According to my knowledge there only 2 Kurma temples of lord vishnu available in whole world : -
1. Sri Kurmam ( Andhra pradesh )
2. Gavirangapura ( Chitradurga )
1. Sri Kurmam ( Andhra pradesh ) : -
Sri Kurmam is a Village near Srikakulam, Andhra
Pradesh, India.
It is located approximately 13 kilometers east of Srikakulam town near the sea.
It is in the Gara Mandal of Srikakulam district.
Temple dedicated
to Sri Kurmanatha, which is the second avatar of Lord Vishnu, Kurma Avatar (Tortoise). There is also a Yoganandha
Narasimhan temple in front of Sri Kurmam temple. Simhachalam Devasthanam
took the responsibility for the temple improvement.
The presiding Deity, Lord Kurma is self-manifest, or svayambhu.
He is about 70 cm long, shaped like the shell of a turtle. The Deity's tail is
a salagram presented by Adi Sankar. Inside the garbha-griha, or sanctum sanctorum, Sri Kurmam is
joined by Deities of Govindaraja (Krishna) with Rukmini and Satyabhama on one
side, and Sita, Rama and Laksman on the other side.
The moolasthanam (central piece) is considered to be large saligrama. The Kurma (Turtle) is
known as Sri Kurmam in the 'Sampradayam'. The image is not a sculpture crafted
by man, but the fossil of an actual (large-size) turtle. The head of the deity
is in the form of a Kurma (tortoise) and is represented by a Vishnu namam, the
tail being represented by a Saligrama presented by Adi
Sankaracharya. The artistic beauty of the temple lies in the carvings of
Vishnu and other deity statues in a glorious way of architecture.
The mandapam in front of the temple sits upon lion pillars.
There are dwajastamba pillars both in the front and back of the temple, which
is quite unusual. This is because the Deity faces the back of the temple, to
the west. Although deities are often facing east, Lord Kurma faces west due to
the pastimes of the great Vaisnava saint, Bilvamangala Thakur. He prayed to the
Lord so fervently while leaning against the west wall, at the temple entrance,
that the Deity of Lord Kurma turned His head to look at His devotee.
Bilvamangala Thakura's samadhi is located in the
Kurma-sthana temple complex, to the left of the main temple, and his body is
said to be in samadhi beneath it the temple. Bilvamangala Thakur's murti is
four-armed, as he is understood to be an associate of the Lord and a resident
of Vaikuntha.
Also residing at Kurma-sthana is a beautiful Yogananda
Nrsimhadev, which is worshipped by sadhus in the Madhvacarya line.
The temple sits to the east of a theertham called Swathi
puskarini. Sitting atop a small hill at Kurma-ksetra there is a shrine which
houses the Lotus Footprints of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who visited the spot in
1512. This pada-tirtha was established in December 1930 by Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.
Patala Narasimha : -
It is said that a special Ugra Narasimha Murthy by the Name
"Patala Narasimha" is placed beneath. Normally that form is only
worshipped in the region of Patala (below the Bhu mandala) by great devotees
like Bali or Prahlada. It is said that this deity was so furious to handle and
the worship was placed in a body of water to keep it cool and pure.
There is only one carving remembering the worship of Lord
Patala Narasimha visible in the Kurma Temple, were pilgrims put Sandalwood
powder over him, - again to cooool Him down!
There is a big festival at Kurma-ksetra each year, in
mid-February, commemorating Lord Caitanya's visit to the temple in 1512.
2. Gavirangapuram ( chitradurga )
Gavirangapura 3 km
from srirampura Hosdurga taluk has a very well known temple of srilakshmigavirangnatha
swamy the lord is in the form of Kurma the second avatar of Lord Vishnu where most of the devotees are from Banglore belonging to Devanga community. It is one of the two known temples of Kurma avatar of Lord Vishnu in India. The other one is at Srikurmam 13 km from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.
MAP
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