on Moola Nakshatram and Vijayadashami is very large.

The Theppotsavam on the Krishna, Sivaratri at the Malleswara shrine, and the twelve-yearly Krishna Pushkaralu are the other days.

Also called

Kanaka Durgamma Temple, Indrakeeladri, Vijayawada Durga Temple

Reaching it

The temple is on Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada, about 4 km from Vijayawada Junction railway station. The hill is on the north bank of the Krishna beside the barrage.

• Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, Amaravathi 27.5 km · Saiva
• Sri Subrahmanyeswara Swamy Temple, Mopidevi 60.9 km · Murugan
• Sri Venkateswara Temple, Dwaraka Tirumala 87.7 km · Vaishnava
• Someswara Swamy Temple, Gunupudi 99.2 km · Saiva
• Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple, Palakollu 119.4 km · Saiva
• Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple, Bhadrachalam 131.3 km · Vaishnava

Been to this temple? The things that change — whether the hours on this page were right, whether the sannidhi was open, how long the queue was on a Saturday — are exactly what no printed source keeps current, and what the next person travelling here needs.

• Were the hours right when you went?
• Is anything on this page wrong or out of date?
• A photograph of the gopuram, the tank, or the notice board

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