South Indian Temples-SRI KALAHASTI


	About 36 km from Tirupati is the great saivaita temple of Sri Kalahastisvara and Gnana Prasannambika in Sri Kalahasti (Chitoor district). It too dates from ancient times. In time it developed from a jungle shrine to its present imposing size. The main temple in the town is dedicated to Sri Kalahasthisvara and Gnana Prasannambika. There is an other of Manikantesvara. There are also sculptures on a hill named dakshina kailasa. This hill is curved in shape and at some places in the Sri Kalahasthisvara temple forms its walls. A river, the Svarnamukhi, flows by the temples. The temple is rich in tradition and history. It has 200 inscriptions, ranging in date from the fourth year of Rajaraja I Cholo, corresponding to 989 A.D., to the reign of Sadasiva, of Vijayanagar, dated 1565 A.D. The traditions are embodied in a fine Telugu poem by the famous poet, Dhurjati, named "Sri Kalahasthi Satakam". One of them explains why the Lord has received the name of Kalahasthisvara, or the Lord of the spider and the elephant. Another legend, enshrined in Tamil hagiology, describes the association with the original jungle temple of a wild hunter named Kannappa. According to the first story, in the Kritayuga, the first story, the first of the four aeons of Hindu cosmography, a spider, which was a devotee of Lord Siva, came to live in this temple and began to adorn the sanctum with mansions secreted out of itself. The Lord decided to test its devotion. The structures of filament were one day destroyed by a fire form a lamp in the vicinity. The spider, struck with grief, prayed to the Lord for protection and attacked the lamp. The Lord intervened and gave it salvation. In the Tretayuga, the succeeding aeon, a serpent from the nether world daily used to offer worship to the Lord with gems. In the Dvaparayuga, the third aeon, an elephant began worshiping the Lord. One day it removed the gems the serpent had placed in front of the Linga and offered worship with flowers and offered worship with flowers and Bilva leaves. When, the next day, the snake saw these, it thought that somebody had desecrated the Linga. It removed them and replaced the jewels. The succeeding day the elephant removed the jewels and placed its own flowers and leaves. This went on for a number of days. At last, both the snake and the elephant found its own offerings undisturbed, it happily proceeded to replace them with fresh flowers and leaves. The snake, which had hidden itself, at this, crawled into the elephant's trunk and bit it. Maddened with pain, the elephant dashed itself against a rock. Both it and the snake were killed. But the Lord, out of His mercy, gave them liberation. It was thus that He gave salvation to the spider, the snake and the elephant. The story of Kannappa, the tribesman, who worshipped the Lord in his rough way and earned salvation, is told by the great apostle and philosopher, Sri sankara, in his Sanskrit poem, "Sivananda Lahari", and by sekkizhar, the Tamil poet of the twelfth century, in his masterpiece, "Periya Puranam". Thinna, a wild tribesman, was a devotee of Sri Kalahasthisvara. He used to offer Him in worship raw meat after tasting it himself to make sure that it would be acceptable. He would also bring water in his mouth and offer it. Another devotee who regularly used to offer worship, one day, found the temple desecrated, as he thought. He cleaned up the shrine and performed worship with proper rituals. But Thinna returned, swept away the flowers and leaves with his footwear and offered worship in his crude way. This went on for four days. On the fifth night the Lord appeared to the other devotee in a dream and directed him to hide himself behind the Linga the next day so that he could see the love of a true devotee. He said that he esteemed the meat and the unclean water Thinna offered Him more than any other kind of offering. What the devotee saw the next day when Thinna arrived to offer worship was that, as the Lord had resolved to test Thinna's devotions, blood began to flow from one of the Linga's eyes. Thinna was overcome with grief. Try as he might, he could not staunch the flow of blood. Thereupon, he removed an eye of his own with an arrow and offered it to the Lord. The bleeding in the affected eye stopped, but blood began to flow from the other eye. Thinna, in desperate grief, resolved to take out his second eye too. In doing so, he placed his shod left foot on the Linga's eye and began removing his own eye with an arrow. The Lord stopped him and said that, since he had offered him his "kannus", or eyes, he would hereafter be known as Kannappa and would ever stand by Him and be near and dear to Him. This is why there is an image of Kannappa in the sanctum. That the temple is of very ancient origin is clear from the fact the Nakkirar, a Tamil poet of the Sangam age, has sung of it. Sri Sankara and three of the four great Tamil Saivaite saints, called the Nayanmars, who lived in the seventh and eighth centuries, worshipped at the temple. The fourth Nayanmar, Manikkavachagar, sang of it. Since the Prakaras of the temple follow the curves of the hill contiguous to it, its plan is rather irregular. Like many a south Indian temple, it developed