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Srikalahasti Temple, Srikalahasti
Locality/village : Sri Kalahasti
State : Andhra Pradesh
Country : India
Nearest City/Town : Tirupati
Best Season To Visit : All
Languages : Telugu, Hindi & English
Temple Timings : 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Photography : Not Allowed
Srikalahasti Temple
Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the most famous Shiva temples in South India. Sri Kalahasti temple, situated 36 km away from Tirupati is famous for its Vayu linga, one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams, representing wind. The inner temple was constructed around 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 12th century by the Chola kings and the Vijayanagara kings. Vayu is incarnated as Lord Shiva and worshiped as Kalahasteeswara.
The temple is closely associated with the Hindu astrology of Rahu and Ketu. The river Suvarnamukhi takes the north course from the temple, washing the temple’s west wall in the process. In between the two steep hills Sripuram and Mummidi-cholapuram, is the Sivalinga set to represent the element of Vayu or wind.
Srikalahasti temple is considered as the Kailash of the South or Dakshin Kailash. The entire temple is carved out of the side of a huge stone hill.
There is a lamp inside the inner sanctum that is constantly flickering despite the lack of air movement inside. The air-linga can be observed to move even when the priests close off the entrance to the main deity room, which does not have any windows. One can see the flames on several ghee lamps flicker as if blown by moving air. The linga is white and is considered Swayambhu, or self-manifested.
The main linga is untouched by human hands, even by the priest. Abhisheka (bathing) is done by pouring a mixture of water, milk, camphor, and panchamrita. Sandal paste, flowers and the sacred thread are offered to the utsava-murti, not the main linga.
LEGEND OF THE PANCHAMBOOTHAM:
According to Hinduism, life originated as a planetary combination of the five elements, fire, air, water, sky and land.
Lord Shiva is said to have appeared in each of the 5 panchambootham temples as one of the five elements. He appeared in the Ekambareshwar temple as the Prithvi lingam, representing land. He also appeared in the Annamalaiyar temple as the Agni lingam representing fire, in the Jambukeshwar temple as the Appu lingam, representing water, in the Srikalahasti temple as the Vayu lingam, representing air and lastly in the Natarajam temple, as the Aakasha lingam, representing the sky.
According to Indian mythology, the temple was named after 3 great devotees of the Lord, the snake, spider and elephant. The snake, spider and elephant used to worship a lingam in the forest. The elephant used to shower the lingam daily, bringing water from the Suvarnamukhi river. The spider would weave a web around the lingam to protect it from dust. The snake would adorn the lingam with its jewel. One day, the elephant mistook the spider’s web for dust and washed it away, hoping to cleanse the lingam. The snake’s jewel also got washed away. As a result, the snake and spider were infuriated. The snake slithered up the elephant’s trunk, killing itself in the process. The elephant ran amok, dashing its trunk against the lingam. The spider, which had embraced the lingam, was crushed to death. The elephant also died of the snake’s poison. The Lord decided to grant them moksh, on account of their devotion. The snake and elephant went on to heaven, where as the spider was reborn as a king.
This chola king went on to build a lot of temples for the Lord, but in all the temples, reminiscent of its anonymity with the elephant, the entrances were made so small, that not even a baby elephant could enter the temple.
Another legend is that the Lord punished Goddess Parvati and told her to get rid of her heavenly body. The Goddess performed her penance on earth with utmost devotion and sincerity. Pleased with her devotion, the Lord gave her a heavenly body a hundred times more beautiful than the previous one.
NITHYA ANNADANA SCHEME:
Srikalahasti temple believes that there is no greater merit than feeding the poor. They have hence created the Nithya Annadana scheme where everyday atleast 200 poor people are served food. The temple provides donors with a number of schemes ranging from donations of Rs. 100 to Rs. 50000. By feeding the poor, a person is said to earn millions of merits.
| Seva/Darshan | Price |
| Special Darshan | 30.00 |
| Astothara Archana | 25.00 |
| Sahasranamarchana (both swami and amma varu) | 200.00 |
| Thrisathi Archana | 125.00 |
| Palabhishekam in Srilahasti (2 leters of milk taken by divotees only) | 100.00 |
| Pacha Karpoora Abhishekam (for Swami) | 100.00 |
| Kaasi Gangabhishekam | 25.00 |
| Rudrabhishekam (for both swami and amma varu) | 600.00 |
| Nithya Ditta Abhishekam (for both swami and amma varu) | 100.00 |
| Sri Saneswara Swami Abhishekam | 150.00 |
| Unjal Seva (on Friday for Ammavaru) | 58.00 |
| Vivaha Katnam | 200.00 |
| Panchamruthabhishekam | 300.00 |
| Akanda Deeparadhana Katnam | 50.00 |
| Nithyostavam | 58.00 |
| Pradosha Nandi Seva | 120.00 |
| Ekantha Seva | 100.00 |
| Vahana Puja | 25.00 |
| Suprabatha Seva | 20.00 |
| Thalaga Katnam | 10.00 |
| Nithyakalyanostavam | 501.00 |
| Special Aaseervada Darshan | 500.00 |
| Rudra Homam | 1116.00 |
| Chandi Homam | 1116.00 |
| Gopuja | 50.00 |
Rahu Kethu Pooja in Srikalahasti Temple
| Seva/Darshan | Price |
| Sarpa Dosha Nivarana Puja (Rahu-Kethu Pooja) | 250.00 |
| Special Sarpa Dosha Nivara Puja / Special Rahu-Kethu Puja | 600.00 |
| Special Aaseerwadam – Sarpa Dosha Nivarana Puja (Rahu Kethu Puja) | 1000.00 |
| Special Aaseerwadam – Sarpa Dosha Nivarana Puja (Rahu Kethu Puja) | 1500.00 |
Srikalahasti Temple Contact Details
Enquiry: 08578-222240
P.R.O:08578-221655
Fax: 08578-221336
Email: [email protected]
Mahasivaratri is an important festival when lakhs of people offer prayers to seek the blessings of the Lord to attain Mukti.
Sri Kalahasti by Air
The nearest Domestic Airport is Tirupati Airport, Chittoor, roughly half an hour drive from Srikalahasti. It is well connected to a spectrum of cities like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Indore, Kolkata, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune and Vijayawada via Indigo, Go Air, Air India and Spice Jet etc.
Sri Kalahasti by Road
Sri kalahasti is about 38kms from Tirupati. There a plenty of buses and cabs available on this route at regular intervals. You shouldn’t have any issue getting an option to travel to Sri Kalahasti at any time of the day.
Sri Kalahasti by Train
It has its own Railway Station named as Srikalahasti Railway Station which is connected to all the major cities of Andhra Pradesh. It is very well connected to the major cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Pune via Tirupati-Secunderabad Narayanadri Express, Tirupati-Adilabad Krishna Express, Tirupati-Secunderabad Padmavathy Express, Tirupati-Vishakapatnam Tirumala Express and Thiruvananthapuram Central-Hyderabad Sabari Express.
Srikalahasti Temple, Andhra Pradesh
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Great temple for dosha nivaranas. Thanks for information on this valuable website.
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