Important information
- Location: Srisaila Devasthanam, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh 518101
- Festivals: Shivratri, For Other Festival Detail Click here
- Main Deity: Lord Shiv For Other Festival Detail Click here
- Languages: Telugu, English & Hindi
- Darshan Timings: 04:30 AM To 10:00 PM
- Best Season To Visit: All (November to March)
- Dwarkadhish Mandir Contact Number: +918333901351
- How To Reach
- Note: Mobile, Camera & electronics equipment are not allowed on temple premises.
Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga is located on a Mountain named Shri Shaila by the banks of the Patal Ganga, Krishna River in the state of Andhra Pradesh of southern India. This Temple is one of the famous Hindu shrines and is fully dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga is revered among the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga is considered to be in the second position among them. Mallika is for Goddess Parvati, and Arjuna is for Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is worshiped as Mallikarjuna and is represented by the lingam.
History
When Lord Murugan came back to Kailash after finishing his journey around the earth, he heard about Ganesha’s marriage from Narada muni. This angered him. In spite of being restrained by his parents, he touched their feet in obeisance and left for Krounch Mountain. Parvati was really distressed at having to be far from her son, urged Lord Shiva to search for their son. Together, they went to Kumara. Kumara went away a further 3 Yojanas, after knowing about his parents coming after him to Krouncha Mountain. Just before embarking on a further look for their son on each mountain, they chose to leave a light on every mountain they explored. From that day, that place became known as Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga. It is considered that Shiva and Parvati visit this place on Amavasya (No moon day) and (full Moon day) Pournami, respectively. Visiting the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga not only blesses one with numerous wealth but also name and popularity and satisfies all the desires.
When a princess Known as Chandravati chose to go to the Jungle to do penance and meditation She chose Kadali Vana for this function. One day, she saw a wonder. A Kapila cow was standing under a Bilwa tree and milk was flowing from all of its 4 udders, sinking into the ground. The cow kept doing this as a routine chore every day. Chandravati dug up that location and was dumbfounded at what she saw. There was a self-raising Swyambhu Shiva Linga. It was intense and shining like the sun rays, and appeared like it was burning, throwing flames in all directions. Chandravati wished to Shiva in the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga. She constructed a big Shiva Temple there. Lord Shankara was really happy with her. Chandravati went to Kailash wind borne. She received salvation and Mukti. On among the stone inscriptions of the temple, Chandravati’s story can be seen taken.
Importance
The significance of Srisailam Temple is that Mallikarjuna Linga is among the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. It is supposed to have appeared in a fiery column of light. The Linga is swayambhu. When her corpse was cut, devotees also consider that the neck of Sati fell here.
Anybody, regardless of religious beliefs, caste or creed can perform Abhishekam and Archana to the Mallikarjuna Linga. The special feature is that you can touch the Linga and perform the Puja yourself.
Beliefs also believe that Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga in the Srisailam Temple. The Linga is divided into 25 elements which in turn represent 40 Lingas each. This causes an overall of 1000 small Lingas sculpted on a single Linga.
Architecture
- Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga has its origin about 6 centuries back. It was constructed by King Harihara Raya of Vijayanagar. The temple is built in Vijayanagar style with high operas surrounding the temple. The Reddy kings of Kondaveedu dynasty have contributed a lot towards the making of this temple. The North Gopuram of the temple has been constructed by Shivaji. An enormous wall of 6 metres encloses the temple. The walls of the temple are amazingly crafted with stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana that takes us back to those Vedic times.
- Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga has small temples around its premises which are devoted to numerous Hindu Gods including Nandi the Bull, Sahasralinga and Nataraja. The temple is a well-known site of Andhra Pradesh and stands as testimony to Vijayanagar architecture. The Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga is of huge historic, religious and architectural significance. Feel the spirituality and peace while visiting the magnificent Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple.
Idol
Mallikarjuna (Shiva) and Bramarabha(Parvati)
Legend Of Jyotirlingas
- According to the Shiva Purana, when Brahma and Vishnu had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation. In order to resolve the dispute, Shiva decided to pierce the 3 worlds as a countless pillar of light. Both Vishnu and Brahma started downwards and upwards respectively to discover the end of the light. Brahma lied that he had discovered the end while Vishnu accepted that he could not and accepted defeat. Shiva cursed Brahma that as punishment for lying to him, Brahma would not be part of any ceremonies while Vishnu would always be worshipped.
- The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga temples, hence are locations where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity– each believed to be a various manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the main image is the jyotirlingam representing the infinite nature of Shiva.
12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva in India
- Somnath Jyotirling – Gir Somnath in Gujarat
- Somnath Jyotirling – Gir Somnath in Gujarat
- Nageshwar Jyotirling – Daarukavanam in Gujarat
- Bhimashankar Jyotirling – Pune in Maharashtra
- Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling – Nashik in Maharashtra
- Grishneshwar Jyotirling – Aurangabad in Maharashtra
- Baidyanath Jyotirling – Deoghar in Jharkhand
- Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling – Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
- Omkareshwar Jyotirling – Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh
- Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirling – Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
- Kedarnath Jyotirling – Kedarnath in Uttarakhand
- Rameshwaram Jyotirling – Rameshwaram Island in Tamil Nadu
- Mallikarjuna Jyotirling – Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh
Other Place Near Temple
- Sakshi Ganapathi
- Hatakeswaram
- Sikhareswaram
- Phaladhara Panchadhara
- Akkamahadevi Caves
Festivals
- Mahasivaratri Brahmothsavams: The Mahasivaratri Utsav held in the month of February or March.
- Ugadi: The festivals happen for five days in which lakhs of people visit the temple for God’s blessings.
- Kartheekai Mahothsavam: It is one of the most auspicious months in the Indian calendar. Devotees light numbers of deepams are in the Srisailam temple campus.
- Sravanamahothsavam: This festival held in the Shravan month (August / September). Also, the Akhanda Sivanama Sankeerthana (Bhajans) takes place around the clock throughout the month.
How To Reach
By Road – The Srisailam Temple is located just 1 km away from the Srisailam Bus Stand.
By Train – The nearby Railway Station is Markapur Railway Station and it is 80 km away from Nandyal and Kurnool.
By Air – The nearby Airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad and It is 202 km away from Srisailam.
Temple Timings
Temple Darshan Timing
| Daily Darshan | 4:30 AM to 10:00 PM |
| Morning Darshan | 6:00 AM to 03:30 PM |
| Evening Darshan | 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM |
Temple Aarti, Pooja and Abhishek Timing
| Aarti, Pooja, and Abhishek | Timing |
| Mahamangala Aarti (Morning) | 05:30 AM |
| Ganapathi Abhishekam | 07:00 AM |
| Ganapathi Homam | 07:00 AM |
| Rudra Homam | 07:30 AM |
| Laksha Bilwarchana | 11:00 AM |
| Sahasralingam Abhishekam | 06:30 AM |
| Kumkuma Pooja | 07:00 AM |
| Gouri Vratham | 08:00 AM |
| Mahamangala Aarti (Evening) | 05:00 PM |