Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Temple
Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Siva situated at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh state, India. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams.
Sri Sailam is populary known as “The Kailash of the south” and it is one of the most ancient and sacred places in South India, situated on the banks of the holy River Krishna.
Situated
Sri Sailam is a small pilgrimage town in the thick and quite inaccessible forests of the Nallamalai Hills, in the northeastern part of the Nandikotkur Taluk of Kurnool District in Andhra Pradesh, 201 km from Hyderabad. This very important wildlife area is the largest of the States wildlife sanctuaries and you find tigers, leopard, a large colony of Indian pangolins, panther, wild dogs, civet, hyena, jackals, wolves, giant squirrels, crocodiles, lizards, python, vipers, kraits and over 150 species of birds.
At times the area is disturbed due to political activists and can be very difficult to get permission to visit.
Sri Sailam is one of the three “Shiva-Shakti Peetahs” in India, with the temples of the Mallikarjuna Jyotir Linga and the Goddess Bhramaramba. The other Shiva-Shakti Peethas are the Vishwanatha Temple in Kasi or Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), and the Mahakaleswara Temple in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).
Scholars have stated in epichs of India that three holy places offer instant salvation. They are Kasi, Arunachalam and Sri Sailam.
Shiva and Parvati appered here as “Arjuna” and “Mallika”, hence the name “Mallikarjuna”. The mount is famous as “Sri Sailam” meaning “The Esteemed Mount”
Sri Sailam has been prevailing from the times of the Vedas even before the Arya and Dravidian culture. In the 32nd chapter of the Srikhanda article in the Scanda Purana, Veda Vyasa asks Sanat Kumara to explain about Sri Sailam. Sri Sailam is mentioned in several other texts and Puranas and is also called “Sri Giri”, “Sri Parvata”, “Sri Nagara”, “Rudra Parvata” and “Seshachalam”.
Sri Sailam city has grown around the Temple area. There are several possiblities for lodging near the temple, especially out of the big festival times as Maha Shivaratri (Feb/March) or Shrawan Poornima.
All life in the city evolves around the famous temple and Vedic chanting from the morning and evening rituals is heard all over the city. The rest of the day “Om Namah Shivaya” is transmitted, to awaken the spirit and tune the minds towards God.
How to get there
Sri Sailam can be reached by bus or taxi, driving 7 hours (220 km) from Hyderabad or 5 hours (aprox. 175 km) from Kurnool. After 4½ hours drive from Hyderabad the road goes through the dense Nallamalai Forest and a harsh mountaindrive where u-turns begins. The forest is a wildlife sanctuary, with restricted access mainly because of the tiger population. It is advisable to go by daylight as the roads are in poor condition. From Sri Sailam to Kurnool the road is onetracked for aproximately two hours drive through the hilly forest.
Jyotirlinga
As per Siva Mahapuranam, once Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu (the Hindu God of saving) had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation. To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu would be worshipped till the end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyotirlinga shrines, thus are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Originally there were believed to be 64 jyotirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity - each considered different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. The twelve jyotirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharastra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharastra, Vaidyanath at district; in [Jharkhand ], Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharastra.
Story
When Shiva and Parvati decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and kartikeya argued as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Shiva bade that the one who goes round the world in Pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Lord Kartikeya could go round the world on his vahana, Lord Ganesha went round his parents 7 times (for according to Shastras, going in pradakshinam round one's parents is equivalent to going once round the world (Bhupradakshinam). Lord Siva got Buddhi(intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity) married to Lord Ganesha. kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja in the name of Kumarabrahmachari. On seeing his father coming over to pacify him, he tried to move to another place, but on the request of the Devas, stayed close by. The place where Lord Siva and Parvati stayed came to be known as Shrishailam. Lord Siva visits Lord Kartikeya on Amavasya day & Parvati Devi on Poornima. The temple is situated facing East. The center mandapam has several pillars, with a huge idol of Nadikeshwara.
Mahashivratri is the main festival celebrated at Srisailam Mallikarjuna Swamy temple.
The Mallikarjuna temple is situated at the top of the 456 m high Rishabhagiri Hill (Rishab = bull) on the southern bank of the river Krishna in the midst of the Nallamallai Forest. About two miles down the hill flows the ancient river River Krishna. Since it runs underground during parts of its journey, it is known as “Paatala Ganga”.
The presiding deities of Sri Sailam is Lord Sri Mallikarjunaswamy and Goddess Sri Bhramaramba Devi.
Mallika = A kind of Jasmine
It is believed that a princess fell in love with a deity at mount Sri Saila and
offered him a garland of Mallika every day; Jasmine symbolizes perfection and purity.
The temple
The temple is constructed in the traditional Dravidian style and it was famous even in the 1st century.
The origin of Sri Sailam is obscure and the present Mallikarjuna Temple, originally circa second century AD, dates back to 14th century. It has often been attacked and damaged because of its richness and political importance..
The temple abounds in sculptural beauty and there are about 116 inscriptions in and around it. This sthalam, along with Thiruppudaimarudur near Ambasamudram and Thiruvidaimarudur is considered an Arjuna Ksetram.
Other shrines in the tempel compound
Behind or to the North of the shrine is a seperate temple of Parvati, known as the Temple of Mallika Devi. Near about are the famous pilgrimcenters of Ambaji, the Vilvavana and the Mahanadi. There is also a Shakti Peetha of the Goddess Bhramaramba, the consort of Lord Mallikarjunaswami, in the form of Goddess Kali. Ambal's Sannadhi is to the west of Iswaran Sannadhi.
It is said the “Vrishabha”, the sacred bull of Lord Shiva performed penance here. Lord Shiva appeared before him, with his consort Parvati in the forms of Mallikarjuna and Bharamaramba.
Other shrines within the temple include the “Sahasra Linga”, “Panchapandava Temples” and “Vata Vriksha”.
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