Hyderabad: People come to the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple located in the Ananthagiri Hills near Vikarabad, 75 km from the city, not only to pray but also seek blessings to be able to build their dream house.
On weekends, devotees young and old — especially engineering graduates — place small stones one above another in threes, fours, fives and sixes in a horizontal manner. A portion of the ground under a tree is full of such small black stones neatly placed like rock formations.
Ms Shivani, a devotee, said, “it is believed that if you arrange stones one above another, you will construct a house. The number of stones indicates number of floors.’’
Temple executive officer Sekhar Goud said that this belief was on the rise. “They come, sit patiently and place stones one atop another. They believe if the formation stands, they will construct the house,’’ he said.
Asked about the stones being dismantled, he said, “If the wish is fulfilled, the devotee returns and dismantles the stone formation. Many say their wish has been fulfilled.’’ Inside the temple which gets revenue of Rs 46 lakh a year, women devotees tie bangles and men, sacred thread to a tree guard in fulfilment of their vows.
Legend says Markandeya Maharishi, a devotee of Shiva, did penance here and Lord Vishnu appeared before him as Padmanabha Swamy in a cave. Some say he is an incarnation of Lord Krishna.
The Nizams and other royals frequented this forest area for hunting and rest. It is believed the Lord appeared in a dream of a Nawab and asked him to build the temple which exists now.
There is a popular Urdu adage, “Ananthagiri ka hawa har marz ka dawa.’’ (Ananthagiri air, a cure for all diseases), perhaps sourced to the erstwhile TB Hospital.
