Holy
Pilgrimage – Andhra
Pradesh State
Ksheerarama and Bheemarama)
Amararama
(Andhra Pradesh)
The Deity
The Sivalinga here is very tall that the archakas mount a pedestal platform, and perform the daily rituals as well as Abhisheka. The top of the Linga has a red stain on it. It is said that Sivalinga was growing up in size and to stop its growth, a nail has been hit onto the top of the Sivalinga. When the nail dug into the Linga, blood started to ooze from the Sivalinga itseems. The stain can be see even today.History
Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, King of Chintapalli and later Dharanikota, was a great devotee of Amaralingeswara. He expanded and renovated the temple. The popular legend has it that once during the course of putting down a rebellion in his land the King had to have recourse to a massacre of the Chenchus, whereupon he lost his mental peace, which he regained only when he came to Amaravati. He shifted his place from Chintapalli to Amaravati in 1796, and devoted his entire life, time and revenues to building temples for Lord Siva. He renovated the Amareswaraswamy temple here, engaged nine learned archakas for the daily archana of the Lord, and provided them with all the needs of livelihood, including 12 acres (49,000 m2) of land to each. The temple as it stands owes much to him.Architecture
Amaravati temple has also a wealth of inscriptions on its walls like those of the Kota chiefs of Arnaravati and of Sri Krishandevaraya, the great Vijayanagara emperor. On a pillar in the Mukhamantapa the wife of Proli Nayudu, who was minister of Kota King Ketaraja, has left an inscription.[1]Festivals
The main festivals in the temple are the Mahashivaratri, which comes in the Magha Bahula Dasami and the Navaratri and the Kalyana Utsavas. Amaravati is thus an important Kshetra situated at a particularly sacred spot of the holy river Krishna and is a consecrated place of worship, of importance to both Buddhism and Hinduism.Pancharama Kshetras
The Pancharama Kshetras (Telugu: పంచరామ క్షేత్రాలు; or the Pancharamas) are five ancient Hindu temples of Lord Shiva situated inAndhra Pradesh. The Sivalingas at these temples are made from a single Sivalinga
As per the legend, this Sivalinga was owned by the Rakshasa King Tarakasura. No one could win over him due to the power of this Sivalinga. In the war between deities and Taraka, Kumara Swamy and Taraka were face to face. Kumara Swamy used his Sakthi aayudha to kíll Taraka. By the power of Sakti aayudha the body of Taraka was torn into pieces. But to the astonishment of Lord Kumara Swamy all the pieces reunited to give rise to Taraka. Kumara Swamy repeatedly broke the body into pieces and it was re-unified again.
Lord Kumara Swamy was confused and was in an embarrassed state then Lord Sriman Narayana appeared before him and said “Kumara! Don’t get depressed, without breaking the Shiva lingham worn by the asura you can’t kíll him” you should first break the Shiva lingam into pieces, then only you can kíll Taraka Lord Vishnu also said that after breaking, the shiva lingham also will try to unite. To prevent the Linga from uniting all the pieces should be fixed in the place where they fall by worshipping them and building temples on them.
By taking the word of Lord Vishnu, Lord Kumara Swamy used his Aagneasthra (weapon of fire) to break the Shiva lingham worn by Taraka. The Shiva lingham broke into five pieces and was trying to unite by making Omkara nada (Chanting Om). Then Surya deva by the order of Lord Vishnu fixed those five pieces of Shiva linga and worshipped them by building temples over them. By the formation of temple the pieces stopped their movement and were famous of panchrama kshetras. All the five Shivalinga in these five places have got scaly marking as them which are believed to be formed by the power of Agneyasthra used by Lord Kumara Swamy.
- Amararama (located in Amaravathi): Amaravathi is present in Guntur district, on the bank of Krishna river. Where as remaining four are present in Godavai districts. Bus facility is so good, as all buses will go up to the temple. Amara Lingeswara swami is worshiped by Lord Indra here. The temple is old and in three circles with so many temples with in the compound. Bala Chamundeswari mata is the goddess here. Venu Gopala swami temple is also present with in the campus of main temple.
- Draksharama (located in Draksharamam): This is near Ramachandrapuram. The temple is very big and has three circles as compounds. This is also under control of Archeological department. Lord Shri Rama worshiped Lord Shiva here. Next followed by Lord Surya and Indra. Manikyamaba devi, one of 18 shaktipeethas is present here. Vemulavada Bhima kavi, famous Telugu poet, got boons from Bhimeswara swami here.
