Lord Shiva, The Yogi God is worshipped by the Hindus in great faith and with devotion. The Lord has many temples all over the country where He is worshipped in different forms, especially in the Shiv Linga form. One such famous temple in Southern India is the Umamaheswara Swamy Temple in the Nallamala Forest Range in Telangana.
The Umamaheswara Swamy temple constructed in the 2nd century A.D. is located in the high hills in the Nallamal Forest Range. The site is about 100 kms away from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad Srisailam Highway. More specifically locating the temple, it is about 4 Km from Rangapur Village, Achampet, Mahabubnagar District. It is in Hyderabad – Srisailam highway NH 7.
Vedic History of Umamaheshwaram:
This Shiv Temple had been contructed in the 2nd century during the rule of Maurya Chandragupta. It also possesses the grand image of Errana that one can find in the literature books.
Ruling Deities:
Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathi are worshipped in the temple in the forms of Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba. The idol of Mahishamardini is placed on right side of the Lord Shiva whereas Goddess Umadevi is on the left side.
It is believed that Lord Sri Rama had visited this place while doing Parikrama to Srisaila Parvatam. The place is otherwise known as Kubera Sthanam. There are other temples like the Temples of Lord Veerabhadra Swamy, Lord Janardhana Swamy and also that of Lord Nagaraju that one may visit on way to Papanasanam.
Beauty of the God in Umamaheswaram Temple:
The Shivlinga in the Umamaheswari temple is of unique style and art. It is enough to spellbind the devotees for some time. It is white on one side and red on the other giving it a very pleasant look.
The temple is also decorated with the images of Chandi, Subrahmanya, Virabhadra, Kumaraswamy and other gods.
The huge tank on the side of the temple in the forest range is capable to having thousands of elephants enjoy their waterplay.
Umamaheshwaram’s spiritual importance connected with Srisailam:
The Holy shrine of Lord Shiva located in Telangana is in Srisailam. Umamaheswaram is the northern gateway of the four gateways of Srisailam. As per the vedic scripts the darshan of the Srisailam temple is incomplete without the darshan of the Umamaheswari temple located in the Nallamal Forest Range.
The climate is very calm here through out the year. It ihas evolved as a major tourist centre. It is also known as the “Poor man’s Ooti”.
Mysterious History of Papanasanam:
The temple area is full of surprises to the tourists when source of the water in the rocks is concerned. The temple stretches out to nearly 500 meters to Papanasanam. Here it is said that the rockpot gets filled every five minutes and overflows to the beds of water jasmine and other flowers. The flow of water is constant over the years and does not come down even in the summers.
There are many more such areas where the source of water beneath the rocks is still a mystery.
The temple area is house to many sadhus since a long time and a place for the Holy bath in Papanasanam to attain Mukti. .
How to Reach:
The Achampet route is the most convenient route of reaching the temple. One can reach the temple from Achampet via Rangapur. One can always find many autos from Achampet (10-12 kms) for reaching the temple.
The alternate way available is to reach Munnanur from Srisailam and then take up auto rickshaw to travel 15 kms to reach the temple. One can stay in the temple Hall in Umamaheshwaram for the night as well.
Hyderabad – Kadhal – Kalwakurthy – Dindi – Achampet Road 142 kms
Kurnool – Beechupalli – Nagarkurnool – Achampet 171 kms
Mahabubnagar – Nagarkurnool – Achampet 97 kms
Srisailam – Domalapenta – Mallapur – Munnanur 86 kms
Stay at Umamaheshwaram :
One may board any of the two available hotels near Umamaheswaram, Mahabubnagar. The rental charges for the rooms in these hotels range between Rs. 200 – Rs.400 for a day.
One may also find economic hotels like the Ganesh Lodge which price a day’s stay as Rs.200 and the luxury hotels like Hotel Avanthi that charges Rs.400 a day.
Hotel Avanthi is situated opposite the Government Head Quarters Hospital, Kamala Nehru Colony, Mettugadda, Mahabubnagar, Telangana – 509001.
There could be other places of accommodation as well.
Temple Timings: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Achampet Umamaheshwaram Temple Address:
Umamaheswaram Temple,
Rangapur Village,
Achampet,
Mahabubnagar District,
Telangana.