Mantralaya,Andhra Pradesh,India

There is a saying in kannada “If its god then it has to be Tirupati Timmappa and if it is guru then it has to be Manchale Ragappa “. Hardly people need any explanation about Mantralayam.

It is the divine place where Sri Raghavendra swami entered into the Brindavan, alive – Sajeeva Samadhi.It is believed that Shri Rayaru, as he is lovingly called by his devotees, still exist in the samadhi and is fulfilling the prayers of devotees.

Places to visit in Mantralayam are

Manchalamma, the local deity of Manchale gave the land for Rayaru to contruct the Vrindavanam.Its a custom here that first we need to see Manchallamma and then Shri Rayara Vrindavanam.

Early morning hours is the best time to visit the temple. If you want to book any sevas,you need to do that booking in the previous day inside the temple.There is big hall where they will do the Sankalpa for the pooja and give prasadam also.

There are many ways to worship Rayaru here.You can see people doing Urulu Seva [rolling on the ground],Hejje Namaskara[Step by step walking] etc. All these sevas are considered to be very auspicious here.The sacred sand of the Moola Brindavana (Moola Mrithika) has very special significance, it will cure diseases and protect you from evils. We keep this at home and everyday take it as prasadam.

The temple also serves prasadam i.e afternoon meals for everybody.

Tunga bhadra river flows in the back side of the temple which would be floddy during rainy seasons.

Panchamukhi Veeranjaneya temple is around 30min from here.There are auto rickshaws available to go there. Sri Raghavendhra Swamy was an ardent devotee of Sri Moola Rama and Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya. He performed penance here for 12 years and got the dharshan of Hanuman in the form of Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya, an incarnation of Lord Hanuman. The anjaneya is a swayambu inscription on the rocky cave.

Many lodges are here for accommodation. But we always prefer to stay in the guest houses provided by the Mutt.These guest houses are maintained well and they are very cheap compared to hotel lodges.There is the mutt administration building near to temple where you can book the guest houses.

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