Srisailam

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Srisailam
type = city
latd = 16.0833| longd = 78.8667
locator_position = right
state_name = Andhra Pradesh
district = Kurnool
leader_title =
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altitude = 409
population_as_of =
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Srisailam is a holy town and Mandal, situated in Nallamala hills of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 232 km south of Hyderabad, on the banks of River Krishna. A famous temple dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy and Bhramaramba is located here. Srisailam is one among the various Jyothirlingam of India. A multipurpose dam has been built across River Krishna and caters to the irrigation and power needs of the state. The dam is located about 245 km from Hyderabad and 132 km from Nandyal.

Geography

Srisailam is located at coord|16.0833|N|78.8667|E|. [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/2/Srisailam.html Falling Rain Genomics.Srisailam] ] It has an average elevation of 409 meters (1345 ft).

History

The origins of this temple have been lost in antiquity. The Skanda Purana has a chapter called Srisaila Kandam dedicated to it, which points to the ancient origin. This is confirmed also by the fact that Tamil saints of the past millennia have sung praises of this temple. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and at that time he composed his Sivananda Lahiri.

Srisailam is referenced in the ancient Hindu Puranas, and the epic Mahabharata.

Shiva's sacred bull Vrishabha is said to have performed penance at the Mahakali temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. The temple is one of the 12 hallowed jyotirlingas; Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged the Panchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard.

Heroic legends from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are sculpted in stone on the temple walls and the Mahabharata epic refers to Srisailam as Sri Parvata - the blessed hill. You can hear the buzzing of a bee through a tiny hole in the Brahmaramba temple, where Parvati, in the form of a bee, slew the demon Mahisasura. It is one of the holiest places that India has to offer.

Other Places of Interest

risailam Dam

Srisailam Dam is 512 m long on the Krishna River and is set amidst beautiful natural scenery - ghats, cliffs, craggy ridges, plateaus and dense forests. It has twelve crest gates to hold a maximum water level of convert|885|ft|m|abbr=on It has a live storage of 274 thousand million cubic feet (TMC). This reservoir was originally designed for hydropower generation only but was later converted to a multi-purpose facility for water supply and irrigation.

Due to the construction of Srisailam Hydro Electric Project across river Krishna nearly 102 villages in both Kurnool and Mahboobnagar Districts located all along the banks of the rivers Krishna, Tungabhadra, Bhavanasi and their tributaries were submerged

risailam Sanctuary

Srisailam also boasts of one of the largest Tiger Reserves in India. Srisailam sanctuary covers an area of 3568 km²). The terrain is rugged and winding gorges slice through the area. This area is covered by dry deciduous forests with scrub and bamboo thickets.

These forests provide shelter to a range of animals like the tiger, leopard, deer, sloth bear, hyena, jungle cat, palm civet, bonnet macaque and pangolin.

The down waters Srisailam dam is home to a variety of crocodiles. The local government supports a breeding program which has been highly successful.

Gateways

Tradition, literature as well as epigraphical sources states that the sacred Hill of Srisailam has four GATE WAYS in the four cardinal directions –

1.Tripuranthakam: in Prakasam District in the East where God Tripuranthakeswara Swamy and Goddess Tripurasundari Devi are Presiding Deities.

2.Siddhavatam : on the bank of the river Penna in Kadapa District in the south where Jyothisideswara Swamy and Goddess Kamakshi Devi are the presiding Deities.

3.Alampur: on the bank of the river Tungabhadra in Mahaboobnagar District in the west where Navabrahma Alayas – A group of nine temples of Chalukya period are situated. This Kshetram is also the seat of Goddess Jogulamba, the one of the Eighteen Mahasakthis.

4.Umamaheswaram : of Rangapur,Achampet,Mahaboobnagar District in the North where God Umamaheswara Swamy and Goddess Umamaheswari Devi are the presiding deities.( [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umamaheswaram] )( [http://wikimapia.org/2180811/Umamaheshwaram&m=a&v=2 Wikimapia] )

econdary Gateways

Beside the main gateways four more Secondary Gateways in the four corner directions are also popularly known.

Eleswaram: in Mahaboobnagar District now submerged in the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the North – East with Eleswara Swamy and Katyani as presiding Deities.

Somasila: on the bank of the river Penna in South – East with Skanda Someswara as the presiding Deity.

Pushpagiri: in Kadapa District in the South-West with Santhana Malleswara as Presiding Deity.

Sangameswaram: at the confluence of the River Krishna and Tungabhadra in Kurnool District on the North-West and submerged at Srisailam Dam with Sangameswara as presiding Deity. This temple has been re-built at Alampur.

Travel

Srisailam can be reached by road from Hyderabad, which is a pleasant journey through the picturesque Nallamala Hills.

By Road:

Only 85 KM From Markapur is well connected by APSRTC from various Places like Vijayawada, Guntur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Ongole, Nellore. From Markapur for every 15 Mins we can find a Bus to Sree Sailam.

190 km from Kurnool & 232 km from HyderabadSrisailam is well connected by APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) by buses with major centers like Hyderabad, Cuddapah, Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, Devorkonda, Guntur, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Ongole, Mahanandi, Mantralayam, Anantapur, Tirupati and Chitradurg, Markapur.

It is just 85 km from Markapur and 180 km from Ongole.

By Car:

A great drive from Hyderabad, need to follow the directions carefully at places. Except for 10% of the strech, the whole journey is enjoyable.

By Rail:

The nearest railway stations is only Markapur(85KM) on the Guntur-Hubli Section and Kurnool (190KM)

By Air:

Nearest airport is located at Hyderabad (232 km).

References

* [http://www.gloriousindia.com Srisailam at Glorious India]

External links

* [http://www.jyotirlinga.com Twelve Jyotirlingas Virtual Darshan]
* [http://www.greattemples.com Get more information about Srisailam]
* [http://www.srisailamtemple.com/Srisaila_devasthanam/Transportation.HTM Srisaila Devasthanam]
* [http://srisailamtemple.com/ Srisailam Devasthanam Official Site (srisailamtemple.com)]
* [http://www.srisailamtemple.com Srisaila Devasthanam]
* [http://www.srisailam.co.in srisailam.co.in]
* [http://srisailam.yourkurnool.com]
* [http://www.templenet.com/jyotir.html The 12 Jyothirlingams]
* [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=EarthTravel&Number=211887&Searchpage=1&Main=211887&Words=jyotirlinga&topic=&Search=true#Post211887 Srisailam Jyotirling - Google Earth Community]