Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/EX08-tjWhwc
Location: “Sri Amareswara Swamy Vari Devasthanam, Mandal And Town, Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh 522020”
References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amararama
https://ashtavinayaktemples.com/article/id/8457/temple/457/amareshwara-swamy-temple-amararamam
https://www.trawell.in/andhra/amaravati/amareswara-temple
The Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, also known as
Amararama Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in
Amaravati, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, and is one of the five sacred
Pancharama Kshetras, others include Draksharamam, Kumarama at Kotipalli,
Bheemarama at Samalkota and Ksheeraramalingeshwara temple at Palakollu. At a
distance of 1.5 km from Amaravati Bus Station and 1.5 KMs from
Amaravati Stupa, Amareswara Temple is situated on the bank of Krishna River in
Amaravati. Also called as Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, it is one of the
well-known places of pilgrimage in Andhra Pradesh and among the popular places
to visit in Amaravati.
Accodring to legend: when Subramanya killed the demon
Tarakasura, the Shivalingam in his throat broke and fell in five different
spots, which became the Pancharama kshetras. It is believed that the sacred
Shivalinga of Amareswara Swamy Temple was installed by Lord Indra himself.
Mentioned in the Puranas, the temple was renovated and
expanded by Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, who was the zamindar of Chintapalli and
Dharanikota in 1796. There are several inscriptions on the temple walls,
like those of the Kota chiefs of Amaravati and Sri Krishnadevaraya, the great
Vijayanagara emperor. On a pillar in the Mukhamantapa there is an inscription
of the wife of Proli Naidu, who was the minister of Kota King Ketaraja.
Architecture:
Amaravati Temple, built on a small hammock, known as
Krouncha Shaila, exhibits the Dravidian style of architecture. There are four
gopurams encircling the shrine along with a Vimana. The temple enshrines a 15
feet high marble Shiva Lingam with his consort Goddess Bala Chamundika. It is
believed that Lord Shiva here is present in the structure of five lingams -
Pranaveswara, Agasteswara, Kosaleswara, Someswara and Parthiveswara. The Shiva
Lingam here is very tall so that archakas mount a pedestal platform to perform
the daily rituals and abhishekam. The top of the Linga has a red stain on it.
It is said that the lingam was continuously growing in size and a nail was
hammered in at the top to stop its growth. As soon as the nail went in, blood
started to ooze out from the Sivalinga it seems. One can see the stain even
today.
The sanctum of the temple is surrounded by three
concentric circles. The first circle houses the temples of Mahishasura Mardini,
Veerabhadraswamy, Omkareswara Swamy, Guru Dattareya, and Agasteswara Swamy, the
second circle contains the temples of Vinayaka, Kalabhairava, Anjaneya,
Nagendraswamy, Kumaraswamy along with the statue of Lord Krishna under a tree
while the third circle is a bit above the second circle and comes with the
temples of Kasi Viswanatha, Mallikarjuna, Pushpadanteswara Swamy and
Kalahasthiswara.
Major
Festivals:
1.
Maha Shivaratri is the major festival
celebrated at Amareswara Temple. The divine aura of the shrine attracts
thousands of pilgrims every year during this occasion.
2.
Navaratri and the
3.
Kalyana Utsavam are the other festivals
celebrated here with great devotion here.
Timings:
6 AM - 1 PM & 4 PM - 8 PM
How
to Reach:
By Road: Good roads connect Amaravati to Guntur, which
is also connected to all the nearby places by a good network of road. By road,
you first arrive in Guntur and from here, you can either hire a taxi or opt for
a bus. The distance between these two destinations is around 32 km. Also Vijayawada
is very well connected to Amaravati by road.
By Air: The nearest airport to Amaravati is Vijayawada
Airport, which is located at a distance of around 80 km from here. This airport
is connected to all the important cities of India. From the airport, you can
rent a cab to go to Amaravathi. Private and government bus services is also
available.
By Train: Vijayawada is the nearest major railway
station around 64 KMs from Amaravati Stupa. There are buses, hired taxis and
local transports that are available.
Parking
and Photography:
There is ample amount of space for parking.
Photography is allowed. Drones can be used from
outside the temple.
Stay
options:
There are good hotels to stay at Amaravati too. We
stayed at Vijaywada as we had to visit few other temples and monuments near
Vijayawada too.