- Somarama (located in Bhimavaram):Someswara swami temple is present in Gunupudi. It is about 3 to 4 km distance from Bus stand. The temple looks as new one, and a holy pond (Chandra-kundam]Chandra Kundam) is present in front of the temple. Lord Chandra get rid of his sins here by worshiping Lord Shiva here. Hence the name Someswara swami. Shiva lingam change its color according to the lunar month (Black at the time of Amavasya, White at the time Pournami). Annapurna mata temple is present in the second floor.
- Ksheerarama (located in Palakol): Ksheera Rama Lingeswara swamy gave Sudarshana chakra to Lord Vishnu here. Upamanya Maharshi also got boons and milk from Lord Shiva here. Hence the name Ksheera (milk) Ramalingeswara swami. The temple is near to Bus stand. The temple Gopuram is very high and we can see it from bus stand. Parvathi is the goddess here.
- Kumararama (located in Samalkota): Kumara Bhimeswara swami temple is present in Samalkota. It is about 20 km distance from Kakinada and about 1 km distance from Samarlakota Railway station. It is a very old temple under the control of Archeological department. Lord Shiva is in the form of very big Shiva linga, and we can see Shiva linga through second floor. Kumara swami laid down Shiva Linga here, hence the name Kumararamam. Bala Tripura Sundari devi is the goddess here.
|
Arama Name
|
Siva's Name
|
Consort Name
|
Installor's Name
|
Location
|
District
|
State
|
|
Amaralingeswara Swamy
|
Bala Chamundika Ammavaru
|
|||||
|
Bhimesvara Swamy
|
Manikyamba Ammavaru
|
|||||
|
Someswara Swamy
|
Sri Rajarajeswari Ammavaru
|
|||||
|
Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy
|
Parvati Ammavaru
|
|||||
|
Kumara Bhimeswara Swamy
|
Bala Tripurasundari Ammavaru
|
Kumararama
(Samalkota )
(Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari temple (Kumararama, one of
the Pancharama Kshetras)
Samalkota (Telugu: సామర్లకోట; also known as Samarlakota) is a town, a municipality
and mandal in southeast India,
under Kakinada (rural) in East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.Samalkot is a town and industrial place, north-east of Rajahmundry, also in the East Godavari district, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) south-west of Vishakhapatnam and is on the Chennai-Howrah main rail line. The nearest city (10 km or 6 mi) is Kakinada, the nearest airport, at 64 km (40 mi), is in Rajahmundhry, and the nearest international airport, 161 km (100 mi), is Visakhapatnam (Vizag).
Temple
The Sri Chalukya Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari temple (Kumararama, one of the Pancharama Kshetras) is located about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the railway station. The presiding deity at this temple is Lord Shiva, known as Kumara Bhimeswara. Maha Sivarathri is the most important festival which is celebrated in this temple.The temple is historically prominent, as it was built by Chalukyas who reigned over this location. Construction of the temple started in 892 and completed around 922. It is similar to the temple in Draksharamam, but is also unique, such as the linga being white. The temple still stands strong, and it was made a National Heritage Site. It resembles a twin of Draksharam, with two staired Mandapa, and notable that it is in excellent condition, without any cracks. Though the temple is not in a populated place, people do visit there.
The linga is a limestone, 14 feet (4.3 m) high. The temple was built in Dravidian style, by the King Chalukya Bhima. Hence, the god name is Bhimeswara (between 892-922CE). The Kakatiya rulers (in the period 1340-1466CE) have added and renovated the temple pillars with very fine sharp finishes. The work of Chalukyas and Kakatiya's is very easily distinguished, by the well-decorated and polished pillars in the temple to the rest of the temple, both new and old. The construction of this temple is so solid that it has not changed much through all the years, when compared to the Draksharaam temple. Kala Bhairava is also of importance, and Balatripura sundari is the Goddess. Shaasanas between 1147-1494 were scripted into pillars of the temple, which also have lists of gifts given, through the ages, for the temple. Recent excavations in the compound of the temple has yielded many figures dated back 1000 years are now present inside the temple. In Puranas it has been written that it is a Yogakshetram, which means, the person who has the "yogam" ("fated to have" or "opportunity given by god" or "boon") to visit, will visit the temple.
