Srisailam

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Srisailam is a Jyothirlingam (Hindu shrine to Shiva) located in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located about 245 km from Hyderabad and 132 km from Nandyal. It is dedicated to Mallikarjuna Swamy and Bhramaramba and is considered an important holy place. One of the main aspect of the temple is that all devoties are allowed to touch the lord and pay respects which is not allowed in most other temples

Srisailam City is a small town, situated in the densely forested Nallamalai hills and on the banks of River Krishna. Srisailam is surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful locations. The place is 232 km south of Hyderabad.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Srisailam Sanctuary 4 Tourism 5 External links

[edit] History

The origins of this temple have been lost in antiquity. The Skanda Purana has a chapter called Srisaila Kandam dedicated to it, which points to the ancient origin. This is confimed also by the fact that Tamil saints of the past millennia have sung praises of this temple. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and at that time he composed his Sivananda Lahiri.

Srisailam is referenced in the ancient Hindu Puranas, and the epic Mahabharata.

Shiva's sacred bull Vrishabha is said to have performed penance at the Mahakali temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. The temple is one of the 12 hallowed jyotirlingas; Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged the Panchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard. Heroic legends from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are sculpted in stone on the temple walls and the Mahabharata epic refers to Srisailam as Sri Parvata - the blessed hill. You can hear the buzzing of a bee through a tiny hole in the Brahmaramba temple, where Parvati, in the form of a bee, slew the demon Mahisasura. also told is that Hiranyakasipu of Kretayuga has conducted pujas here.

(About Histort) http://www.srisailamtemple.com/Srisaila_devasthanam/History.HTM

[edit] Geography

Srisailam Dam is 512 m long on the Krishna River and is set amidst beautiful natural scenery - ghats, cliffs, craggy ridges, plateaus and dense forests.It has twelve crest gates to hold a maximum water level of 885ft. It has a live storage of 250 thousand million cubic feet (TMC). This reservoir was originally designed for hydropower generation only but was later converted to a multi-purpose facility for water supply and irrigation.

Due to the construction of Srisailam Hydro Electric Project across river Krishna nearly 102 villages in both Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar Districts located all along the banks of the rivers Krishna, Tungabhadra, Bhavanasi and their tributaries were submerged

(About Geography) http://www.srisailamtemple.com/Srisaila_devasthanam/About%20The%20Main%20Temple.HTM

[edit] Srisailam Sanctuary

Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar is the largest of India's Tiger Reserves,( 3568 sq. km.);The terrain is rugged and winding gorges slice through the Nallamalai hills. Adjoining the reserve is the large reservoir of the Nagarjunasagar Dam on the River Krishna. The dry deciduous forests with scrub and bamboo thickets provide shelter to a range of animals from the tiger and leopard at the top of the food chain, to deer, sloth bear, hyena, jungle cat, palm civet, bonnet macaque and pangolin. In this unspoilt jungle, the tiger is truly nocturnal and is rarely seen.Recently a programme for reintroduced of a variety of crocodiles into the reservoirs and the near by ettipotala area has been taken up and was highly successful.However, over the last two decades, more and more anti-social elements like the naxalites have been using the sanctuary as a safe haven.This has resulted in large-scale timber smuggling and rampant poaching.Presently,there are very few animals of any species left in the sanctuary and the last tiger sighting was over a decade ago.Officials do not want to accept it but Srisailam has gone the Sariska way and the tiger is no longer found here.There is no way that the forest department can even take a census of the animal population because they are too scared to enter the naxalite-infested forests.

[edit] Tourism

Srisailam can be reached by road from Hyderabad, which is a pleasant journey through the picturesque Nallamala Hills.

By Road:

190 kms. from Kurnool & 216 kms. from Hyderabad. Srisailam is well connected by APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) and Devasthanam buses with Hyderabad, Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, Devorkonda, Guntur, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Ongole, Mahanandi, Mantralayam, Anantapur, Tirupati and Chitradurg among other places.

By Rail:

The nearest railway stations are at Kurnool and Nandyal on the Guntur-Hubli Road at a distance of 158-km. Markapuram (85 kms.)

By Air:

Nearest airport is located at Hyderabad (216kms.)

http://www.srisailamtemple.com/Srisaila_devasthanam/Transportation.HTM

[edit] External links

• srisailam.co.in
• Srisaila Devasthanam
• The 12 Jyothirlingams
• AP Tourism Link
• Srisailam Jyotirling - Google Earth Community

Jyotirlinga temples
Somnath • Dwarka •Mahakaleshwar • Srisailam • Bhimashankar • Omkareshwar • Kedarnath • Varanasi •Trimbakeshwar • Rameswaram • Grishneshwar • Deoghar