Day trip from Chennai
Srikalahasteeswara temple is situated on the banks of River Swarnamukhi in the state of Andhra Pradesh, close to Tamil Nadu border. About 116 km from Chennai, it took us less than 3 hours to reach. This temple is one of the 5 Pancha Bootha Sthalams and the only one located in Andhra Pradesh. The other 4 Pancha Bootha Sthalams are located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The Pancha Bootha Sthalams are the 5 ancient Hindu temples in the south that represent the 5 elements of nature (Water, Air, Fire, Sky, earth) and are all dedicated to Lord Shiva.
At Srikalahasti, Shiva is worshipped in the form of Vayu (air) Lingam. Around the 11th century CE, the Chola emperor Rajendra Chola 1 renovated the temple and constructed the main structure. The 120 feet (37 m) high main gopuram was commissioned during the regime of the Vijayanagara Krishnadevaraya during 1516 CE. This gopuram, collapsed on 26 May 2010. The Rajagopuram(main tower) was reconstructed in its original form at the same location with a budget of 45 crores and was consecrated on 18 January 2017.
We parked at the parking lot which was in front of the Rajagopuram. There was a person at the parking lot who was selling VIP tickets for ₹ 1500/group which included a guided tour of the temple as well as a fast track to get darshan without having to wait in line for too long. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple.
After spending time inside the temple and getting a great darshan, we came out and decided to explore the hill which had the sculptures of Shiva and Parvathi. There are stairs to the side of the temple to go up to the hill.
Bhakta Kannappa Temple – The stairs, about 300 of them leads to a temple dedicated to Bhakta Kannappa who was a hunter and a staunch devotee of Shiva and is closely associated with Srikalahasteeswara Temple.
The story of Bhakta Kannappa – One day he saw blood coming from the eye of the Shiva lingam. He plucked out one of his eyes and placed it in the lingam’s eye. However, the other eye of the lingam began to bleed. Kannappa marked the spot for his second eye with his foot. He then plucked out his second eye and placed it in the lingam’s eye. Shiva was moved by Kannappa’s devotion and restored his sight and granted him liberation. Kannappa is considered one of the 63 Nayanars, or holy Saivite saints.
