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Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple of Shiva
Sri Mallikarjuna Temple, Shrisailam is a Famous Hindu Temple located in Andhra Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi.
Temple Timings
04:30 to 22:00 (All days of the week )
The shrine of the Lord Mallikarjuna is situated on a flat top of the Nallamalai hills. Shrisailam is reputed to be one of the most ancient place in India. It is on the right side of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This celebrated mountain is also named as Siridhan, Shrigiri, Sirigiri, Shriparvatha and Shrinagam. It has been a popular centre of Saivite pilgrimage for centuries.
The presiding deities of this temple are Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy, one of the 12 Jyothirlinga and Goddess Bhramaramba Devi, one of the 18 Mahasakthi and both are self-manifested.
The unique feature of this kshetra is the combination of Jyothirlinga and Mahasakthi in one place, which is very rare and only one of its kind. The Mallikarjuna Linga is accessible to each and every devotee and anybody can go into the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Mallikarjuna, touch him and perform abhisheka and archana himself or herself, with the recitation of mantras by archakas regardless of caste or creed or religion.
JYOTIRLINGA:
As per Shiva Mahapurana, once Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu (the Hindu God of protection) 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 downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either direction. 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, it was believed, that there were 64 Jyotirlingas, while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy.
Each of the 12 Jyotirlinga sites, take the name of the presiding deity - each considered different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is Linga, representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.
The twelve Jyotirlinga are :
The Goddess Shakti, the Goddess of power is the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti, having three chief manifestations,
as Durga, Goddess of strength and valour,
as Mahakali, goddess of destruction of evil and
as Goddess Gowri, the goddess of benevolence.
SHAKTIPEETA: Lord Brahma performed a yagna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva.
However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to Brahma, whose fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and Sati got married. This marriage only increased Daksha's hatred towards Lord Shiva.
Daksha performed a yaga, with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna. Furthermore, Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati was unable to bear her father's insults towards her husband, and immolated herself.
Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva in Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yagna, cut off Daksha's head, and later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life. Still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Sati's body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creations.
The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, which cut through the Sati's corpse. The various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today.
At all the Shakti Peethas, Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva). Shakti is an aspect of the supreme being Adi Parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu mythology.
When Shiva and Parvati decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya argued, as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Shiva bade that, the one who goes round the world in pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Lord Kartikeya could go round the world on his vahana, Lord Ganesha went around his parents 7 times (according to Shastras, going in pradakshinam around one's parents is equivalent to going once around the world (Bhupradakshinam). Lord Shiva got Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity) married to Lord Ganesha. Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja 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 Lord Shiva and Parvati stayed came to be known as Shrisailam. Lord Shiva visits Lord Kartikeya on amavasya (new moon) day and Parvati Devi on poornima (full moon) day.
The Shrisailam palyed an important role in our religious, cultural and social history from the ancient times itself.
The history of the Shrisailam begins with the Sathavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India. The Sathavahanas, the Ikshavakus, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundis, the Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas, the Reddy kings, the Vijayanagara emperors and Chatrapathi Shivaji are among the famous emperors who worshipped God Mallikarjuna Swamy. The Temple had been improved by the Prataparudra of Kakatiya dynasty. Ganapathideva has spent 12000 gold coins for the maintenance of the temple.
In the 14th century, Prolaya Vema Reddi of Reddy dynasty constructed stepped path-way to Shrisailam and Pathalaganga (here the river Krishna is called as Pathalaganga). Anavema Reddi constructed Veera Siromandapam in which the Veerasaiva devotees cut off their hands, tongue, limbs with devotion to attain the realisation of the God. This is known as Veeracharam. In the 15th Century, Shri Krishnadevaraya constructed the Rajagopuram on eastern side and Salumantapas on both sides of the temple. The last Hindu king who strove hard, for the improvement of the temple is Chatrapathi Shivaji, who constructed a Gopuram on northern side in the year 1667 A.D.
Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple
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Sri Mallikarjuna Temple, Shrisailam is a Famous Hindu Temple located in Andhra Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi.