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), Kakinada Depot runs circular tours covering all the 5 pancharamas (Amaravathi, Bhimavaram, Palakollu, Draksharama, and Samalkota) in a span of 24 hours. The journey starts at 8:00 pm evey Sunday and ends at 8:00 pm next day covering 700 km (430 mi) approximately. Currently charges are Rs.350/- and are inclusive of darshan charges at the respective places.
Nearby this temple, there is one more temple, "Mandavya narayana swamy temple". This temple is situated on one bank of the canal. Once upon a time, a great saint named Madavya did Tapassu for Lord Narayana swamy at this place, and he got the dharshan of Lord Narayana swamy at this place. So this temple is named as Mandavya Narayana Swamy temple. It is said that Indra Deva came to this place to have the saint Mandavya dharshan, with his Pushpaka Vimanam. This temple was built with very good architecture. In Samalkot, there is one more old temple which has more age than above-mentioned temples, i.e. "Trimukha lingam temple". As the Sivalingam has three faces, this temple is named like that, and the three faces are believed as the Trimurtulu (Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Maheswara). This temple was totally buried, and only the upper portion is visible, of the linga, which is of 14 ft (4.3 m) long.
Sri Ganapathi Sri Lakshmidevi Sri Veeravenkatasatyanarayana Swamy Temple at Ganapathinagaram, Peddapuram Road was originally built by Manyam Venkatapathi over 150 years ago and was renovated in March 2006 by The Manyam Family. The deities of all the Shaktipeethams and Jyothirlinghams are displayed in Prakaram.
Transport
Samalkota is an important railway junction on the Chennai-Howrah Railway line. The railway line to Kakinada branches at this railway junction. It is just 12 km (7.5 mi) from Kakinada, which is the District Headquarter, and 50 km (31 mi) from Rajahmundry, the historical city. It serves as a major station to the people of Kakinada, as this junction connects Kakinada to the rest of the country. Samalkot junction, located on the Chennai-Howrah line, connects Kakinada to Annavaram, Anakapalle, Vishakapatnam, Srikakulam and Orissa and Howrah.Being kakinada remotely located this town is serving kakinada as a Railway Town :) Most of the Place is surrounded by the railway station itself as this was developed because of kakinada city and soon its going to be merging in kakinada from 2013 and we can see a dramastic develeopment in samarlakota also after mergerDraksharama
(Bheemarama)
Draksharama (Telugu: ద్రాక్షారామము) is a temple in East
Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh in South India.
Draksharama temple is one of the Five Powerful temples of Lord shiva, known as Pancharama
KshetramThe Siva deity is known as Bhimesvara Swamy. The temple is situated on the eastern bank of Godavari River. The consort of Lord Bhimesvara is Manikyamba. According to local belief the Siva linga at the temple was installed and established by the god Surya. Maha Shivaratri, Devi Navaratrulu, Karthika Masam, and Dhanurmasam are the main festivals celebrated at this temple.
According to local legend, the temple was built by angels in one night. The construction of the perimeter wall could not be completed before sunrise and still stands incomplete. Several attempts have been made to construct the uncompleted part of the wall but all those efforts have failed with the constructed wall collapsing within a few months.[citation needed]
As per the Government of India, the temple construction was started in mid 800 AD and completed somewhere around the 11th century. The construction of the temple is a marvel, consisting of a two-staired mandapa and two walls, one inside of the other. The inner temple (Garbhaalaya) made it a very profound and cultural work of architecture in those times. Its architecture is still a library for students of architecture. The ventilation of the inner temple is impressive. The temple is always full of light and air with very good ventilation. The temple's two-stair mandapa is impressive, and the pillars in the temple are skillfully and delicately carved. Many Shasanas (Official & Historical Registry Chronicles) have been written on the stone walls of the temple from time to time, from legions of Chola & Sathavahanas to Vijayanagra & Reddy Kingdoms that ruled over centuries. The scripts are Dravidian, Tamil, Devanagri, and Telugu scripts in both Sanskrit and Telugu languages.
108 Shivite temples were built after 800 around this temple in a radius of 40 kilometers. Some purohits have this list.
The village is called Dakshina Kasi. The Siva Linga in this temple is said to be one large crystal which is 2.6 meters high. Shiva is accompanied by Dakshayani, who is the first wife of Shiva (also the daughter of Daksha, and therefore named Dakshayani). Manikyamba goddess, said to be one part of the 18 pieces of Sati Devi that fell here, is a Shakti Peetha. It has one of the world's longest siva linga.
