Country India Language spoken Telugu | State Andhra Pradesh District Kurnool | |
Srisailam played a dominant role in the Indian religious, cultural and social history from ancient times. The epigraphical evidence reveals that the history of Srisailam begins with the Sathavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India. The earliest known historical mention of the Hill - Srisailam, can be traced in Pulumavis Nasik inscription of 1st Century A.D. The Sathavahanas, the Ikshavakus, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundis, the Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas, the Reddy Kings, the Srisailam or Srisailamu is situated in the Nallamala Hills of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is on the banks of the Krishna River about 212 km south of Hyderabad and 179 km from Kurnool. It is sometimes spelled Shrishailam.
Contents
Map of Srisailam
Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple
The Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple located in Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Siva. Early it is called as Srigiri. Bhramarambha Temple is also located in the same complex. It is considered as one of the eighteen Sakti peethas in India. Bhramarambha is a very ferocious deity. Originally she was worshipped by the Chenchu people. However, during British rule the temple was taken over by the Pushpagiri peetham forcibly with the help of the British Government ruling the Madras Presidency.
Tradition, literature as well as epigraphical sources state that the sacred hill of Srisailam has four gateways in the four cardinal directions namely,
- Tripuranthakam is in Prakasam District in the east where God Tripurantakeshwara Swamy and Goddess Tripurasundari Devi are presiding deities.
- Siddhavatam is located on the bank of the river Penna in Kadapa District in the south where Jyothisideswara Swamy and Goddess Kamakshi Devi are the presiding deities.
- Alampur is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra in Mahaboobnagar District in the west where Navabrahma Alayas, a group of nine temples of the Chalukya period, are. This Kshetram is also the seat of Goddess Jogulamba, one of the eighteen Mahasakthis.
- Umamaheswaram is located in Rangapur, Achampeta Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District in the North where God Umamaheswara Swamy and Goddess Umamaheswari Devi are the presiding deities.
Besides the main gateways, there are four Secondary Gateways in the four corner directions:
- Eleswaram: Located in Mahaboobnagar District now submerged in the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the northeast with Eleswara Swamy and Katyani as presiding deities.
- Somasila: Located on the bank of the river Penna in the southeast with Skanda Someshwara as the presiding deity.
- Pushpagiri: Located in Kadapa District in the southwest with Santana Malleshwara as presiding deity.
- Sangameswaram: Located at the confluence of the River Krishna and Tungabhadra in Kurnool District in the northwest and submerged at Srisailam Dam with Sangameswara as presiding deity. This temple has been re-built at Alampur.
Geography
Srisailam is located at 16.074°N 78.868°E? / 16.074; 78.868. It has an average elevation of 409 meters (1345 ft).