Srisailam

Srisailam శ్రీశైలం శ్రీశైలము ಶ್ರೀಶೈಲ श्रीशैल
Town
Srisailam Gopuram
Srisailam Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 16°04′26″N 78°52′05″E / 16.074°N 78.868°E / 16.074; 78.868Coordinates: 16°04′26″N 78°52′05″E / 16.074°N 78.868°E / 16.074; 78.868
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	Kurnool
Elevation	409 m (1,342 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	10,288
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

The town (as well as the mandal) of Srisailam (Kannada : ಶ್ರೀಶೈಲ shrīshaila , Telugu : శ్రీశైలం śrīśailaṃ ) is reputed for the shrine of Lord Mallikarjuna on the flat top of Nallamala Hills. It has played a dominant role in the Hindu religious, cultural and social history since ancient times. The epigraphical evidence reveals that the history of Srisailam began with the Satavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India. The earliest known historical mention of the hill, Srisailam, can be traced to the King Vasishthiputra Pulumavi's Nasik inscription of 1st Century A.D. Srisailam or Srisailamu (Śrīśailaṁ, Śrīśailamu) is situated in the Kurnool district of 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 spelled as Shrishailam.
There is a saying in Sanskrit about Srisailam :

Meaning "By seeing the śikhara or the peak of Srisailam, (one releases himself from the cycle of birth and death) one is not born again."

Geography

Srisailam is located at 16°04′26″N 78°52′05″E / 16.074°N 78.868°E / 16.074; 78.868.^[2] It has an average elevation of 409 meters (1345 ft).

Temples

The Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple located in Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. Earlier, it was called Srigiri. The Bhramarambha Temple is also located in the same complex. It is considered as one of the eighteen Shakti 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.

Gateways

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.

Secondary gateways

Besides the main gateways, there are four Secondary Gateways in the four corners:

• 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.

See also

• Shivananda Lahari

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Srisailam.

• Srisaila Devasthana Official Website
• Ancient Srisaila Pancha Mutts Official Website
• http://www.kalagnani.com An Official website Sri Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swami, Kandimallayapalle, Kadapa Dist.
• Srisaila Mallanna Darsanam, Travel Information
• Srisailam map
• Hyderabad Srisailam travel map
• Srisaila Devasthanam
• The 12 Jyotirlingams
• Srisailam and Akkamahadevi Caves Tri
• Hyderabad to Srisailam Buses

Hindu holy cities
India	Char Dham Badrinath Badrinath Temple Dwarka Dwarkadhish Temple Puri Jagannath Temple Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Temple Chota Char Dham Badrinath Badrinath Temple Kedarnath Kedarnath Temple Gangotri Yamunotri Yamunotri Temple Panch Kedar Kedarnath Tungnath Rudranath Madhyamaheshwar Kalpeshwar Pancharama Kshetras Amararama Draksharama Ksheerarama Kumararama Somarama Six Abodes of Murugan Palani Swamimalai Thiruttani Pazhamudircholai Thiruchendur Tirupparankunram Trilinga Kshetras Draksharama Srisailam Kaleshwaram Ashtavinayaka Morgaon Moreshwar Lenyadri Girijatmaj Pali Ballaleshwar Mahad Varadvinayak Ranjangaon Mahaganapati Siddhatek Siddhivinayak Ozar Vighneswar Theur Chintamani Jyotirlinga Prabhas Patan Somnath Srisailam Mallikājuna Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Omkareshwar Kedarnath Kedarnath Shiradhon Bhimashankar Varanasi Kashi Vishvanath Trimbak Trimbakeshwar Deoghar Vaidyanath Dwarka Nageshvara Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Ellora Caves Grishneshwar Panchabhuta Lingas Srikalahasti Temple Srikalahasti Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram Chidambaram Annamalaiyar Temple Tiruvannamalai Ekambareswarar Temple Kanchi Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval Others Pushpagiri Temple Complex Shakti Peethas Ahobilam Ambaji Ambalappuzha Arunachala Annavaram Ayodhya Akshardham (Delhi) Akshardham (Gandhinagar) Basar Bhadrachalam Chidambaram Chitrakoot Chottanikkara Dakor Dharmasthala Dakshineswar Kali Temple Ettumanoor Gaya Gokul Guruvayur Haridwar Jageshwar Kalighat Kanchipuram Katra Vaishno Devi Khatu Kollur Kurukshetra Madurai Mangalagiri Mathura Mayapur Nashik Nathdwara Pandharpur Pushkar Rishikesh Ryali Sabarimala Sapta Puri Somnath Sringeri Shirdi Simhachalam Temple Sonamukhi Srirangam Sri Kurmam Tirumala Tirunavaya Tripunithura Udupi Jajpur Vrindavan Vijayawada Yadagirigutta
Indonesia	Prambanan Gebang Gedong Songo Dieng Plateau Sukuh Ceto Temple Penataran Gunung Kawi Cangkuang Penataran Temple Candi Jawi Candi Kidal Candi Singhasari Candi Surawana Balinese temple Tanah Lot Marga Tirtha Empul Temple Denpasar Gianyar Pura Penataran Sasih Pejeng Gianyar Pura Besakih Pura Ulun Danu Bratan Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Pura Ulun Danu Batur
Sri Lanka	Ati Konanayakar Koneswaram Pathirakali Amman Temple Kataragama Munneswaram temple Thambiluvil Sri Kannaki amman temple Thambiluvil Sri Sivalinga Pillayar Temple Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Kovil Tenavaram temple
Nepal	Kathmandu Janakpurdham
Cambodia	Angkor Wat

Hindu temples in Andhra Pradesh
Anantapur	Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi
Chittor	Ardhagiri Temple Boiyakonda Gangamma Temple Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple Kapila Theertham Koneti Rayala Temple Palli Kondeswarar Temple, Surutapalli Kulandeshwara Temple Srikalahasteeswara Temple Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
East Godavari	Chalukya Kumararama Bhimeswara Temple Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Antarvedi Neelakanteshwara Temple, Antarvedi
Guntur	Amaralingeswara Temple Kotappakonda Lakshmi Narasimha Temple
Kadapa	Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta Pushpagiri Temple Complex Gandi Anjaneya Temple
Krishna	Jaladheeswara Temple Kanaka Durga Temple Paritala Anjaneya Temple Andhra Maha Vishnu Sri Peddintlamma Temple
Kurnool	Yaganti Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple Kambagiri Koulutla Chenna Kesava Temple Sangameswara Temple Mantralayam
Nellore	Ranganatha Temple, Nellore Kodandarama Temple, Buchireddipalem Penchalakona
Prakasam	Gangamma Temple, Dhenuvakonda Tripurantakam
Srikakulam	Arasavalli Srikurmam Mukhalingam
Visakhapatnam	Balighattam Nookambika Temple Simhachalam Temple Padmanabham Panchadharla
Vizianagaram	Ramatheertham Punyagiri
West Godavari	Ksheerarama Somarama Kotasattemma Temple Veerabhadra Temple