Andhra Pradesh Pancharama Temples History, Timings

Pancharama Temples or Pancharama Kshetras or the Pancharamas are five ancient and famous Lord Shiva temples in Andhra Pradesh. The Sivalingas at these temples are made from a single Siva Linga. They are Amaravathi Amararama Temple, the main deity is Amaralingeswara Swamy, Draksharama Temple the main deity is Bhimesvara Swamy, Bhimavaram Somarama Temple the main deity is Someswara Swamy, Palakollu Ksheerarama Temple the main deity is Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy and Samalkota Bhimarama Temple the main deity is Kumara Bhimeswara Swamy.

Andhra Pradesh Pancharama Temples Location, Name:

Pancharama Temples History:

According to the legends mentioned in Skanda Purana and Brahmanda Purana, the demon Tarakasura stole Amrutha Atma Linga which arose during Ksheerasagar Mathanam . Tarakasura wearing this Linga around his neck, with his supernatural powers, was unbeatable. Kumara Swamy, son of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi, was the commander-in-chief of the deities, came face to face with Tarakasura during the war. Lord Muruga used his Sakthi weapon to kill Tarakasura. Sri Subramanya Swamy repeatedly tore Tarakasura’s body to pieces and was reunited again.

Sri Vishnu told Muruga to break the shiva linga into pieces, only then the demon can be killed. Sri Vishnu also said that even after breaking the shiva linga, the pieces will try to come together again. To avoid this reunion, all those broken pieces must be fixed to the places where they fall, worshiping and building temples on top of it.

As advised by Sri Vishnu, Kumara Swamy used his Agni weapon to smash the Siva Linga worn by the demon. The Atma Linga was broken into five pieces, the broken pieces tried to come together by chanting “Aum”. To avoid this, Sri Vishnu, Kumara Swamy, Lord Indra, Surya Bagawan, and Chandra Bagawan worshiped the Linga in their respective places.

Pancharama Temples / Pancharama Kshetras:

Amararama in Amaravati:

Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple is on the bank of the Krishna river in the Guntur district. The remaining four are in Godavari districts (two in the East Godavari and the other two in the West Godavari). Lord Indra with his Guru Brihaspati installed this first and biggest piece and named Lord Amareswara. Bala Chamundeswari Devi is the goddess here.

Draksharama in Draksharamam:

This is near Ramachandrapuram. It is said that Surya Bhagavan installed the Shiva Linga by worshipping and constructing the temple. Lord Shri Rama worshiped Lord Shiva here, followed by Lord Surya and Indra. The main deity is Bhimeswara Swamy and Manikyamba Ammavaru is the goddess here, she is one of 18 Shaktipeetha temples in India. Sri Bhimeswara Temple is a two-storeyed building having Dviprakanas.

Somarama in Bhimavaram:

Someswara Swamy temple is in Gunupudi. It is believed that Chandra or Soma or Moon installed Shiva Linga here. The Linga inside the Sanctum Sanctorum keeps changing its colors from white to brown. On a full moon day, Linga appears pure white and it will be brown on Amavasya day. Annapurna Mata temple is on the second floor. Someswara Swamy is the main deity and Sri Rajarajeswari Ammavaru is his consort. The holy Temple tank Chandra Pushkarini is called Chandra Gundam.

Ksheerarama in Palakollu:

Sri Maha Vishnu would have installed Ksheera Rama Lingeswara Linga there. Ksheera Rama Lingeswara Swamy gave the Sudarshana chakra to Lord Vishnu here. Upamanya Maharshi received blessings and milk from Lord Shiva, hence the name Ksheera (milk) Ramalingeswara Swamy, Parvati is the goddess. From the inscriptions, it is known that this temple was built by King Bheemeswara in 918 AD.

Kumararama in Samalkota:

The Kumara Bhimeswara Swamy Temple is located in Samarlkota. Kumara Swamy / Muruga / Subramanya Swamy had installed the Siva Linga here, hence the name Kumararamam. Bala Tripura Sundari devi is the goddess. From the inscriptions it is known that this temple was built by King Bhima of Eastern Chalukyan during the 9th and 10th centuries.

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