Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy Temple, Kanipakam – Legends

Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy Temple, Kanipakam – Legends

Story of three brothers who were mute, deaf and blind:

According to legend, there were three brothers who were mute, deaf and blind. They earned their modest living by cultivating a small piece of land close to Viharapuri village. They were digging a well to fetch water to their field. The device they were using fell into the well hitting hard object. When they dig further blood started to gush out of the well and the three got rid of their disabilities. The villagers rushed to the spot and found deity of Ganesha. Villagers dig further, but they were not able to find the base of the deity.

The deity sits in the well which is always full of water. Stunned beyond words with the divine revelation, the villagers offered loads of coconuts and other offerings to the self-manifested idol, along with their prayers. The coconut water started flowing into a stream, to a distance of more than one and a quarter acres. This phenomenon led to the coinage of the word “Kanipakam” where "Kani" means wetland and "Pakam" means flow of water into wetland. 

Idol is growing in size:

An unbelievable truth about the image of Lord Vinayaka of Kanipakam is that the idol is reportedly growing in size with the passage of time. Currently, only the knees and abdomen of the idol are visible. The testimony to the fact is the silver Kavacham (armour) offered to the idol by one of the ardent devotees about fifty years ago, which does not fit the idol today.

Lord of Justice:

The self-manifested idol of Ganpati of Kanipakam is the lord of justice himself. Interestingly, several people have been visiting the temple since a long time to resolve mutual strife by taking a dip in the sacred waters of the temple tank and swear before the idol of the deity. There have been cases when the sinner accepts his faults immediately after taking the holy dip and even before stepping into the “court of justice” or the inner chambers of the temple.

Bahuda River:

Another interesting aspect of Kanipakam is the Bahuda River, which flows near the Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple. Long ago, as a story goes, there were two brothers Sankha and Likhita. One day, they started for a pilgrimage to Kanipakam. Due to the arduous journey, Likhita gave in to hunger. He ignored the advice of his elder sibling and plucked a mango for his meal from the nearby mangrove without the permission of its owner.

Duty-bound to tell the truth, Sankha reported the issue to the king of that place and asked for a punishment befitting Likhita’s sin committed during the pilgrimage. The ruler chopped off both the arms of Likhita as a punishment. When the two brothers reached Kanipakam and took a dip in its sacred waters an amazing miracle happened. To the astonishment of two brothers, the chopped arms of Likhita were restored. Soon after this incident, the ruler of that place named the river as Bahuda (“Bahu” means arms and “Da” means giver).