History of Ghatikachalam

Ghatikachalam is a hill near Sholingur in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a Hindu pilgrimage center and the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the God Narasimha.

Lord Narasimha is the fourth incarnation (avatar) of the God Vishnu.
The name of this place is Kadigachalam as known from ancient legend.  Kadigai is the name of a period of Time. Sholingur is famous for the temples at its outskirts – one of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swami located on the top of the hill Ghatikachala and another of Sri Yoga Anjaneyar Swami. Tirukkadikai (Sholingur or Cholasimhapuram) is one of the 108 Divya Desams – sacred places of Vaishnava Sect in Hinduism. Both the temples are located on two hillocks..

History

As per the Legend, Lord Narasimha appeared before Sapta rishi and blessed with Mukti. It is said that Lord appeared for a span of 24 min, hence whoever offers prayers on this hill for 24 mins will be relieved from sins. Hence, the hill got the name Kadigachalam, where Kadigai means 24 mins and Chalam means hill. It is also believed that Lord Narasimha appeared in Yoga posture before Prahalad and offered Mukti.

This temple was built during the reign of the Vijayanagara Dynasty. Sri Acharya Swami and Swami Doddachar contributed to building the temple.

As per the folklore, Anjaneya stood by the King Indrathymna during the war in slaying the demons, Arakkan Nikumban and rescued his kingdom. Lord Anjaneya self-manifested here in a Yoga posture. Devotees take bath in Chakra Theertham before trekking small hill. It is said that Yoga Anjaneya Swamy’s eyes point the feet of Yoga Narasimha Swamy.

It is said that Varadaraja Perumal offered Darshan in his Garuda Vahanam to an ardent devotee Doddacharya, who was not able to visit Kanchipuram due to old age.

To reach Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, it is 1305 steps and is located 705 feet above the ground.

By – Tejas Kulkarni