Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple - Amaravathi
This temple is part of the famous Pancharama Kshetra Darshan
Lord Amaralingeswara Swamy is 15 feet tall.Bala Chamundika is the consort of Lord Amaralingeswara Swamy
The Shivalinga at this place is installed by Lord Indra.
According to legend, Sivalinga was growing in size, and to stop its
growth, a nail hit the top of the Sivalinga. When the nail dug into
the Linga, blood oozed from the Sivalinga.
As per the legend,
Kumaraswamy broke the Lingam worn by Tarakasur as instructed by Lord Vishnu as
he could not defeat the demon who had the Lingam on him. One of the places
where the fragmented Lingam was placed by Lord Indra, is the Sri
Amaralingeswara Temple.
This temple exhibits the
Dravidian style of architecture, built on a small hammock known as Krouncha
Shaila.
Skanda Purana tells the
story behind the Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy temple. According to the Sthalapurana of
this temple at the end of Dwaparayuga 5053 years ago, Maharishi Narada was
asked by the Sounakadi rishi to obtain liberation. Narada told them that Lord Krishna
had created the river Krishna, so he advised the rishis to live near the river
and bathe in its holy water to attain salvation.
There are much more
legends from the Kshetra Mahatmyam and the Kshetramurthy Mahatmyam. Once there
was a town called Dhanyakatakam or Varanasi. The legend says that the demons
defeated the gods after being awarded a boon by Lord Shiva. Shiva vowed to kill
the demons and hence the gods came to reside here and since then the place came
to be called Amaravati. Lord Amareswara is worshiped here with his consort Bala
Chamundika who is considered the fourth of the 18 goddesses.
This temple was built in the 11th century.
Maha Shivaratri, Navratri, and Karthika Masam are the celebrated festivals
here.
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