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Facts to
File
 How far : 500 km from Hyderabad and
75Km from Cuddapah town.
How to go
: By train / bus from Hyderabad, and by bus from Cuddapah
town.
Where to stay :
Choultries.
What to
see :
Annamacharya Dhyana Mandiram, Siddheswaraswamy Temple,
Chennekeswaraswamy Temple and Sudarshana Chakra
Devalayam.
When to go : Any
time. Special events for Annamacharya Jayanthi and
Vardhanthi.
 Tallapaka village is in Rajampet mandal of
Cuddapah district, about 3 km from Cuddapah town. The village
has the distinction of being the birthplace of Saint Annamacharya, the famous composer
of devotional songs on Lord Venkateswara who made invaluable
contribution to music and literature during the 15th century.
The Tirumala Tirupati
Devasthanam (TTD) constructed a "Dhyana Mandiram"
(meditation hall) in memory of the great Saint Annamacharya, at
Tallapaka. It was inaugurated in 1982 and ever since then the TTD
has been organizing the death and birth anniversaries of
Annamacharya at Tallapaka and Tirupati during which special rituals
are performed.
 Close to the
Annamacharya temple is the Chennakeswaraswamy temple in Cuddapah
district. There are many temples located within the premises of the
Chennakeswaraswamy temple itself. A unique temple within this temple
premise is that of the Sudarashanachakra containing the idol of the
Sudarashanachakra of Lord Vishnu as well as that of Lord
Santanagopalakrishna together. The temple is the only one of its
kind in South India. It is believed that one such temple also exists
in Kasi. Another temple is that of Lord Hanuman, the loyal devotee
of Lord Rama. The temple of Lord Garuthmanthudu (Garuda, the vehicle
of Lord Vishnu) is also located in the premises of the
Chennakeswaraswamy temple. It contains the idol of Lord Garuda which
is rarely found.
 The Siddheswaraswamy temple with Lord Shiva
as its presiding deity is also located in Tallapaka, in Cuddapah
district. The side wall of the temple has a hole through which sun
rays enter during the month of Karthik, a holy time in November when
married women pray for the long life of their husbands and give
offerings to the Lord.
Unlike the usual
temples where Lord Nandiswara (the Bull, Shiva's vehicle) is found
facing Lord Shiva, here it is found outside the temple. Goddess
Kamakshidevi (Parvatidevi) is the consort of Lord Shiva here.
Another idol that can
be found in the Siddheswaraswamy temple is that of Veerabhadraswamy
who is said to be the destroyer of Dakshayagnam, namely, Daksha
Prajapathi, the father of Goddess Parvati.
The story goes that
Dakshudu was holding a function and did not invite Lord Shiva and
wife Goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati however insisted on going for
the function though her husband was not very happy with it. At the
function she was badly humiliated and came back home very upset.
 This made
Lord Shiva furious and he was filled with rage and thus emerged as
Lord Veerabhadraswamy who destroyed Dakshudu, the father of Goddess
Parvati.
In the Siddeshwaraswamy temple premises is the statue
of Ekathathayya.
A King and a great
devotee of Lord Shiva, he was a wonderful human being and had all
the happiness that one could ask for.
It is believed
that if people suffering from migraine come to this temple and hit
their head against the idol three times, then they will be relieved
of the
pain.
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