Mallikarjunar JothiraLingam - Sivan Temple - Srisailam - Andra Pradesh

Temple History

Lord Shiva is a swayambumurthi.  This the birth place of Bhagwan Nandhi.  This is the only Shiva temple in Andhra Pradesh praised Thevaram hymns.  Srishailam is one among the 12 Jothirlinga Sthalas of Lord Shiva. Sage Siladha performed severe penance on Lord Shiva seeking child boon.Two sons were born to him, Nandhi and Parvathan.Sanakadhi Rishis called on the sage and said that Nandhi would live on earth only for a short  while.Siladha fell in grief. Nandhi assured his father and said that he would win death by his penance on Lord Shiva. Pleased with his penance, Lord Shiva appeared and made him His vahan and also passed the order that devotees should come to Him only after being allowed by Nandhi. Nandhi’s place of penance is at the foot of the hills known as Nandiyal. His brother also performed penance of Lord and became a hill – Parvatha Hill – Parvatha Malai in Taimil.

General Information

The temple is at the top of the hill facing east with Gopurams-towers on four sides.The mainentrance is at eastern gopuram.There is a Nandhi made of stone in front hall at the entrance.Lord Siddhi Vinayaka blesses the devotees at the entrance.There are six temples said to have been built by Pandavas.There is also a temple built in marbles for Lord Shanmuga.Temples of Mother Rajarajeswari, Mother Annapoorani, Lord Sahasralingeswarar and Pancha Nadeeswaram are of spiritual importance.The South Tower is called Ranga Mandapam.

Specialities of Temple

Sri Shailam in Andhra Pradesh is one among the 12 Jyothilinga Sthalas.If Mount Kailash is the capital of Shiva sthalas, Sri Shailam occupies the second place. The holy land is third in rank among the 51 Shakti Peetas of Mother Uma.It is said that the benefits of offering lakhs of alms-Dhans at Kurukshetra, bathing 2000 times in holy Ganga, performing penance on the banks of Narmada, living thousand years in Kasi can be derived by worshipping Lord Mallikarjuna once in life time, declares Skanda Maha Purana.

Location:

Those from Chennai may choose train up to Ongole and proceed to Sri Shailam by bus. Direct bus from chennai to Srishalialm via Ongole route.Opening Time :The temple is open from 5.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and from 5.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. 

Address:

Sri Mallikarjunar Temple, Sri Shailam, Andhra Pradesh.

Veerateeswarar Temple, Thiruvathigai - Panruti

History

The Pallava king Mahendravarman I built a temple called Gunavareswaram close to the temple. Mahendra Pallava is believed to have attained the name Gunavareswara on account of the incident. A king called Kalinkaraya is believed to have endowed lot of treasures and built various structures in the temple as seen from the inscriptions in the temple. King Raja Raja Chola I is believed to have stayed in this temple for a long time to study the architecture before building Brihadeeswarar Temple. The temple is believed to have been expanded by later Pandyas. During the period of Marthas and British Colonization, the temple acted as a fort to the armies. The inscriptions indicate that the streets have to be cleaned before any temple procession with the likes of the streets in this village.

Archietecture

The temple covers an area of 7 acres with three precincts. The seven tiered Vimana or gateway tower has sculptures depicting 108 poses of Bharatanatyam. There is a sixteen pillared hall called Thiruneetru mandapam. There is a temple tank named Chakrateertha kulam and a Vasantha mandapam on the northern portion of the tank. On the second precinct, there is a flag staff and a five tiered temple tower. The sanctum is built on an elevated structure. There are shrines around the sanctum in the first precinct that has a shrine of Thilagavathiar, a pillared hall housing the sixty three nayanmar, Saniswarar, Durga, Siddivinayagar, Muruga, a set of Lingam, Nataraja and Surya. The shrine of Umayammai, the consort of the presiding deity, is present. The shrine houses the image of Lingam which is believed to have worshiped by Vishnu. There is a south facing shrine in the hall before the sanctum where the image of Tripurasamharamurthy with sixteen hands is housed. Sanctum houses the image of Veerataneswarar in the form of lingam. There is an image of Ammayapar housed in the sanctum. The shrine over the sanctum has a pyramidal roof with stucco images all through the filial at the top.

Location:

Veerateeswarar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it is located in Thiruvathigai village which is about 2 kilometres east from the town of Panruti in the Tamil Nadu state. Lord Shiva is worshiped as Veerattaaneswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Thiripurasundari. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

Temple Timing:

Temple is open from 5.30 am to 12.00 am and from 4.30pm to 8.00pm