Temple Timings
04:30 to 22:00 (All days of the week )
The shrine of the Lord Mallikarjuna is situated on a flat top of the Nallamalai hills. Shrisailam is reputed to be one of the most ancient place in India. It is on the right side of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This celebrated mountain is also named as Siridhan, Shrigiri, Sirigiri, Shriparvatha and Shrinagam. It has been a popular centre of Saivite pilgrimage for centuries.
The presiding deities of this temple are Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy, one of the 12 Jyothirlinga and Goddess Bhramaramba Devi, one of the 18 Mahasakthi and both are self-manifested.
The unique feature of this kshetra is the combination of Jyothirlinga and Mahasakthi in one place, which is very rare and only one of its kind. The Mallikarjuna Linga is accessible to each and every devotee and anybody can go into the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Mallikarjuna, touch him and perform abhisheka and archana himself or herself, with the recitation of mantras by archakas regardless of caste or creed or religion.
JYOTIRLINGA:
As per Shiva Mahapurana, once Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu (the Hindu God of protection) 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 downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either direction. 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, it was believed, that there were 64 Jyotirlingas, while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy.
Each of the 12 Jyotirlinga sites, take the name of the presiding deity - each considered different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is Linga, representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.
The twelve Jyotirlinga are :
- Somnath in Gujarat,
- Mallikarjuna at Shrisailam in Andhra Pradesh,
- Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh,
- Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh,
- Kedarnath in Himalayas,
- Bhimashankar in Maharastra,
- Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh,
- Triambakeshwar in Maharastra,
- Vaidyanath at Deogarh district in Jharkhand,
- Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat,
- Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and
- Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharastra.
The Goddess Shakti, the Goddess of power is the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti, having three chief manifestations,
as Durga, Goddess of strength and valour,
as Mahakali, goddess of destruction of evil and
as Goddess Gowri, the goddess of benevolence.
SHAKTIPEETA: Lord Brahma performed a yagna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva.
However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to Brahma, whose fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and Sati got married. This marriage only increased Daksha's hatred towards Lord Shiva.
Daksha performed a yaga, with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna. Furthermore, Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati was unable to bear her father's insults towards her husband, and immolated herself.
Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva in Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yagna, cut off Daksha's head, and later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life. Still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Sati's body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creations.
The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, which cut through the Sati's corpse. The various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today.
At all the Shakti Peethas, Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva). Shakti is an aspect of the supreme being Adi Parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu mythology.
When Shiva and Parvati decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya argued, as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Shiva bade that, the one who goes round the world in pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Lord Kartikeya could go round the world on his vahana, Lord Ganesha went around his parents 7 times (according to Shastras, going in pradakshinam around one's parents is equivalent to going once around the world (Bhupradakshinam). Lord Shiva got Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity) married to Lord Ganesha. Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja 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 Lord Shiva and Parvati stayed came to be known as Shrisailam. Lord Shiva visits Lord Kartikeya on amavasya (new moon) day and Parvati Devi on poornima (full moon) day.
The Shrisailam palyed an important role in our religious, cultural and social history from the ancient times itself.
The history of the Shrisailam begins with the Sathavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India. The Sathavahanas, the Ikshavakus, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundis, the Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas, the Reddy kings, the Vijayanagara emperors and Chatrapathi Shivaji are among the famous emperors who worshipped God Mallikarjuna Swamy. The Temple had been improved by the Prataparudra of Kakatiya dynasty. Ganapathideva has spent 12000 gold coins for the maintenance of the temple.
In the 14th century, Prolaya Vema Reddi of Reddy dynasty constructed stepped path-way to Shrisailam and Pathalaganga (here the river Krishna is called as Pathalaganga). Anavema Reddi constructed Veera Siromandapam in which the Veerasaiva devotees cut off their hands, tongue, limbs with devotion to attain the realisation of the God. This is known as Veeracharam. In the 15th Century, Shri Krishnadevaraya constructed the Rajagopuram on eastern side and Salumantapas on both sides of the temple. The last Hindu king who strove hard, for the improvement of the temple is Chatrapathi Shivaji, who constructed a Gopuram on northern side in the year 1667 A.D.
Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple
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