The inner sanctorium has a pedestal built for the archakas to perform rituals. The inner sanctorium is very dark, so much that one cannot see without a some sort of light. Legends say that the inner walls of the temple were once filled with diamonds that provided the required light. When Aurangazeb invaded the temple to plunder the riches, all the diamonds turned to stones. Archakas show the walls adorned with diamond-shaped rocks as proof of this.
There is another small temple within the main temple. One legend says that as ages go by, the height of humans would reduce to such an extent that the current temple would become a huge gigantic structure, and hence another temple was built for the tiny people of the future. Another legend says that the tiny temple is for the tiny creatures that inhabit the land. And some say that it's the prototype of the temple
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
(one of the Pancharamas)
Amaravathi (Telugu: అమరావతి) is a small town situated on the banks
of the River Krishna in the Guntur District
(of which it is a mandal) of Andhra Pradesh,
India.
It is famous for its Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is
one of the famous Pancharamas. Amaravati, also known as Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota[1][2][3]
was the site of a great Buddhist Stupa
built in pre-Mauryan times. It was also the capital of Satavahanas,
the first great Andhra kings who ruled from the 2nd century BCE
to the 3rd century CE, after the downfall of Maurya empire.Legends
The Skanda Purana gives a picture of the place and the Siva temple located here.[4]
Sage Narada
explains to Sounaka and other saints that Amareswara is situated in Amareswaram
on the bank of river Krishna and is on the southeastern side of the Srisailam
temple.
History
According to Vajrayana traditional sources the Buddha preached at Dharanikota/Dhanyakatakam and conducted Kalachakra ceremony, which would take the antiquity of Amaravati back to 500 BCE.[5] Taranatha, the Buddhist monk writes: "On the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kalachakra).[6] This shows that Dhanyakatakam (Amaravati) was a very important place at the time of composition of this tantra. The recorded history of Amaravati and nearby Dharanikota dates from 2nd century BCE.[7] It was the capital of Andhra Satavahanas who ruled from 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE. After the decline of Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus and later Pallava kings ruled Krishna river valley. Subsequently, Eastern Chalukyas and Telugu Cholas held sway over the region. Kota Kings were in control of Amaravati during the medieval times. Kota kings were subdued by Kakatiyas in 11th century CE and Amaravati became part of the unified Telugu empire.The stupa
The town was the site of a great Buddhist stupa originally built during the reign of emperor Ashoka. It was completed in 200 CE and is decorated with carved panels which tell the story of Buddha's life. The region between Krishna and Godavari rivers was an important place for Buddhism from the 2nd century BCE and some ancient sculpture in low relief has been found here. During the Satavahana period (2nd century BCE-3rd century CE), Dharanikota near Amaravati was chosen as the capital. The stupa was then adorned with limestone reliefs and free standing Buddha figures. During the period of the decline of Buddhism, this stupa was also neglected and it was buried under rubble. There is a 14th century inscription in Sri Lanka which mentions repairs made to the stupa and after that it was forgotten.Around the year 1796 CE, Colonel Colin Mackenzie, who visited the site twice, prepared drawings and sketches of the relics in the area. Eventually, several European scholars including Sir Walter Smith, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Alexander Rea excavated the site and unearthed many sculptures that once adorned the stupa. Many bas-relief medallions and paneled friezes decorated the Amaravati stupa.[8] Similar to Sanchi Stupa, the stupa was decorated with carvings of life and teachings of Buddha and events of Jataka Stories, e.g. taming of a rogue elephant by Buddha. The 95 ft tall stupa was made of brick with a circular dome and platforms protruding in four cardinal directions. Recent excavations have revealed remains of an Ashokan pillar, the first such example of Mauryan art to be found in South India.
This stupa is related to the Vajrayana teachings of Kalachakra, still practiced today in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the Kalachakra tantra texts, Suchandra, the King of Shambhala and many of his retinue received the initiation into this practice by the historical Buddha.[9] For this reason, the Dalai Lama of Tibet conducted a Kalachakra initiation at this location in 2006.
