Mantralayam is a pilgrim village located in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It lies on the banks of the Tungabhadra River on the border with neighboring Karnataka state. The village is known for the Brindavan of Raghavendra Swami, a saint who lived in the 17th Century and who entered into a samadhi alive in front of his disciples. Thousands of people visit the Raghavendra Matha and temples which are located on the banks of Tungabhadra River.
Mantralayam is one of the important pilgrimage centers in South India as it is a holy place where the great Vaishnava saint Sri Raghavendra (1601-1671) took his Jeeva Samadhi. Devotees visit Mantralaya to have the darshan of the Brindavan of Sri Raghavendra. The mutt is located at a distance of 80 km from Kurnool and 253 Km from Hyderabad, on the banks of river Tungabhadra in the state of Andhra Pradesh bordering Karnataka. The colloquial name for the place, Maanchale, has been Sanskritized into Mantralaya.
Sri Raghavendra temple
Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy lived between 1601 and 1671 was an influential saint in Hinduism. He advocated Vaishnavism (i.e. worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and also the Dvaita philosophy of Sri Madhwacharya. Followers of the saint consider him to be an incarnation of Bhakta Prahlada, who was saved by Vishnu in the avatar of Narasimha. Shri Raghavendra Swamy is said to have performed many miracles during his lifetime and has a large following even today. Mantralayam is a small and peaceful town situated on the banks of the River Tungabhadra and gets thousands of devotees from all over the country.
