Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 268th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Vada Naadu |
Vada Naadu | 1st Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint Thirunavukarasar (Appar)
and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
Sri
Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple or Srisailam Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated
to the deities Shiva and Parvati, located
at Srisailam in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
It
is significant to the Hindu sects of both Shaivam and Shaktam as
this temple is referred to as one of the twelve Jyothirlingas of
Lord Shiva and as one of the eighteen Shakti Peethas of
goddess Parvati.
Shiva is worshiped as Mallikarjuna,
and is represented by the lingam.
His consort Parvati is
depicted as Bhramaramba. It is the one of the only three temples in India in
which both Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeeth is revered.There are inscriptional
evidence from the Satavahana dynasty which place the temple
to be existent from the 2nd century. Most modern additions were done during the
time of king Harihara I of Vijayanagara Empire. The
veerasheromandapam and paathalaganga steps was constructed during the time
of Reddi Kingdom .
Sambandar
and Sundarar have sung its glories from Sree Kaalahasti.
Adi Sankara is believed to have visited this shrine. The Bhramarambika Shrine
within the temple complex is of great significance.
Lord
Shiva in this temple is referred to as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
Goddess Bramarambha's shrine is referred to as one of the fifty two Shakti peethas.
This temple is classified as one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam.
On
the way to the main temple is located Shikreshwar temple.It is said that by
having darshan in the temple one does not get rebirth.
Krishna River here is called Patal Ganga. One has to go down 852 stairs to reach the river. The Shiva Linga is bathed with the water of this river.
Kumar Kartikeya:
Kumar
Kartikeya, the younger son of Lord Shiva once got angry and came to the Kronch
Hills from Kailash. Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati came here and stayed on with the
name Arjun and Mallika. Thus the place and the temple were called Mallikarjun.
When Shiva and Parvati decided
to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya argued
as to who is to get married first. Shiva bade that the one who goes around the
world in Pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Kartikeya could go
round the world on his vahana, Ganesha went round his parents 7 times (for
according to Shastras, going in pradakshinam round one's parents is
equivalent to going once around the world (Bhupradakshinam)). Siva got Buddhi
(intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity) married to
Ganesha. Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to
stay alone on Mount Kraunja in the name of Kumarabrahmachari. On seeing
his father coming over to pacify him, he tried to move to another place, but on
the request of the Devas, stayed close by. The place where Shiva and Parvati
stayed came to be known as Shrishailam.
As
per Hindu legend,
the presiding deity in the form of Linga (an
iconic form of Shiva) was worshipped with jasmine (locally called Mallika),
leading to the name of presiding deity as Mallikarjuna. Mahashivratri is the
main festival celebrated at Srisailam Mallikarjuna Swamy temple.
Jyotirlinga:
As
per Siva Mahapuranam, once Brahma (the
Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu (the
Hindu God of preservation) had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation.
To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless
pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to
downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either
directions. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his
defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he
would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu would be worshipped till the end
of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of
which Shiva partly appears. The jyotirlinga shrines,
thus are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Originally
there were believed to be 64 jyotirlingas while 12 of them are
considered to be very auspicious and holy. Each of the
twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity – each
considered different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the
primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and
endless Stambha pillar,
symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.
The
twelve jyotirlinga are:
·
Somnath in Gujarat,
·
Mallikarjuna
at Srisailam in AndhraPradesh,
·
Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh,
·
Omkareshwar in MadhyaPradesh,
·
Kedarnath in Himalayas,
·
Bhimashankar in Maharashtra,
·
Viswanath at Varanasi in UttarPradesh,
·
Triambakeshwar inMaharashtra,
·
Vaidyanath at Deoghardistrict in Jharkhand,
·
Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat,
·
Rameshwar at Rameswaram in TamilNadu and
·
Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
Shakti Peeth:
Srisailam
Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple is one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peetha. The legend of Daksha Yaga
and Sati's self-immolation resulted in the emergence of Sri Parvati in
the place of Sati Devi and making Shiva a householder. This
mythology is the story behind the origin of Shakti Peethas. They are holy
abodes of Adiparashakti formed
due to the falling of Sati Devi's corpse when Shiva carried it and wandered. It
is believed that Sati Devi's Upper lip has fallen here.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
The temple
complex covers 2 hectares and houses four gateway towers known as gopurams.
·
The temple
complex houses many halls; the most notable is the Mukha Mandapa built during
the Vijayanagar period.
·
The temple is
situated facing East. The center mandapam has several pillars, with a huge idol
of Nadikeshwara.
·
The temple is
enclosed by tall walls measuring 183 m (600 ft) by 152 m
(499 ft) and 8.5 m (28 ft) tall.
·
There are a
number of sculptures in the precinct each rising above another. The
Mukamandapa, has intricately sculpted pillars.
·
The shrine where
Mallikarjuna is housed is considered the oldest in the temple, dating back to
the 7th century.
·
There is a
Sahasra linga (1000 linga), believed to have been commissioned by Rama and five other lingams believed
to have been commissioned by Pandavas.
·
A mirror hall in
the first precinct has images of Nataraja.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Mallikarjuneswarar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Bhramarambika |
|
Theertham |
Paalaazhi Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
Marudha
tree |
BELIEF:
Prayers of devotees are
many and varied. To realize their wishes they perform wedding festival to lord
and goddess.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Ugathi,
Sapthami Pooja |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
The
nearest railway station are Markapur is 85 km, Nandyal and Kurnool are the
places the distance is 180 km. The most convenient way is to take a bus or taxi
from Hyderabad. Temple committee cottages and dharamshalas are available here.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Paruppathanathar
Temple,
Tirupparuppatham,
Srisailam,
Andhra Pradesh.
LOCATION:
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