from time to time. The Cholos and the Vijayanagar Rayas have made the largest structural contributions. There is a pallava touch about the rock sculptures. The huge gopura, on the eastern bank of the Svarnamukhi, which stands a few metres from the entrance gopura, was built by Krishnadeva in 1516. It is of seven tires. There is a smaller gopura at the entrance. In the first prakara there are shrines of Kasi Visvesvara and of Devi. The entrance into the second prakara is through a gopura built by Krishnadeva in 1516. It is of seven tiers. There is a smaller gopura at the entrance. In the first prakara there are shrines of Kasi Visvesvara and of Devi. The entrance into the second prakara is through a gopura built not at the centre, but at the north-west corner, because an arm of the hill juts into the eastern half. There are many shrines in this prakara too. One of these is an underground one. There is a long mandapa named after Krishnadeva. In the centre of the third enclosure there is a raised platform, and on this stand the shrines of Sri Kalahasthisvara and Gnana Prasannambika. The manikantesvara is situated about 200m to the south-east of this fane. While the sanctum is empty, there are images in the other shrines of the temple. The bas reliefs on a hill nearby named Dakshina Kailasa seem to be of Pallava date, of the seventh century. Sri Kalahasti town has been famous for its manufactures of "kalamkari", or temple clothes and hanging. They are made in the freehand style, without the use of blocks. This craft, which was in danger of extinction, has been revived now. Eight km from Sri Kalahasti, in the village of Tondamanad, there are two Cholo temples, the Adityesvara and Virirunda Perumal. The former is a sepulchral temple, commemorating Aditya I, the Cholo king, who seems to have died there or thereabouts. In Gudimallam, a village in the same taluk, the Parasuramesvara temple is notable for its Linga. The original structure of the temple is Pallava, and the later additions are Cholo. The Linga seems to be of very ancient date.

VENKETESWARA TEMPLE \| SRI KALAHASTISVARA TEMPLE \| SAIVAITA TEMPLE \| DANDAYUTHAPANI TEMPLE
Lepakshi VIRABHADRA TEMPLE \| MINAKSHI TEMPLE \| BHAGABATHI TEMPLE \| HOYSALA TEMPLE \| VIDYASANKARA TEMPLE
SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE (UDUPI) \| SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE \| BHARADARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE \| SRI RAM TEMPLE
SRI NATARAJA TEMPLE \| LORD SHINISVARA TEMPLE \| LORD ANNAMALAI & GODDESSS UNAMMALAI TEMPLE
RAMANATHA TEMPLE \| RANGANATHA TEMPLE \| JAMBUKESVARA & AKHILANDESVARI TEMPLE


	About 36 km from Tirupati is the great saivaita temple of Sri Kalahastisvara and Gnana Prasannambika in Sri Kalahasti (Chitoor district). It too dates from ancient times. In time it developed from a jungle shrine to its present imposing size. The main temple in the town is dedicated to Sri Kalahasthisvara and Gnana Prasannambika. There is an other of Manikantesvara. There are also sculptures on a hill named dakshina kailasa. This hill is curved in shape and at some places in the Sri Kalahasthisvara temple forms its walls. A river, the Svarnamukhi, flows by the temples. The temple is rich in tradition and history. It has 200 inscriptions, ranging in date from the fourth year of Rajaraja I Cholo, corresponding to 989 A.D., to the reign of Sadasiva, of Vijayanagar, dated 1565 A.D. The traditions are embodied in a fine Telugu poem by the famous poet, Dhurjati, named "Sri Kalahasthi Satakam". One of them explains why the Lord has received the name of Kalahasthisvara, or the Lord of the spider and the elephant. Another legend, enshrined in Tamil hagiology, describes the association with the original jungle temple of a wild hunter named Kannappa. According to the first story, in the Kritayuga, the first story, the first of the four aeons of Hindu cosmography, a spider, which was a devotee of Lord Siva, came to live in this temple and began to adorn the sanctum with mansions secreted out of itself. The Lord decided to test its devotion. The structures of filament were one day destroyed by a fire form a lamp in the vicinity. The spider, struck with grief, prayed to the Lord for protection and attacked the lamp. The Lord intervened and gave it salvation. In the Tretayuga, the succeeding aeon, a serpent from the nether world daily used to offer worship to the Lord with gems. In the Dvaparayuga, the third aeon, an elephant began worshiping the Lord. One day it removed the gems the serpent had placed in front of the Linga and offered worship with flowers and offered worship with flowers and Bilva leaves. When, the next day, the snake saw these, it thought that somebody had desecrated the Linga. It removed them and replaced the jewels. The succeeding day the elephant removed the jewels and placed its own flowers and leaves. This went on for a number of days. At last, both the snake and the elephant found its own offerings undisturbed, it happily proceeded to replace them with fresh flowers and leaves. The snake, which had hidden itself, at this, crawled into the elephant's trunk and bit it. Maddened with pain, the elephant dashed itself against a rock. Both it and the snake were