Anjanadri Hills

Anjanadri Hills

The seventh hill is known as Anjanachalam or Anjanadri hills. There is a divine story behind this dating back to Tretha Yuga.

There used to be a monkey-god known as Kesari in the olden days. His wife was Anjana Devi. They had no issues. Anjana Devi went to Saint Mathanga and revealed her anguish. After meditation, Mathanga suggested a way out. “Dear Mother! There is a Narasimha Swamy shrine at a distance of five hundred yojanas to the east of Pampa river. To the south of this is a highly influential divine shrine known as Narayanagiri”. There you will find an auspicious, divine spring known as Swami Pushkarini, which cleanses all the sins. There is a water fall by name “Akasha Ganga” to its north at a distance of about two miles. You bathe in it everyday and make penance for twelve long years. You will certainly have children. You will beget a son who is virtuous, noble-minded.highly valorous, and reverent.”

Following the dictates of Saint Matanga, Anjana Devi went to Venkatachala shrine and bathed in Sri Swamy Pushkarini. She circumambulated the peepal tree and visited Lord Sri Adi Varaha Swamy in the vicinity. Then she left for the Akasha Ganga water falls to perform a vratha and do penance fasting for a year. Later, she ate a fruit offered by Vayudeva everyday and continued her penance. All her sins vanished with this austere ordeal. An aura of effulgence radiated around her. One day Vayudeva offered her a fruit embedded with his semen and Anjana Devi ate it as usual considering it just a fruit. As a result, she conceived and gave birth to a son after ten months. He was Anjaneya well-known as Hanumantha or Vayuputra. On account of this, the hill came to be known as Anjanachala or Anjanadri. Lord Srinivasa got the name of Anjanadreeshwara.