Kurma (the Tortoise) is the second avtaar of Lord Vishnu. The first being Matsya or the Fish.

The first time you encounter Kurma avtaar is during the great cosmic ocean churn (Samudra Manthan), the great mount Mandara is being used as a churn, and the lord of snakes vasuki as the rope, while the devas and asuras churn the cosmic oceans for the nectar of immortality. The mountain begins slipping into the sea, at which point Vishnu manifests himself as a giant turtle who can carry the weight of the Mountain on his shell. And he does. And the churn begins.

Why is the churning of the oceans for Amrut so important – well the answer is complex. The Gods (indra and his devas) are afflicted with hubris and get cursed with ever reducing powers. The Gods approach the Asuras (their half brothers – the Asuras are the children of Diti by Kashyapa, while the Gods are the sons of Aditi by Kashyapa) to churn the ocean and get amrut, that would be consumed by both.

While I have been to temples dedicated to later Vishnu avtaars – from Parushurama, i haven’t been to temples of the earlier avtaar. So, when i got told that this is the only temple dedicated to kurma avtaar – the ShriKurmam temple, i had to go.

A two hour drive from Vishakapatnam, Sri Kumaram is in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. A quiet temple, with not many visitors (we had to get the priest out of his quarters during pooja hours – it was that quiet).

The temple has two dwajastambhas (flag pole is the literal translation, but it is more than a flagpole).

The temple, in many places seems rather worn with time. frayed and almost shabby. The legend outside has an explanation for that – during the period of invasions 11th to 17th century (mogul invasion, says the placard outside, were there Mogul invasions that  far down south?)  , the temple was masked in limestone, and it’s glory hidden from those who would plunder its riches. It was hoped that this subterfuge will make it merge with the hillocks surrounding it.  Today, you can still see the traces of limestone on the walls

The temple is about 2000 years old – set up in 2 AD but accounts are sketchy. And, like in many other cases mythology and history intertwine, to make for a great tale of heroes, kings, devotees, boons and temples.

There are 210 pillars in the temple, each intricately carved.

And, if you get there on a weekday, you will get the temple all to yourself. and it is a great place to just sit and think.

There is a tortoise park within the temple precinct where you will see some seriously fat tortoises.

the rest of the pictures are on Flickr.