Srisailam Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple on the Nallamalai hills
Srisailam is one of the very ancient temples which seems to have been there from the time immemorial. Srisailam is located on the Nallamalai hills of the Kurnool district and the temple has one jyotir linga and one of the eighteen mahasakthis together in the same place.
About Srisailam, Lord Mallikarjunaswami Temple on Nallamalai Hills
Srisailam is believed to be one of the ancient temples of India . The presiding deity at the Srisailam temple on the nallamalai hills is Lord Mallikarjunaswamy. The Temple is located on the right side of the Krishna river in the kurnool district of the state of Andhra Pradesh.Nallamalai hills is also known as Sirinidhan, Srigiri, Srinagam and sriparvatha and has been a popular pilgrimage center of the saivites for a long time.
Srisailam is considered to be a Divya Kshetram and the fact is highlighted by the fact that we specify our place of location with respect to the location of the temple Srisailam. Lord Mallikarjunaswamy is one of the 12 jyotir lingas and the Goddess Bhramarambha Devi is one of the 18 mahasakthis and bothe the idols are self manifested . This unique feature of a jyotirlinga and a Mahasakthi together in a place is very rare and Srisailam is believed to be only one of its kind. History of Srisailam Lord Mallikarjunaswamy temple
It is believed that the Srisailam holy temple is and has been there from the time immemorial and is also said that the aniquity of the idols of Lord Mallikarjunaswamy and Bhramarabha Devi are not known.
The earliest known history of the temple of Srisailam is with the Sathavahanas, who were the first empire builders of South India. The Srisailam seems to have been mentioned in Pulumavis Nasik inscription of the first century AD. Other Emperors also, other than Sathavahanas, seems to have worshipped Lord Mallikarjunaswami and they are Ikshavakus. Pallavas, Chalukyas, Vishnukundis, Kakatiyas. the reedy kings, the emerors of Vijayanagara and last but not the least Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj. Prataparudra of the kakatiya dynasty had done a lot of improvements to the Lord Mallikarjunaswamy temple and awarded some paraganas too for its maintenance. Another donor was Ganapatideva who had spent about 12000 golden Nanayas for the maintenance of this temple. About the Festivals celebrated at Srisailam
The main festivals celebrated at this temple are Mahasivarathri Brahmotsavam, Ugadi or the telugu new year celebrations, Kumbhotsavams Dasara celebrations, Arudrotsavam, Karteeka Mahotsavam, Sravanamosotsavams and the other monthly festivals .
Mahasivarathri Brahmotsavam is celebrated in the month Magam the 11th month of the Indian Lunar calender that is February to March. This is a festival celebrated for 7 days and Mahasivarathri day being the most important day of the festival. Dhwajarohana, Radhothsavam, Vahana Sevas to God and Goddess, Lingodhbhavakala Maharudrabhishekam to God, Pagalankarana, Kalyanothsavam, Ankurarpana and Dhwajavarohana are the most important events of these Mahasivarathri celebrations of the Srisailam temple. Pagalankarana is a unique system of celebrations which you can find only in the Srisailam temple and after the Pagalankarana the kalyanotsvam will take place as the marriage between Lord Mallikarjuna and Bbhramaramba Devi . Many devotees from all over participate in the Radhotsavam on the next day of the Sivarathri and the celebration ends with Dwajavarohana in which the flag will be removed from the Dwajasthambam.
For the Dasara festival, the celebration begins with Ganapathy pooja , then Kalasa Sthapana and ends with Poornahuthi. Everyday there are rituals like Srichakrarchana, Navavarana pooja, Anustanams, Devi Sapthasathi, Parayanas etc Yagams are also performed. Other than these poojas, Kumari Pooja, Suhasini Pooja are also conducted during the evening prayer time. In the Kumari Pooja girls who are between 2 to 8 years old and in the Suhasini Pooja is for a Sumangali ( a lady who is married and living with her husband ) is worshipped as a deity. Ganapati Pooja also takes place on the Mahanavami day and the dasara festival comes to a close with Satvikabali. Accommodations available at the Srisailam Devasthanam
They have 25 individual cottages, Pathaleswara sadan with 23 deluxe suites, Sivasadanam Guest house with 100 rooms, TTD guest house with 10 rooms, Chandeswara sadanam with 22 rooms and dormitory choultry with 7 halls. For details you can visit the site mentioned below.
Besides these , there are about 40 private choultries which have about 1200 rooms. These private choultries also provide accommodation to the pilgrims to Srisailam temple.
Punnami Srisailam is maintained by the Department of Tourism, Andhra Pradesh, Tel:08524-287369,288311
35 A/c rooms, Non A/c rooms, Domitory are the accommodation facilities available at Punnami Srisailam Schemes and Poojas performed at Srisailam temple
There are many schemes and Poojas which are performed and the devotees can take part in, like Cottage donation scheme, Srisaila Pushkarini Jaladhara Scheme, The panchamathas scheme, Srisailam Dormitory rooms donation schemes, Haritha project and many more.
to participate in these schemes as well as to know more about the projecxts at the Srisailam temple you can contact the address given belowContact Details of the Srisailam Devasthanam
Executive Officer
Srisaila Devasthanam
Srisailam 518101,
Phone: 08524 - 288883,288885,288886,288887,288888.
E-mail: eo@srisailamtemple.com
