The Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deities Shiva and Parvati, located at Srisailam in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Located in a
picturesque environment of Nallamalai Hills, ‘Srisailam’ the abode of Siva and
Sakthi is on the right side of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra
Pradesh. It is at an altitude of 476 meters above the sea level, at Latitude of
16 12” North and Longitude of 78 5” East.
The presiding
Deities of this Kshetram God Mallikarjuna Swamy is one of the twelve
Jyothirlingas and Goddess Bhramaramba Devi is one of the eighteen Mahasakthis
and both are believed to be self-manifested. The unique feature of this
Kshetram is the co-existing of Jyothirlingam and Mahasakthi in one Temple
complex, which is the rare and only of its kind.
At this place the
river Krishna flows through a deep narrow valley, approximately 100 meters wide
and nearly at a depth of 1000 meters from the hill top. The river flows at a
distance of 70 Km to the up of Srisailam and continues to flow in the same
valley for a further distance of 80 Km to the down till it reaches
Nagarjunasagar. The narrow flow of the river at such deep valley is fine
looking and more pleasant near Srisailam where it is called as Pathalaganaga.
Actually the river takes two repeated bends at Pathalaganga with in a short
distance and makes a large stretch of high Plateau in each bend. The right part
of it we have Srisailam and whereas on the left there is ruined
Chandraguptanagara which is mentioned in the Skandapurana and also some of the
celebrated Literary works of 12th to 16th centuries.
In the traditional
Hindu mythology, this Kshetram is identified as the Kailasa on the earth and
named as ILA - KAILASAM. Besides its mythical antiquity, Srisailam is also
having a hoary historical antiquity. Starting from the Satavahanas who were the
earliest rulers of Andhradesa, the region around Srisailam appears as a
prominent religious centre and it continues to be so into the present times.
The inscriptional evidences available at Srisailam are of the 12th century A.D
and afterwards, which is very intriguing. However, the inscriptions belonging
to various early historical places found in various parts of the Deccan and
Andhra Pradesh, testify to its historical antiquity starting from first century
A.D. In this small book the temple complex of Srisailam is analysed from the
view point of chronology, art and architecture, sculpture and iconography.
Shiva is worshiped as Mallikarjuna, and is represented by the lingam.
His consort Parvati is depicted as Brahmaramba. It is the one of the
only three temples in India in which both Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeeth is
revered.
The legend is that Kumar Kartikeya, the eldest 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 wedded 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 Siva 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.
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 temple complex covers 2 hectares and houses four gateway towers
known as gopurams. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of
Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba being the most prominent. 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, the hall leading to the sanctum, 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.
The temple is maintained and administered by government of Andhra
Pradesh.
The nearest railway station are Markapur, Nandyal and Kurnool. From
both the places the distance is 158 km. The most conveinent way is to take a
bus or taxi from Hyderabad. Temple committee cottages and dharamshalas are
available here.
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.
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.
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.
