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Ksheerarama is one, of the five, Pancharama Kshetras and is located in Palakollu, state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Lord Shiva is known locally as Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy. The Sivalinga was established by Lord Vishnu. It is believed that staying one day in Kshirarama is equivalent to staying one year in Varanasi.
It is one of the five powerful Shiva temples in Southern India that form the Pancharama Kshetram. The remaining four are:Somarama Temple in Bhimavaram; Draksharama Temple in Draksharamam; Kumararama Temple in Samalkota; and Amararama Temple in Amaravati, state of Andhra Pradesh.
Ksheerarama, West Godavari District;
- Temple History
- Architecture
- How To Reach The Temple
- Daily Poojas And Festivals
- Videos
- Additional Information
The Prakara was designed by Sri Velupathi during the 10th century. The construction technique resembles those built during the Chalukya period. Gopuram was constructed under the direction of Sri Alladu Reddy during the 14th century. During the 17th century, Kalyana mantapam (choultry) and Ashtha Bhuja Lakshmi Narayanaswamy alaya were constructed.
The temple tower is one of the tallest among the temple towers in Andhra Pradesh. The height of the temple is 120 ft and 9 floors and was constructed during the Chalukya period (9th century) during the reign of Chalukya Bheema.
The Shivling is a unique milky white in colour and the tallest. There are 72 pillars made of black stone in the temple mandapa. Also inside the garbhalaya, Gokarneshwara and Vigneshwara alayas are situated at the left and Kshiralingam located in the center. To the right are Subramanya Swamy and Janardhana Swamy alayas; Nandi is at the centre.
The Gostani River flows through Palakollu and there is a sangam (confluence) near Narsapur with the Godavari River. From here the river empties into the sea at Antarvedi. The Moola Virat (lingam), can be seen from the windows of the Garbha Gudiall on all four sides. also The temple complex has many shrines, including: the Sun God (Kashi Vishweshwara), Goddess parvathi, Goddess Lakshmi, Nagareshwara Lingam, Dundi Vigneshwara, Veera Bhadra, Sapta Matruka, Kanaka Durga, Brahma, Saraswathi, Kumara Swamy, Kartikeya, Mahishasura Mardhini, Kala Bhairava, Naga sarpa, Nataraja, Dattatreya, Nageshwara, Shaneeshwara, Radha Krishna, Shankara.
Palakollu is on the National Highway 214 located at interior Andhra Pradesh. The highway starts from kathipudi (on National Highway 5) near Annavaram and ends at National Highway 9 between Vuyyuru and Machilipatnam. Very frequent buses available to Palakollu from all parts of Andhra Pradesh moving towards Narsapur or Bhimavaram.
People travelling by road from Kolkata and Orissa side, have to reach Visakhapatnam and proceed in NH5 upto Ravulapalem. After Ravulapalem, take left turn where the boards points towards Narsapur. Palakollu is just 45minutes journey from this place via Siddhantam and Martair (Marteru). The distance between Ravulapalem and Vizag is 230Kms and 70Kms from Rajahmundry.
There is an Alternate way to reach Palakollu from Visakhapatnam. Proceed upto Kathipudi on NH5 and take left turn. Reach kakinada in this route and proceed towards Rajole via yanam and Amalapuram. From Rajole make your journey towards Palakollu. From Kakinada, one can reach Palakollu via Ramachandrapuram and Ravulapalem also. There are only two bridges to cross River Godavari one at Yanam and the other near Ravulapalem.
People travelling by bus from Hyderabad, Vijayawada and other parts of the country can travel upto Tanuku on NH5 and take right diversion to reach palakollu.
Carvings on the wall Not all the trains reach Palakollu. Trains running from Kolkata side take left diversion at Nidadavole to travel towards Palakollu via Bhimavaram (junction). Some trains proceed towards Vijayawada from here via Kaikalur. After Palakollu, trains reach the last station Narsapur. Confirm before booking the tickets for stops at this station. Tourists get down at Bhimavaram and take private vehicle or travel by bus to reach Palakollu. The total time of journey from Visakhapatnam to Palakol is 7 hours by bus. Private bus transportation exists between Narsapur and Bheemavaram via Palacole.
The temple timings are, 5.30am to 11.30am and 4.00pm to 8.30pm. Mahasivaratri is an important festival when thousands of people offer prayers to seek the blessings of the Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy to attain Mukti.
Additional places of interest around Palakollu include Bhimavaram, Draksharama, Annavaram, Thalupulamma Thalli, Rajahmundry, Antarvedi, Ryali and Vadapalli. In the temple premesis choultry facility is available for tourists to stay. Photography is allowed inside the temple premesis but for Garbha gruham. Very good South Indian food is available in the town.