it is famous as it has a banyan tree, which is locally called as
"Thimmamma Marrimanu''. It is regarded as the biggest of its kind in
South India. It's branches spreads over nearly 5 acres. It is named after
'Thimmamma' who was considered to be the representative of the Almighty. To
the pride of India, the "Marrimanu" was recorded as the biggest
tree in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989.
A small temple dedicated to Thimmamma lies under the tree. An account of this
lady in Telugu kept at the shrine reveals that she was the daughter of a
Setti Balija couple Sennakka Venkatappa and Mangamma, born in AD 1394. She
was married to a Bala Veerayya who died in 1434, and Thimmamma committed
'Sati'.
The banyan tree is believed to have sprouted at the place where she ascended
the funeral pyre. The people of this area strongly believe that if a
childless couple worship "Thimmamma" they will have a child the
very next year. A big 'Jatara' is conducted here on the day of
"Shivaratri" when thousands and thousands of people flock here to
worship 'Thimmamma' on this occasion.
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is located to the west of the town and is a popular place of
pilgrimage attracting devotees even from neighbouring districts. The epics
say that 'Narashimha Swami' is one of the ten avataras of Lord Vishnu. This
Vishnu temple appears to have been constructed by one 'Ranganayudu', a
Palegar of Patharlapattanam.
Several scenes from 'Ramayana' are painted on the ceiling of the
'Rangamantapa' and several frescos on that of the Lakshmi mantapa depicting
scenes from the 'Bhagavata'. Unfortunately the murals have lost their
freshness and are fading. Many inscriptions on the temple mostly mention the
gifts given by kings to the temple.
The legendary significance of this sacred shrine dates back to Trethayuga,
and according to local version, the presiding deity - Narasimhaswami in His
terrific aspect - 'Vugrarupa' chose to settle down here after killing
Hiranyakasipu.
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Puttaparthi, now popularly known as Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of
Supreme Peace, is the home town of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba and it is
about 40 km away from Dharmavaram, 80 km from Anantapur and 200 km from
Bangalore . World renowned and worshipped by His devotees all over the globe
as God Incarnate, Sri Sathya Sai Baba has shown humanity a new way of life
and through His simple teachings transformed millions of His devotees' lives.
It indeed needs a divine intervention for anyone to achieve the accomplishments
of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of supreme peace, is a
place every human being should visit in his lifetime to experience for
oneself what selfless and pure love can achieve.
This is the abode of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and it lies on the bank of the river
Chitravati, at a distance of 90Km. from anantapuram and 20Km. from penugonda.
He is comsidered the incarnation of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba and thousands of
devotees and tourists from the four corners of the world visit Puttaparti just
to have his 'darshan'. Places of importance here are Prashanti Nilayam,
Purnachandra auditorium, Planetarium, Superspeciality hospital,museum and
Satya Sai Deemed University . The Deemed University was established 17 years
ago, to disseminate knowledge to many and with the commendable onjective of
providing education to one and all, transcending the barriers of
caste,religion and region. Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher leaning,which
is a part of it,seeks to mould every child as the darling of the goddess of
learning and has many successes behind it. The education imparted in this
institute covers a wide range from the kindergarten stage to the postgraduate
stage, including medicine. The Satya Sai colleges established in prasanti
Nilayam,and Whitefield and Anantapur.
In order to quenchthe thirst of the villages in the district, Bhagawan Satya
Sai Baba conceived a scheme for supply of drinking water at a cost of crores
of rupees. Under this, schemes have been established for community protected
water supply plans and independent protected water supply plans. These plans
cover 34 mandals in the district and are extended to villages which have
flouride-free water. 3 lankhs of residents of 301 villages are the
beneficiaries of his laudable plan. The panchayats of the respective villages
are entrusted with its implementation. For implementation of these shcemes,
pipelines measuring hundres of kilometres have been laid. The Board of Satya
Sai Water Supply Plan, established by the State Governemnt, is vested with
authority to oversee everything.
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