Amravati is a historic temple town in the Vidharbha region of Eastern Maharastra state, India. (There is ANOTHER ancient town, Amaravathi, in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh state. The ancient and famous Amareswara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated there.
Temples dedicated to Goddess Ambadevi, Lord Krishna, and Lord Venkateshwara are the three main historic temples in the Temple Town of Amravati.
Ambadevi Temple at Amaravati
Ambadevi temple, dedicated to Goddess Amba or Ambadevi (Goddess of Shakti), is the most famous temple. This temple is at the heart of the city, at Gandhi Square. It is about one and a half kilometers from the Amravathi Bus station.
It is believed that Lord Krishna ran away with Goddess Rukhamini. This happened a day before her planned marriage with King Shishupal of Ched. It is from the nearby Shri Ekvira Devi Temple that she ran away to a nearby holy place, Koundinyapur. They ran through an underground tunnel. Paramhans Shri Janardan Swami built the nearby 1660-year-old Shri Ekvira Devi Temple. This tunnel still exists. It is closed to visitors.
Navaratri Festival is the main festival in this temple town. It is celebrated with various cultural and religious programs. Dandiya dance is the most famous among these cultural activities, in which nearby villagers take part enthusiastically.
Krishna Temples at Amaravati
Bhakti Dham Temple is on Amravati – Badnera road in the town. Idols of Lord Krishna and Radha are there in this temple.
Sridham Temple at Rallies Plot is also in the heart of the city. Idols of Lord Krishna, Goddess Radha, Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lord Ganesh, Lord Shiva, and Rani Satiji are there in this temple. It is also a famous temple in the Amravati city.
Venkateshwara Temple at Amaravati
Sri Venkatesh Balaji Mandir is a famous Lord Venkateswara temple in the city.
Other Amaravati Temples
Some other famous temples in this town are the Sai Baba Temple at Sai Nagar and the ISKON Temple. ISKON temple is yet another temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. Lord Shiva and his wife, Shri Rukhmini Devi, are worshipped here.
How Do I Go to the Ancient Temple Town of Amravati?
Nagpur City, the hub for the Logistics industry in India, is around 156 kilometers from Amravati. The Temple city is very close to the passes which connect the state of Maharashtra to nearby states. The world-famous UNESCO World Heritage site of Ajanta and Ellora Caves is situated around 300 kilometers distance.
Amravati is close to the borders of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the newly formed Telangana state. NH 6, Surat – Kolkata National Highway, passes through the holy city of Amravati.
There are three railway stations connecting Amarvathi with the rest of India. Badnera Junction (BD) is the main station that connects the temple city of Amravathi with other cities in India. There are two other railway stations in the city. They are Amravathi (AMI), and New Amravathi (NAVI) stations.
Nagpur is the nearest airport with commercial operations, even though Amravathi has a small airport. However, commercial operations are not there at this airport.
