Amaralingeswara Temple, Amaravathi – The Temple

Amaralingeswara Temple, Amaravathi – The Temple

The temple located on Krouncha Shaila, a small hillock on the banks of the Krishna, is a blend of Buddhist and Dravidian architecture, with four lofty gopurams in its outer circumambulatory path. Rajagopuram is of 7 tiers. The sanctum sanctorum which is at an elevation from the ground, is accessed by a flight of steps. Presiding Deity is called as Amareshwara / Amaralingeswara / Krouchandha. He is 15 ft tall white marble lingam with a circumference of 3 ft, is the biggest of the Pancharama Lingams. A legend states that this was originally the Ayaka Stambha or an Ayaka pillar, and which was later consecrated as a symbol of the Shivalinga.

The Shivalinga here is very tall that the archakas mount a pedestal platform and perform the daily rituals as well as Abhisheka. The top of the Linga has a red stain on it. It is said that Shivalinga was growing up in size and to stop its growth, a nail has been hit onto the top of the Shivalinga. When the nail dug into the Linga, blood started to ooze from the Shivalinga it seems. The stain can be see even today.

Mother is called as Bala Chamundika / Bala Chamundeshwari Devi. She is housed in a separate shrine in the prakaram.  She is supposed to have been installed by Adi Sankara. Also, she is considered as the fourth of the 18 goddesses. The temple has three circumambulatory paths or prakaram where there are shrines to several gods, including one for Vishnu as Venugopalaswamy, in keeping with Agama sastra. The first prakaram houses the shrines of Mahishasura Mardini, Veeerabadhra, Omkareswarar, Dattatreya, and Agastheeswarar. The second prakaram houses the shrines of Vinayaka, Kalabhairava, Anjaneya, Nagendra Swamy, Kumaraswamy along with the statue of Lord Krishna under a tree.

Third Prakaram is situated is bit above the second prakaram and houses the shrines of Kasi Viswanathar, Mallikarjuna, Pushpadanteswara Swamy and Kalahasthishwarar. This Temple has numerous inscriptions on its walls like those of the Kota chiefs of Amaravati and of Krishandevaraya, the great Vijayanagara emperor. On a pillar in the Muhamandapa, the wife of Proli Nayudu, who was minister of Kota King Ketaraja, has left an inscription.