Panagal

Panagal is 3 km from Nalgonda town. Panagal was the capital and strong fort of Kanduru Chodas, feudotories of Kalyani Chalukyas to begin with and later to Kakatiyas. Udaya Samudram, a huge artificial lake, now used as balancing resorvior for AMR Project was built by the Kanduru Chodas in 1124 AD.

Panagal was also an important religious place during Kakatiya period. An inscription mentioning the name of Kakatiya's greatest king Pratap Rudra on Pachala Someswara temple supports the claim that these temples were erected for the greater glory of the Kakatiya ruler's favorite god, Shiva.

There are two famous Shiva temples, Chaya Someswara Swamy temple and Pachala Someswara temple. The Shiva lingam of Chaya Someswara (chaya means "shadow" in Telugu) is, when daylight is present, straddled by a permanent shadow of a pillar. The pillars of the temple are decorated in great detail with relief sculpture of episodes from the two great Epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Statues and scultptures of Hindu gods and goddesses dating back to Ikshvaku dynasty of 1st century AD are preserved and protected at the museum constructed in the compound of Pachala Someswara Swamy temple. Some of the ancient shiv lingas preserved in the museum were collected from a village called Yelleswaram (a shivaite centre), which was submerged during the construction of Nagarjuna Sagar dam.

References

* [http://nalgonda.ap.nic.in/ Official Website of the Nalgonda District]