Bhimavaram Someswara Swamy Temple or Somarama Temple is an ancient Shiva temple located in Gandhinagar, Bhimavaram, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh State. Someswara Swamy temple is one of the five Pancharama Kshetra which is sacred to the Hindu god Shiva. The presiding deities are Lord shiva worshipped as Someswara Swamy and his consort Parvati as Sri Rajarajeswari Ammavaru. It is believed that Lord Chandra / Moon installed the Linga and worshipped here. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of national importance. This temple was rebuilt by King Bhimeswara of the Chalukya dynasty. This temple has received great patronage from the Easter Chalukyas, Gajapathi kings and Vijayanagara kings.
There is a specialty in this temple: The linga within the Sanctum Sanctorum keeps changing color from white to brown. On a full moon day, Linga appears pure white and will be brown on a moonless day (Amavasya day). It is said that the Moon God worshiped Lord Siva to get rid of his sins. The tank of the Chandra Pushkarini temple located in front of the temple is named after Soma Gundam.
Another unique feature is that the temple of the goddess Annapurna was built on top of the temple of Shiva, something that cannot be seen anywhere. Surprisingly, the Goddess has the sacred thread around her neck and a baby near her feet. There is a Pushkarini pond which is also called Soma Gundam. Lord Anjaneya Swamy, God Kumara Swamy, Navagraha, Sun God, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Adilakshm are the sub deities in the temple.
Someswara Swamy Temple Timings Bhimavaram:
Morning: 5:00 am to 11:00 am
Evening: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Someswara Swamy Temple 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 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.
Bhimavaram Someswara Swamy Temple Address:
Gandhinagar,
Bhimavaram,
West Godavari District,
Andhra Pradesh – 534202.
Other Pancharama Temples:
Amararama Temple, Amaralingeswara Swamy, Amaravathi
Draksharama Temple, Bhimesvara Swamy, Draksharama
Somarama Temple, Someswara Swamy, Bhimavaram
Ksheerarama Temple, Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy, Palakollu
Bhimarama Temple, Kumara Bhimeswara Swamy, Samalkota