Sri Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple-Kanipakam (Lord Ganesh)

                                     
The  Lord of Great Fortune, Lord of Knowledge (Knowledge giver) Remover of obstacles, Lord of Begining is Ganesha. . Whatever be the function, whether it is Wedding or Birth of child,or pooja of any God, is started with Ganesha Puja.As a remover of obstacles in taking up any work or Karya(work) he is prayed and work is started.. Ashrabhyasam, or Vahana Pooja , Satyanarayana Vratam or any fuction is started with the pooja of Ganesh .Ganesh Chaturdhi is important festivals for Hindus.  Almost all hindus perform Ganesh pooja on this day every year(Bhadrapada Sudha Chaviti) at their respective houses  with family. In many parts of India Pandals  are erected and pooja is done with devotion by forming into groups. In some places they run into Nine days (Ganesh Navaratri).  

The Kanipakam Varasiddhi Vinayaka is very famous Ganesh temple situated in kanipakam which is 11kfrom Chittoor, AP, Tirupathi 68km, Chennai  173km,Bangalore 180 km in India..

Once there were three brothers each one having handicaps one dumb , the other Deaf and third blind. They were cultivating and earning livelihood.

During that time “picot system” was used to get water from well for cultivation. As one of them was cultiuvating using the plough, other two were operating Picot System.

On one day they found that since water got dried up in the well they could not continue the cultivation and one of them got down into the well started digging for the water, but they found that the implement was hitting a stone.
On further hitting on the rock they found that blood was oozing out from rock, and water turned red within no time. Strartled by this sight,before they recover from the shock , all the three became normal and their deformities were removed. News of this miracle spread in the village like a wild fire. Villagers thronged to the well , on their quest to dig further they found ‘Swayambhu Idol of Lord Vinayaka from swirling water.
As soon as the villagers came to know about this miracle, they thronged to the well and tried to deepen the well further. But their attempt proved futile because the 'swayambhu' idol (the self-manifested) of Lord Vinayaka emerged from the swirling waters.Devotees tendered thousands of coconuts to manifest their happiness.Since God emegged form Kani Meaning wetland and Pakam meaning water Sri varasiddhi vinayaka is named as Kanippakam Varasiddhi Vinayaka.
Even today the well has water and during rainy days it overflows.
The Swayambu Ganapathi of Kanipakam is upholder of truth. Day to day disputes between people are resolved by taking special oath at this temple.
There are so many instances where after  taking dip in water and before entering the temple premises disputed parties voluntarily accepted the sins committed and resolved the issue . It seems the Lord lawns invisibly on the sinner and makes him repent and feel guilty for his sinful deeds.
The legend behind Bahuda [Baahuda] River
Long ago there lived two brothers Sankha and Likhita. They were on a pilgrimage to Kanipakam. As the journey was tiring, the younger brother Likhita felt hungry. Disregarding the advice of the elder brother he plucked a mango from the mango grove. Sankha felt bad and reported this to the ruler of that area and pleaded for punishment for the sin committed during the pilgrimage. Thus Likhita was punished severely being deprived of both arms.
Later they took bath in the river near Kanipakam temple. Lo Behold! The chopped arms were restored to Likhita as soon as he had a dip in the sacred waters of the river. These incidents lead the ruler to rename the river as 'Bahuda' (Bahu means human arm). Thus the river beside Kanipakam temple is now known as 'Bahuda River'.
Another striking and strange feature of the idol is that it is still growing in size. At present, we can see the knees and the abdomen of the idol. Smt. Lakshmamma, an ardent devotee had offered a 'Kavacham' (Armour) to the Lord, fifty years ago but today it is out of size and doesn't fit.
Thus Kanipakam Lord Vinayaka is upholder of truth and showers his boons on those who are truthful and sincere and his blessing remove the hurdles of life..
Many of the piligrims going to Ayyappa temple , Kerala visit this place on their return.
Many of the piligrims visiting Balaji Temple Tirupati visit Ganesh/vinayagar temple at kanipakam.