Photo: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sri Kurmam is a small village just outside the city, which has a famous temple dedicated to Sri Kurmanatha, second avatar of Lord Vishnu. There are regular bus services from the bus stand which takes around 1 hour to drive the 13 kilometers Alternatively, you can hire an auto rickshaw and it generally costs ₹150. On the way to Sri Kurmam, you can visit Surya Narayana Temple at Arasavilli (approximately 2 km from Srikakulam bus stand), dedicated to Sun god.
The Kurmanathaswamy temple, also known as the Kurmanatha temple, Srikurma or Srikurmam temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kurma – the second avatar of Vishnu. It is located in Srikurmam village, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, India. According to Prapannamrutam and earliest inscription of the temple, In saka 1035 CE Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha converted this temple to a Vaishnava khetra from a Siva temple.The temple was Built before 11th-century CE in a fusion architecture of kalinga Architecture and Dravidian Architecture. The temple's perambulatory were constructed by Eastern Ganga Dynasty king Anangabhima Deva III, and it is dedicated to Vishnu as Kurmanathaswamy and his consort Lakshmi as Kurmanayaki. The temple has century old Orissan Pattachitra style mural paintings in side wall of pradakshina mandapa.
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