KAPILA TEERTHAM
Location : Tirupati in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh
Presiding Deity : Lord Shiva As Kapileswara Swamy
Sacred Theertha : One Of The 108 Sacred Teerthas (Springs) flowing on Tirumala Hills.
Waterfalls at Kapila Theertham
The Holy Temple of Kapila Theertham is the only temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the holy temple cities of Tirupati and Tirumala that abound with temples of the Vaishnavait Deity Vishnu.
This huge temple stands at the entrance to a mountain cave in one of the steep and vertical faces at the foot of the amazing hills of Tirumala, where the waters of the mountain stream falls as a huge waterfall.
Lay out map of Kapila Theertham
One of the holiest of Hindu saints, Saint Kapila Maharshi, was said to have lived here, worshipped, and meditated in this very cave before the idol of Lord Shiva and hence the name "Kapila theertham", the word "theertham" meaning a holy lake or holy pond that formed due to the waterfalls.
Kapila Maharshi was a Vedic sage and an incarnation of Supreme Godhead Vishnu, credited as one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy. He is prominent in the Bhagavata Purana, which features a theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy. Traditional Hindu sources describe him as a descendant of Manu, a grandson of Brahma. The Bhagavad Gita depicts Kapila as a yogi hermit with highly developed siddhis, or spiritual powers.
Natural Rock Cave Shelter's are present at Kapila Theertham on the either sides of the waterfalls and also beside the temple of Kapileswara Swamy. This particular place has enormous energy and positive vibration's. One with a spiritual mind can feel the bliss at Kapila Theertham.
This place may be a possible site of Jain Vestige's around 300 BCE (some relief's of Jain Tirthankara's are excavated in the foot hills and nearby viscinity of Tirupathi). Later it flourished as an important Hindu Shrine under the rule of Vijayanagara Empire.
Though this temple's significance has diminished due to the hugely popular neighboring Temples in Tirumala and Tiruchanoor, it received very good patronage from the Kings of Vijayanagara in the 13th thru 16th centuries, especially Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, and the eternally famous Sri Krishna Deva Raya, and some of the later rulers like Venkatapathi Raya, and Aliya Ramaraya, sri Krishna Deva Raya's Son-in-law.
Kapila Theertham is an important Shrine to visit during the trip of Tirupathi
