Srisailam Temple: Home To One Of The Twelve Jyotirlingas And Eighteen Shakti Pithas

The Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple or Srisailam Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deities Shiva and Parvati in Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh. It is significant to both the Hindu sects of Shaivism and Shaktism as this temple is said to be one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva and one of the eighteen Shakti Pithas, centres of the Hindu goddess. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Mallikarjuna and is represented by the lingam. His consort, Parvati, is depicted as Bhramaramba.

There is inscriptional evidence from the Satavahana dynasty that dates the temple to the 2nd century. Most modern additions are from the time of King Harihara I of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Veerasheromandapam and Paathalaganga stages were constructed during the Reddi kingdom period.

The temple complex is spread over 2 hectares and houses four gate towers known as gopurams. The temple houses numerous shrines, of which those of Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba are the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the Mukha Mandapa, built during the Vijayanagar period. The temple faces east. The central mandapam has several pillars with a huge idol of Nadikeshwara. The temple is surrounded by high walls measuring 183 m by 152 m and 8.5 m high.

There are several sculptures in the complex, surmounting each other. The Mukamandapa, the hall leading to the sanctum, has intricately carved pillars. The shrine housing Mallikarjuna is considered to be the oldest in the temple and dates back to the 7th century. There is a Sahasra Linga (1000 Linga) believed to have been commissioned by Rama and five other lingams believed to have been commissioned by the Pandavas. A hall of mirrors in the first precinct houses images of Nataraja.

Lord Shiva is said to be one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in this temple. The shrine of Goddess Bramarambha is said to be one of the fifty-two Shakti Peethas. On the way to the main temple is the Shikhareshwaram temple. It is said that one will not be reborn if one has darshan in this temple.