Srikalahasti
Encyclopedia
Srikalahasti is a holy town and a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 near Tirupati
Tirumala - Tirupati
Tirupati is a major pilgrimage city located in the Chittoor district and seventh biggest city of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats at a distance of south of Hyderabad, the capital of the state, east of Bangalore, and north of Chennai.Tirupati is famous...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

. It is located on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi
Swarnamukhi
The Swarnamukhi is a river of southern India. It was mentioned as Mogaleru in the works of Dhurjati.The river flows near famous piligrimage Srikalahasti in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh state, India.The Swarnamukhi river has five major Saivite shrines along its course in the district...

. It is also informally and wrongly referred to as Kalahasti. Recently,it has been included in the TUDA (Tirupati Urban Development Authority) region.

It is one of the important ancient Shiva Kshetras (Shiva Temples) of Southern India. The Srikalahasti Temple occupies the area between the river bank and the foot of the hills and is popularly known as Dakshina Kailasam. The three lofty Gopurams of the temple are remarkable for their architecture. This temple was originally built during Pallava period and current structures are built by Chola Tamil King Kulothunga Cholan I,II and III during 11th century. A huge hundred pillared mantapam is built by Krishnadevarayar during 16th century which is another important feature of this shrine.

It is one of the ancient temples included in the Saiva pilgrimages and the site of a famous Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 temple with magnificent gopurams and is fairly close to the famous hill temple of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati, one of the richest and famous temple cities in the world. It is also the origin of the popular textile painting art called kalamkari
Kalamkari
Kalamkari or Qalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile, produced in parts of India. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam and kari , meaning drawing with a pen....

.

The 'Rajagopuram' or main gate of the 500-year-old Srikalahasti Temple in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor District collapsed on 26 May 2010. Srikalahasti is popularly known as "Dakshina Kaashi".

Legends

The name of the place comes from three animals, Sri (spider), Kala (snake) and Hasti (elephant) who worshipped Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 and gained salvation here. A statue that shows all three animals is situated in the main shrine.

The Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...

, Shiva Purana
Shiva Purana
The Shiva Purana is one of the s, a genre of Hindu religious texts dedicated to Shiva. According to a tradition which is stated in the of this text, the original text was known as the ....

 and Linga Purnas
Linga Purana
The Linga Purana is one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text. The extant text is divided into two parts, comprising 108 and 55 chapters respectively. These parts contain the description regarding the origin of universe, origin of the linga, and emergence of Brahma and Vishnu, and...

 have a mention about Srikalahasti. The Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...

 says that Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

 visited this place, worshipped Kalahastiswara and met the sage Bharadwaja
Bharadwaja
Bharadwaja was one of the greatest Hindu Arya sages descendant of rishi Angirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. He was one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kashyapa.Bhardwaj Rishi was father of...

 on the top of the hill. It is believed that Kannappa
Kannappa
' may refer to:* Kannappa Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanars* Bedara Kannappa, a Kannada film* Bhakta Kannappa, a Telugu film...

 (also known as Bhakta Kannappa), a tribal devotee has worshipped Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 at Srikalahasti. Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 saints Nayanars
Nayanars
The Nayanars or Nayanmars were Shaivite devotional poets of Tamil Nadu, active between the fifth and the tenth centuries CE...

  like Appar , Sundarar  and Sambanthar praised the deity in their hyms tevaram
Tevaram
The Tevaram denotes the first seven volumes of the Tirumurai, the twelve-volume collection of Tamil Saivite devotional poetry. All seven volumes are dedicated to the works of the three most prominent Tamil poets - Campantar , Appar and Cuntarar...

.

Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

, the Hindu God of creation, is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva and bathed in the swarnamukhi river to get rid of "sisuhathya patakam" (the sin of killing children).

The river Swarnamukhi got its name from a belief that gold was found in its stream. Swarna means gold and Swarnamukhi means gold faced in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

.

