Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari temple, Andhra Pradesh, India

Located in the small town of Penugonda, the Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari temple, is one of the most popular temples in the neighbourhood, especially for the Arya Vysyas. Built in perfect accordance with the Vastu Shashtra, and one of it's most famous part is the multi-coloured and seven storeyed gopuram.

Penugonda, the abode of Goddess Vasavi is to ARYA VYSYAS, as Buddha Gaya is to Buddhists, as Shravana Belagola is to Jains, Mecca and Madeena is to Muslims and Jerusalem is to Christians.

Intricate work on the gopuram

However, I ended up being there, not because I wanted to visit the temple, but because my driver wanted to show it to me.

We had spent the morning visiting some beautiful old temples as I wanted to interview some priests and the people living in the villages around them, but to Subbu, my driver, I came across as a rather pious man! So when it was time to eat some breakfast, we picked a temple town so that I could visit one more temple. I didn't have the heart to break his heart and so ended up visiting this gorgeous place!

But I finished rather quickly as Subbu had promised me an authentic Andhra breakfast in a very local place - so local that the place didn't have a name and it was simply known by the name of it's owner :)

The entrance to the temple

The seven feet Gopuram

Gods and dancing women!