India is a country with many legends doing the rounds. One such is the self-manifestation of Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy in Singapattanam (Singotam) near Kollapur in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana. The Lord is worshipped here in the form of Shiv Linga. The temple is situated in Singotam or Singapattanam about 9 kms from Kollapur. The idol here is a self-manifested one having Thripundrams and Urdhva Pundrams. A separate Shiva temple was also constructed after some time beside the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. Ratna Lakshmi was also constructed on top of Ratnagiri Hills.
There is a legendary story behind the construction of the temple. The story goes as a farmer tilling his farm land and rearing a cow for a livelihood. While tilling his land, his ploughs got obstructed by a black stone. The farmer took the stone from his farm and placed it aside. But to the surprise of the farmer, the stone got placed in the same place every time he tried to relocate it. The farmer still could not realize the holiness of the stone that had actually been the Linga. Helpless he prayed to Lord Srimannarayana Swamy to help him out. Soon the reigning king of the area, Singamanaidu of Surabhi family had a dream where he was instructed by the Lord to construct a temple where the idol placed in the farmer’s land is installed and worshipped regularly. The king immediately carried out the instructions. And very soon the idol of Goddess Ratna Lakshmi was also brought down from Chennai and installed at the Ratnagiri Hills which is just half a kilometer from the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. This was carried out in 1857 A.D.
The site has developed into a beautiful picnic spot with green and lush surroundings. There is also the accommodation facility available in the guest house of the Kollapur kings
Specialties of the Temple:
Singapattanam is a unique place where Lord Shiva is worshipped as Sri Narasimha Swamy in the Linga form and Vishnu as the idol has Thripundras (Addanamas) and Urdhvapundras (Niluvunamas). Besides the Ratna Lakshmi Amman temple is located in the nearby hill.
The priests so appointed are from Sri Vatsa Gothrikas and also from Oruganti families who are serving the temple to this day. Pilgrims offer pumpkins to the Lord to cast away their problems. They also put jaggery pieces to the water body just beside the temple. There is also a belief that the Narisimha Sagaram (Srivari Samudram), the water body near the temple gets filled once in every seven years. Pilgrims also believe that the Lord would tell them their past and the future. They also observe that the idol of the Lord is growing year by year.
Location and Reach:
Road: It is easy for the tourists to travel to the destination from Kollapur which is 9 kms away or they may also reach from Vanaparthy which is 35 km away.
Rail: Madanapuram is the nearest railway station to reach the destination. This station is about 50 kms away.
Air: The nearest Airport is at Shamshabad (Hyderabad).
Special Days:
Though the visitors can visit the temple on any day, it is still crowded on Saturdays and other festival days. During Sankranthi, devotees visit the temple on any day for darshan. People also have special occasions like marriages, tonsure ceremony and such other family occasions celebrated in the temple premises. The temple is also crowded during winter and summer vacations when devotees come with families to seek blessings.
Temple Timings : 6:30 AM to 7:00 PM.
Address:
Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple,
Singotam,
Mahabubnagar, Telangana