Art historians regard the Amaravati art as one of the three major styles or schools of ancient Indian art, the other two being the Gandhara style and the Mathura style. Some of the Buddhist sculptures of Amaravati betray a Greco-Roman influence that was the direct result of the close trade and diplomatic contacts between South India and the ancient Romans. Indeed, Amaravati has itself yielded a few Roman coins. The Government Museum at Egmore (Madras Museum) and British Museum, London host the "Amaravati Gallery".[10]
Chinese traveller and Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited Amaravati in 640 CE, stayed for sometime and studied 'Abhidhammapitakam'. He observed that there were many Viharas and some of them were deserted, which points out that Hinduism was gaining ground at that time. Xuanzang wrote a glorious account of the place, Viharas and monasteries that existed.[11]
Amaravati School
The Amaravati school of Dravidian art had great influence on art in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia as products from here were carried to those countries.[12] Trade between the dynasties of Tamilakam led to cultural exchange in the Sangam period. Sculptures such as the Vallipuram Buddha reveal a period of influence between Andhra and Jaffna at this time. In a pioneering study and meticulous documentation of the Buddhist sculptures of Sri Lanka, Dr. Ulrich Von Schroeder has listed up with measurements several lime stone sculptures, both round and in relief, from the Sri Lankan sites. The chapters in the work clearly go with a heading 'Imported Sculptures from Early Amaravati School', and 'Imported Sculptures from late Amaravati (Nagarjunakonda)'. It is clear that the artist guilds in Amaravati-Nagarjunakonda were engaged in the large scale supply of Buddhist sculptures, as also brahmanical, to Sri Lanka and other South-Asian countries.Religious ideology was a potent force providing cohesion and identity to trading communities and it was perhaps through these channels that the early Buddhist/ Brahmanical images found their way into South-East Asia and Sri Lanka.[13] At Sempaga in Celebes, a bronze image of Buddha of the Amaravati School was found. The earliest sculptures from Dong-Duong. Dong Tuk (Siam), exhibit Amaravati style. A bronze Buddha from South Djember and Sikendeng on the west coast of Celebes, and the colossal statue at Bukit are all in characteristic Amaravati style. It is quite likely that these image were brought from Andhra centers by the colonists. The transport of the large stone Buddha of Palembang must have been more difficult. It is the oldest relic from Amaravati in the archipelago. Sea route voyages connected Indian ports of the South such as Machilipatnam, Ghantasala etc., with Indonesia. Amaravati school also had a great influence over other South Indian sculpture.
Shiva Temple
The Amareswara (Shiva) temple walls have lot of inscriptions that give information about the kings who ruled over the area. The present holy shrine of Amaralingeswara (Lord Shiva) temple is associated with the reign of Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu who ruled the region before the advent of the British rule (See Amararama). He was well known for his benevolence, munificence and construction of a large number of temples and education centers in the Krishna river delta.[14]Geography
The city is located at 16°34′N 80°22′E[15] on the south bank of Krishna river. hbTransport
It is reachable by road or by boat / coracle on the Krishna River. Amaravati is located 35 km northwest of Guntur. It is connected by the Amaravati road from the heart of Guntur. It is 46 km south west of Vijayawada. Gannavaram, north of Vijayawada is the nearest airport.Culture
The people speak Telugu. The common traditional clothing for women is a Saree and for men a Pancha or a Lungi. The town was given a hagiographic portrayal in the famous short story series Amaravati Kathalu by Satyam Sankaramanchi. The stories describe the contemporary culture of local people during the reign of Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu and also post-independent times.The town is a centre of piligrimage to both Hindus and Buddhists. Amaravati is also famous for the temple dedicated to the god Shiva. The main Hindu festivals celebrated are Mahashivaratri and the Navaratri. The 30th Kalachakra festival, a popular buddhist ritual was held at Amaravati in the first week of January 2006
Somarama
(Bhimavaram, AP)
Bhimavaram has many nicknames, being call by Mahatma Gandhi as the "second Bardoli" when he visited the town during the freedom movement in India, the second Mumbai for it's economic strength, and the Las Vegas of India due to gambling being popular, especially gambling on cricket, cockfighting during the festive season of Sankranthi.
