About Nagalapuram Temple Or Nagalapuram Vedanarayana Swamy Temple

Sri Veda Narayanaswamy temple is in Nagalapuram, which is about 45 minutes from Narayanavaram.  Nagalapuram, 70km from Tirupati, is said to have been built by Sri Krishnadeva Raya, in memory of his mother, Nagamba.  The great emperor also built Sri Veda Narayanaswamy temple.  It contains a few rare stone images of Dakshinamurthy, Hayagriva, Trivikrama, etc.

The presiding deity, Sri Veda Narayanaswamy, dates back to a different Yuga.  If the Dasavatara is the exposition of the evolution of man, then this avatara is at the top.  It commemorates the victory of Sri Maha Vishnu (in the form of a fish) over a demon called Somakudu, and the retrieval of the sacred Vedas from the latter.  The idol is in the form of a fish from the waist down.  It is so placed that,  between 1800 and 1815 hrs, on the 12th, 13th and 14th days of the month of Phalguna (the last month of the Telugu calendar: February - March), the sun's rays fall on the feet, the first day, on the chest, the next day, and on the head, the third day.  It is said to be the symbolic worship of the Lord by Suryanarayana, the sun, himself.  The temple's float festival is held along with this Surya pooja.  Again, like the other temples maintained by the TTD, this shrine is also preserved  in pristine condition.  There are several sub-shrines inside.  The massive entrance is topped by a small arch-like gopuram, depicting Maha Vishnu in the Matsya (fish) avatar, flanked by Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.  As you enter, you go past a nice tree line boulevard, and encounter the much bigger Rajagopuram.  The backside of the arch-like front gopuram, obviously a later addition, depicts Vishnu in all His ten avatars.  The temple is in a lane facing the main highway, which at this point is but a narrow roadway.

Nagalapuram Temple Timings Or Sri Vedanarayana Swamy Temple Timings

Sevas Timings
Suprabhatham 06.00 am to 6.30 am
Thomala Seva 06.30 am to 07.00 am
Sahasranamarchana 07.00 am to 07.30 am
First Bell 07.30 am to 8.00 am
Sarva Darshanam 08.00 am to 10.00 am
Second Bell 10.00 am to 10.30 am
Teermanamu 12.00 noon
Sarva Darshanam 04.00 pm to 06.00 pm
Tomalaseva 6.00 pm to 6.30 pm
Night kainkaryam 6.30 pm to 7.00 pm
Sarvadarshan 07.00 pm to 7.45pm
Ekantha Seva 07.45 pm to 8.00pm
Temple Closed 8.00 p.m.

How to reach Nagalapuram

Nagalapuram is 70km south-east of Tirupati.  It is on the Chennai-Uthukottai route to Tirupati, and is 70 km from Chennai.  This would be the preferred route, if Nagalapuram is the sole objective of your visit.  You could take the Chennai-Nagari-Narayanavanam-Nagalapuram-Chennai route, or vice-versa, if you want to cover all three temples.