killed. But the Lord, out of His mercy, gave them liberation. It was thus that He gave salvation to the spider, the snake and the elephant. The story of Kannappa, the tribesman, who worshipped the Lord in his rough way and earned salvation, is told by the great apostle and philosopher, Sri sankara, in his Sanskrit poem, "Sivananda Lahari", and by sekkizhar, the Tamil poet of the twelfth century, in his masterpiece, "Periya Puranam". Thinna, a wild tribesman, was a devotee of Sri Kalahasthisvara. He used to offer Him in worship raw meat after tasting it himself to make sure that it would be acceptable. He would also bring water in his mouth and offer it. Another devotee who regularly used to offer worship, one day, found the temple desecrated, as he thought. He cleaned up the shrine and performed worship with proper rituals. But Thinna returned, swept away the flowers and leaves with his footwear and offered worship in his crude way. This went on for four days. On the fifth night the Lord appeared to the other devotee in a dream and directed him to hide himself behind the Linga the next day so that he could see the love of a true devotee. He said that he esteemed the meat and the unclean water Thinna offered Him more than any other kind of offering. What the devotee saw the next day when Thinna arrived to offer worship was that, as the Lord had resolved to test Thinna's devotions, blood began to flow from one of the Linga's eyes. Thinna was overcome with grief. Try as he might, he could not staunch the flow of blood. Thereupon, he removed an eye of his own with an arrow and offered it to the Lord. The bleeding in the affected eye stopped, but blood began to flow from the other eye. Thinna, in desperate grief, resolved to take out his second eye too. In doing so, he placed his shod left foot on the Linga's eye and began removing his own eye with an arrow. The Lord stopped him and said that, since he had offered him his "kannus", or eyes, he would hereafter be known as Kannappa and would ever stand by Him and be near and dear to Him. This is why there is an image of Kannappa in the sanctum. That the temple is of very ancient origin is clear from the fact the Nakkirar, a Tamil poet of the Sangam age, has sung of it. Sri Sankara and three of the four great Tamil Saivaite saints, called the Nayanmars, who lived in the seventh and eighth centuries, worshipped at the temple. The fourth Nayanmar, Manikkavachagar, sang of it. Since the Prakaras of the temple follow the curves of the hill contiguous to it, its plan is rather irregular. Like many a south Indian temple, it developed from time to time. The Cholos and the Vijayanagar Rayas have made the largest structural contributions. There is a pallava touch about the rock sculptures. The huge gopura, on the eastern bank of the Svarnamukhi, which stands a few metres from the entrance gopura, was built by Krishnadeva in 1516. It is of seven tires. There is a smaller gopura at the entrance. In the first prakara there are shrines of Kasi Visvesvara and of Devi. The entrance into the second prakara is through a gopura built by Krishnadeva in 1516. It is of seven tiers. There is a smaller gopura at the entrance. In the first prakara there are shrines of Kasi Visvesvara and of Devi. The entrance into the second prakara is through a gopura built not at the centre, but at the north-west corner, because an arm of the hill juts into the eastern half. There are many shrines in this prakara too. One of these is an underground one. There is a long mandapa named after Krishnadeva. In the centre of the third enclosure there is a raised platform, and on this stand the shrines of Sri Kalahasthisvara and Gnana Prasannambika. The manikantesvara is situated about 200m to the south-east of this fane. While the sanctum is empty, there are images in the other shrines of the temple. The bas reliefs on a hill nearby named Dakshina Kailasa seem to be of Pallava date, of the seventh century. Sri Kalahasti town has been famous for its manufactures of "kalamkari", or temple clothes and hanging. They are made in the freehand style, without the use of blocks. This craft, which was in danger of extinction, has been revived now. Eight km from Sri Kalahasti, in the village of Tondamanad, there are two Cholo temples, the Adityesvara and Virirunda Perumal. The former is a sepulchral temple, commemorating Aditya I, the Cholo king, who seems to have died there or thereabouts. In Gudimallam, a village in the same taluk, the Parasuramesvara temple is notable for its Linga. The original structure of the temple is Pallava, and the later additions are Cholo. The Linga seems to be of very ancient date.

VENKETESWARA TEMPLE \| SRI KALAHASTISVARA TEMPLE \| SAIVAITA TEMPLE \| DANDAYUTHAPANI TEMPLE
Lepakshi VIRABHADRA TEMPLE \| MINAKSHI TEMPLE \| BHAGABATHI TEMPLE \| HOYSALA TEMPLE \| VIDYASANKARA TEMPLE
SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE (UDUPI) \| SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE \| BHARADARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE \| SRI RAM TEMPLE
SRI NATARAJA TEMPLE \| LORD SHINISVARA TEMPLE \| LORD ANNAMALAI & GODDESSS UNAMMALAI TEMPLE
RAMANATHA TEMPLE \| RANGANATHA TEMPLE \| JAMBUKESVARA & AKHILANDESVARI TEMPLE