Geography
.[1] Bhimavaram is located 384 km from Hyderabad by road and 430 km by train, 270 km from Visakhapatnam, just 70 km from Rajahmundry (Business Hub of Godavari Districts and 103 km from Vijayawada. National Highway NH 214 (Kathipudi to Pamarru) passes through this town. The state highway towards Juvvalapalem is from this town.Mythology
Culturally it is one of the Pancharamas (Somarama) located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, containing the Someswara Swami temple.Rakshas king Tarakasura was a Siva Baktha who worshipped with great devotion and rewarded by Lord Siva with the Amrita Linga. The Amritha Linga gave Tarakasura immortality so long as it remained around his neck. After being given this Linga, King Tarakasura grew arrogant and became troublesome to the Devathas. The Devathas asked Kumara Swamy (AKA Murugan), the son of Shiva, to declare war on Tarakasura. Kumara Swamy targeted and separated the Amrita Linga from Tarakasura and broke it into 5 different pieces and scattered around 5 different regions which came to be known as the Pancharamas. One of the locations where it was placed was Bhimavaram.
Someswara Temple
In the name of Chandra, who first worshipped after performing Shivakshetra, named this place as Somaramam and Lord Shiva as Someswara Swamy.
The Gandharvas (famous for their beauty in Gandharvaloka) became jealous of Chandra (Moon God) because of his beauty and praises heaped onto him by the other Gods and made him as their prisoner at Gandharvaloka. Everyone was worried about the moon vanishing and approached Lord Brahman for help. Goddess Saraswathi was sent to Gandharvaloka as an emissary to bring back Chandra. Goddess Saraswathi succeeded in getting Chandra out from his prison in Gandharvaloka in exchange for herself.
Goddess Saraswathi later requested the king of Gandharvaloka to let her free, he eventually did and she went to Sathyaloka and stayed there with Brahma. After her return the Gandharvas tried to abduct Chandra again. Chandra approached Lord Brahma for advice to overcome the problem with Gandharvas. Lord Brahma adviced he and all the other deities to worship Lord Shiva with great devotion at this place. Lord Shiva appeared and stated that Chandra will be free and no obstacles occur again.
Statewide popular "Mavullamma temple" is located in the middle of the town.
History
Along with much of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Bhimavaram was controlled by the Chola Empire. Under Kulothunga Chola I, Bhimavaram was ruled by his sons who served as viceroys. Various stone inscriptions have been found in the city dating from his reign (c. 1096 C.E.).[citation needed] Bhimavaram was the site of several protests during the Salt Satyagraha Movement. It played a major role in the freedom movement, during the rule of British empire in India. The taluka office in the bhimavaram is a witness of freedom movement since 1887. The famous freedom fighter Alluri Sita Rama Raju belongs to Mogallu, a nearby village. Potti Sriramulu started the movement to separate the Andhra State from the Madras PresidencyTransport
Bhimavaram is an important commercial centre in the West Godavari District. It is connected to all the nearby rural villages with a convenient road transportation. It is located 384 km from Hyderabad by road,430 km from Hyderabad by train route via Guntur, 270 km from Visakhapatnam and 103 km from Vijayawada. National Highway NH 214 (Kathipudi to Pamarru) passes through this town. Buses to this town are operated by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and private operators. Most frequent long distant bus services are usually ran in-between Bhimavaram and Hyderabad, Chennai, Vizag, Bangalore, Eluru & Vijayawada. Bhimavaram is well connected to major cities like Puri, Bangalore, Mumbai, Howrah, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Nagarsol, Aurangabad[disambiguation needed], Shirdi, Tirupathi, Bilaspur & Bhubaneswar by direct trains.The Narsapur-Nidadavole and Narsapur-Vijayawada are few notable rail lines that passes through Bhimavaram. The town is well connected to different places around it with a convenient bus service to two bus stands (Old Bus Stand in Two Town area and New Bus Stand in One Town area) and train routes to two railway stations(Town Railway Station in Two Town area and Junction Railway Station in One Town area). Buses, autos, taxis and rickshaws are the means of transport to travel within the town. Nearest domestic airport to Bhimavaram is in Vijayawada/Rajahmundry. Whereas, nearest International airports to Bhimavaram are Hyderabad and Chennai. The nearest domestic airports to Bhimavaram are Rajahmundry and Vijayawada
Notable Personalities:
- Alluri Sita Rama Raju (Revolutionary Freedom Fighter)
- Dr.Yellapragada Subbarao(Biochemist)
- Swami Jnanananda (Saint and Scientist)
- Sri.Adivi Bapiraju (Poet/Freedom Fighter/Writer/Artist)
- Padmabhushan B.V.Raju*
- Srinivas Trivikram (Director/Screen writer)
- M.S.Narayana (Actor/Comedian)
Religion
Some famous temples located here are:- Gunupudi Sri Uma Someshwara Janardhana Swamy Temple - One of the five Pancharamas. Built during the 3rd century A.D., the Shivalinga in the temple is believed to assume a black-cum-brown colour on no-moon day and becomes whitish on full-moon day. The prathista of the Shivalinga is by the Moon God.
