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Mallikarjuna Temple
Location- Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh.
Deity- Lord Shiva as Mallikarjuna Swamy
Timings of temple- 4.30 AM to 3.30 PM, 4.30 PM to 10 PM
Darshan types and timings-
Suprabhatha Darshanam- 5:00 AM
Maha Mangala Harathi - 5:50 AM
Athiseegra Darshanam- 6:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Maha Mangala Harathi (Evening) - 5:00 PM
Quick Darshanam - 6:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Mallikarjuna Temple also known as Srisailam Temple, situated at Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Shiva as Mallikarjuna Swamy, one of the 12 jyotrilinga and Parvati as Bhramaramba Devi, one of the 18 mahasakthis. Presence of both the jyotirlinga and Mahasakthi at a same complex is a very rare feature. The temple is built on top the Nallamala hills near the banks of Krishna river. The hill is also mentioned in Mahabharat, Skanda purana, and others. This temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam. It is believed that having darshan there one does not get rebirth. Krishna River here is also called Patal Ganga. The shiva linga is bathed with Patal Ganga waters.
Legend-
Shiva and Parvati were looking for brides for their sons. They got buddhi (intellect), siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity) married to Ganesh which made Kartikeya angry and he went away to live alone on Mount Kraunja as Kumarabrahmachari. Shiva and Parvati came to pacify him. The place where they stayed came to be known as Shrishailam. The name Mallikarjuna resulted due to the practice of worshiping the linga with jasmine (mallika).
Another legend is Silada Maharshi, the son of Soma Muni performed an intense Tapasya in the name of Lord Shiva. Pleased with the Tapasya, Lord Bhola shankara granted him his wish that his son would carry the worshipping of lord shiva. He named his sons as Nandi-Parvat, learnt all the knowledge about Lord Shiva and became great devotees of the Lord shiva. Parvat performs a Tapasya and pleased Lord Shiva, who granted him a wish. Parvat asked him “all the holy things in Kailash with a jyotirlinga”
Skanda Puranam and Srisaila Khandam describes the origin of Parvati devi also called Bhramaramba Devi. Once upon a time, Arunasura, a raakshaa performed an Upasana in the name of Gayatri Devi. He asked for immortality from the Goddess, however, Gayatri Devi told him that it could only be done by Lord Brahma. So, he began tapasya to please Lord Brahma. When Brahma appeared himself to Arunasura, however, upon listening his wish, he explained how this wish is against the principles of the universe. Instead of immortality, he asked that he could not be killed by any 2 legged or 4 legged living. After this, he began troubling people as well as gods. The gods shared their worries with Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, then Parvati took the incarnation of a thousand bees and kills Arunasura. The happy gods request her to take the form of Bhramaramba Devi at her favourite places so that they could worship her for eternity. She choose srisailam. Since then, devotees come there to worship her.
Architecture-
The temple is of 2 hectares and has 4 gateways or Gopurams- Tripuranthakam facing eastwards- it is located in Prakasam district, Siddhavatam facing south - It is located in the Kadapa district, Alampur facing towards the west It is located in the Mehboobnagar district, Umamaheswaram facing northwards - It is located in the Mehboobnagar district. The temple is a mega complex has separate temples for both the deities. The entire complex is fortified by Prakaram walls. The inner court yard has Nandimandapa, Veerasiromandapa, the temple of Mallikarjuna, the temple of Bhramaramba, all are in a row from east to west. Some of the minor shrines such as the temple of Vriddha Mallikarjuna, Sahasra Lingeswara, etc. are located in the inner courtyard.
The most notable mandapa, Mukha mandapa was built during the Vijayanagar empire. This mandapa, which leads the sanctum, has intricately sculpted pillars. Mallikarjuna’s shrine is the oldest temple, dating back to 7th century. Sahasra linga (1000 linga) is believed to be commissioned by Rama and other 5 lingam by Pandavas. A mirror hall has images of Nataraja.
History
The traces of Srisailam are found in the inscriptions of the Satavahanas dynasty. The third satavahana king, Satakarni was an ardent devotee of Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy. The ruler Pulakeshi of Badami Chalukyas dynasty, constructed many temples and known to be the king of temples and was known to be the first Kshatriya to have performed Shiva Deeksha. Around 980-1058 C.E. Kalyana Chalukyaraju, Trayalokamalya Deva constructed a gopuram on Garbhalayam. His grandson in 1069 C.E donated a village for Satrams and Dharamshala. By the end of the 11th century, it has earned the reputation of Maha Shiva temple. Maharashtrians also call it “Southern Kashi”. In the 13th century, Reddy Rulers played an important role in developing Srisailam. Prolaya Vema Reddy donated a village called Raamatheertham. His son, Anavema Reddy laid steps for devotees and constructed a hall ‘Veerasiro Mandapam’ as an ancestral memory. In the 14th century C.E, during Vijayanagara Dynasty era, rulers like, Viroopaksha, Saalupa Parvatayya, donated many villages to Srisailam. Hariharaya II, on Shivratri ordered the construction of the main hall of the main temple. The gopurams in the southern, eastern and western sides of the temple were constructed by Sri Krishnadevaraya. Chatrapathi Shivaji ordered the construction of Northern Gopuram.
Connectivity
Srisailam Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple is situated about 180 kilometers from the Kurnool district headquarters and 213 k.m. away from the capital Hyderabad. Piligrims travelling from train have to change either at Markapur or Tarlupadu. Markapur is the nearest train station and Nearest Airport is Kurnool.
know about necessary knowledge, significance, puja vidhi and history, before visiting kedarnath in 2022
know about necessary knowledge, significance, puja vidhi and history, before visiting kedarnath in 2022
