Keshara ramalingeswara Swamy temple is Hindu temple dedicated to Bhagawan Shiva, this is one of the Pancharama kshetras others being Amararama temple, Somarama Temple, Draksharama Temple and Kumararama Temple. Bhagawan Shiva is established here by Bhagawan Rama in the form of Shivalinga, hence the name Ramalingeswara. The presiding deity is Bhagawan Shiva with his wife Parvati as Ammavaru.
The other deities in the temple are Bhawgan Surya dev, Goddess Lakshmi, Bhagawan Veerabhadra, Bhagawan Vigneswara, Nageswara Lingam, Goddess Kanaka Durga, Sapta Matruka, Bhagawan Brahma, Bhagawan Kartikeya, Mahishasura Mardini, Saraswaty, Kumar Swamy, Kala Bhairav, Bhagawan Duttatreya, Bhagawan Shaneeshwara Bhagawan Nataraja, Bhagawan Shankara and Radha Krishna.
This temple’s great attraction is it has 72 pillars made of black stones. The ShivaLinga is white and tall. A special feature of this temple is that the Shivalinga can be seen from all the four sides of Sanctum Sanctorum or Garba Gruha through windows. The temple tower is known to be the tallest one in Andhra Pradesh, hence addressed as Pedda Gopuram. The temple looks magnificent with a height of 120 ft.
Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy is located in Palakollu of West Godavari, Godavari District, South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Gosthani River flows through Palakollu which forms a Sangam near Narsapur with River Godavari.
One among Pancharama Kshetras in Andhra Pradesh
Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple is one of the Pancharama Kshetras. The origin of Pancharama Kshetras lies in the event of the killing of an asur Tarakasura. Tarakasura carried a Shivalinga around his neck. This Shivalinga was gifted to him by Shiva himself and was Amrutha Linga, making Tarakasura undefeated. He caused havoc in pride of his power. Devas fought with him for thousands of years but in vain. Kartikeya once tore him into pieces but all the pieces conjoined together to create a new Tarak. Bhagawan Indra then approached Bhagawan Vishnu for help, who then suggested that only Lord Shiva can defeat Tarakasura as the boon was given by him. Bhagawan Shiva was against the idea of fighting with his ardent devotee and asked Kumaraswamy to break the Amrutha Linga. Kumara Swamy broke the Shivalinga around Tarakasur’s neck and as per Vishnu’s advice, before the broken pieces could reunify and form a new Tarak, they were installed in the places they fell and later temples were built in these places. These five locations are called Pancharama Kshetras. The Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple has a unique milky white colour Shiva Lingam. This is one of the most popular Shiva Lingam also known as moola Virat. The beauty of this temple is that one can see the Shiva Lingam and other Deities from all the four sides of the Sanctum sanctorum or the Garbha griha windows. It is believed by the localities staying here that staying at this temple for a day is equal to staying at Varanasi.
Morning: 5:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
Evening: 4:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
Many pujas and rituals are performed in the temple through out the day:
Abhishekam 5:30 am
Astottara Namarchana 6:00 am
Kumkum Abhishek for Ammavaru 6:30 am
Astottara Namarchana for Ammavaru 6:30 am
Abhishek 4:00 pm
Astottara Namarchana 4:00 pm
Kumkum Abhishek for Ammavaru 4:30 pm
Astottara Namarchana for Ammavaru 4:30 pm
Devotees can also participate in the following rituals by paying for them:
Namakaran
Ekadasi rudrabhishekam
Go Pooja
Homa Santhi
Japam
Kumkum pooja
Leela Kalyanam
Bhagawan Rama installed the Linga in the banks of Godavari and hence this temple is called Ramalingeswara temple. Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple was built during Chalukya Bhima of Chalukya Dynasty in the ninth century. The Prakara was designed in the tenth century by Sri Velupathi. The architecture of this temple clearly shows the art practice during the Chalukya Dynasty. The Gopuram was built under the guidance of Sri Alladu Reddy in the fourteenth century while the Kalyana mandapam and Ashta bujam Laxminarayan Swamy alaya were constructed in the 17th century.
The temple is one of the tallest temples in Andhra Pradesh the height of the temple is 120 feet with 9 floors. In the garbhalayam, (sanctum sanctorum) Bhagawan gokarneswara and Bhagawan vigneshwara deities are at the left, Bhagawan Ksheera Lingam at the centre, Subramaniam Swamy and Janardhana Swamy are at the right and Nandi is placed in the centre. The Shiva symbol is said to be established by Shri Rama, an incarnation of Shri Vishnu. The art in the temple resembles that of the Chalukya dynasty.
By Air:
The nearest domestic airport is at Rajahmundry at 81 km
By Rail:
The nearest railway station is at Palakollu at 1.7 km
By Road:
Palakollu is located on the national highway and busses are well connected to all major cities like Vizag, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Vijayawada, the temple is the walkable distance from Palakollu bus stand.
One can find quite a few options to stay nearby. Some of them are:
Palavalli Boutique Resorts 12 km from Palakollu
Falcon Nest Hotel – Bhimavaram
Maha Shivaratri: February – March
Navaratri: September – October
Devotees visit this temple to offer their prayers to Bhagawan Shiva to attain Mukti. The temple is also known for Namakaran, Gow Puja and Homa Shanti Puja. Devotees also offer their hair in the temple.
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