- Sri Mavullamma Temple - Mavullamma's (Goddess of Bhimavaram) Festival starts on 14 January of every year and runs for more than 30 days.
- Sri Ayyappa Swamy temple- The Village of Gunupudi
- Sri Bhimeshwara Swamy Temple - The name of the Bhimavaram town is derived from it.
- Sri Aadhi Lakshmi Ammavaru Temple - The village deity of Gunupudi.
- Sri Kanakadurga Devi Temple - The Village deity of Gunupudi.
- Sri Subrahmanyeswaraswamy Temple - The temple of Lord Subrahmanyeswara, Lord Siva and Lord Rama
- Sri Panchamukhi Anjaneya Swamy Temple located in Undi Road Near Railway gate
- Jain Temple - Located at Pedda Amiram.
- Sri Shakteswara Swamy temple - Located in Ennamadurru from 5 km to Bhimavaram.
- Sri Venkateswaraswamy temple Kallakuru, 10 km to Bvrm
- Sai Baba Swarnamandir located in Pedda Amiram
- Ayyappa Swamy temple - Located near adda vanthena, Bhimavaram-2.
Ksheera Rama
(Palakollu. AP)
Palakol is a financial town in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is an important trading town in West Godavari district for the surrounding villages Doddipatla, Achanta, Achanta Vemavaram etc., and is in proximity with other trading towns such as Bhimavaram, Eluru, Tanuku and Narsapur.
Palakol's population is about 80,000 (Palakol mandal population included)[1]); both Telugu and English are spoken .
Tourist attractions
Main tourist attraction of Palakol is the Ksheera Rama Lingeswara Swami Temple with its 36.6 Mts high Tower (Pedha Gopuram). It was built by the reddy rajulu[who?] who ruled this place during 15th century[2], as a 15th century temple for Shiva. It is one of the five Pancharama_Kshetras[citation needed].The temple has a unique white shiva lingam and the temple tower is one of the tallest among the temple towers in Andhra Pradesh.[citation needed]
This place was earlier called Dugdoparanapuram Upamanyupuram "Ksheera rampuram " and based on this temple. Later called as "Pala Kolanu", which all tries to convey the meaning of milk pond. This town and the Ksheera Rama Lingeswara Swami temple are located in the area subtended by the Shiva temples at Srisailam, Draksharamam and Kaleswaram also called "Trilinga Desam"[3][4](meaning "the region bounded by three lingas") which in following centuries of existence became Telugu desam, the language spoken by the people around these locations was named as Telugu, hence it is believed by some historians that the word "Telugu" was born from this region .
Ashtabhuja Lakshmi Narayana Swami Temple (Chinna Gopuram) which is known for its traditions and festivities like Bhramostavam, (generally held in May of every year) draw large number of devotees from nearby places. Dhanurmasam is celebrated in the month of December in the remembrance of love of Andaal for Lord Sri Krishna.chinna gopuram,which is considered as ashtabhuja lakshmi narayana temple is the one of the only two temples that exist in India for ashtabhuja lakshmi narayana temple,and only one in the south India.lakshmi ganapati temple.
Transport
Buses operated by APSRTC and private travel agencies run from Palakol to Hyderabad, Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati. Three express trains service the town, which is on the Narsapur-Vijayawada railway route.[5] A bridge was built on Vasista Godavari near Chinchinada 7 km away from Palakol connecting East Godavari & West Godavari Districts of Andhra Pradesh, which makes it a part of National Highway 214.with the efforts of M.P Shri Kanumuri.Bapi raju,a new biweekly train runs to nagarsol for shirdi passengers on tuesday and friday. It facilitates the passengers to move for our capital hyderabad too and is scheduled at morning 10.40 AM.Palakol is the birth place of:
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to the great devotees
, wikisources and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the
collection )
0 comments:
Post a Comment