The sukabrahmashram was established by Sri Vidya Prakasananda Giri Swamy
Sri Vidya Prakasananda Giri Swamy
Sri Vidya Prakasananda Giri Swamy , born Ananda Mohan, was a revered Hindu guru and predominantly prominent among Telugu speaking community across the world for his teachings and works about Vedanta in Telugu language. He was born to Sri Tunuguntla Ramaswami and Smt Suseela Devi in Machilipatnam,...

 the revered Hindu guru predominantly prominent among Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 speaking community across the world for his Teachings and works about vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

 in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 language. He is known for his knowledge on Hindu philosophy. He delivered many talks on Hindu Dharma. Sri VidyaPrakasananda is the author of several literary works on Vedanta,the paramount being Gita Makaranda.Swamiji is Known for his spiritual discourses across India,where in his speeches were extremely lucid, extol and reconcile all religions and Yogas.He conducted close 108 Gita Yagnas in his Lifetime which has given an unmatched and widest publicity to Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

The famous Puttalamma temple which is located in Thondamanadu (Near Srikalahasti) and the Perumal temple has been recently acquired by TTD
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams also referred as TTD is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh...

. This temple was built by Thondaman Chakravarthi (King of Thondamanadu), one can find some antique items there.

History

Srikalahasti which is situated on the banks of Swarnamukhi River and picturesque surrounding of hillocks is a famous Saivite Temple in South India. Thousands of pilgrims visits the temple to have darshan of the almighty Sri Kalahasteeswara and Sri Gnanaprasunambika Devi. Sri Kalahasteeswara showers grace to wipe out the sins and obstacles of devotees. Seers and sages worshipped lord Srikalahasteeswara and praised with hymns.

Sri Adi Sankara visited this Kshetra and praised the bhakti of Kannappa in his Sivanandalahari.

The historical reference to this temple occur in the works of Nakkeerar, a Tamil poet in 3rd Century BC during the Tamil Sangam Dynasty. He called it as Southern Kailash.Nakkeera composed hundred stanzas to praise Srikalahasteeswara.
Dhoorjati a Telugu poet native of this place and one among the ashtadiggajas of Sri Krishnadevaraya’s court composed hundred stanzas on Sri Kalahasteeswara.

It is one of the panchabhoota sthalam - representing five basic elements. This is the Vayu Sthalam among the Pancha Bootha Sthalams representing Air.
The others are -
Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai
Thiruvannamalai is a pilgrimage Temple city and special grade municipality in Thiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Thiruvannamalai district. Thiruvannamalai is home to the Annamalaiyar Temple located at the foot of the Annamalai hill and...

 (Thejo sthalam - Fire)
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...

 (Prithvi sthalam - Earth)
Tiruvanaikaval (Appu sthalam - Water)
Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...

 (Akasa sthalam - Space).

Legend has it that Lord Shiva disguised as Vayu (Air) observed that The Spider (SRI), Cobra (KALA) and Elephant (HASTI) worshipped Him very devotedly. So Lord Shiva made them to relieve from the curse and attain salvation, hence this place is called Srikalahasti.

Many more Tamil Saivite saints like Sambandar, Appar, Manikkavasagar, Sundaramurti, Pattinathar and Sri Ramalinga Swami of Vadalur have also visited this place.Temples & Legends of Andhra Pradesh/Kalahasti/(Page5)

The hill adjacent to temple has still carvings in Pallava
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...

 style. The Cholas renovated the old Pallava temple in 11th century. Kulottunga Chola I
Kulothunga Chola I
Kō Rājakēsarivarman Abaya Kulōthunga Chōla was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire. He was one of the sovereigns who bore the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race.-Early life:...

 constructed the Galigopuram, the main entrance facing south and Kulottunga Chola III
Kulothunga Chola III
Kulothunga Chola III was the ruler of the Chola empire from 1178 to 1218 AD, after succeeding Rajadhiraja Chola II. Kulothunga Chola III gained success in war against his traditional foes. He gained victories in war against the Pandyas of Madurai, Cheras of Venad, Hoysalas of Mysore, the Sinhala...

 constructed few other temples. In 12th Century A.D., King Veeranarasimha Yadavaraya built the present Prakaras, and the four Gopurams connecting the four entrances. According an inscription of Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya
Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya , , , and also known as Krishna Devarayulu in some inscriptions was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians...

 of Vijayanagara empire
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...

 dating back to 1516 A.D., he constructed the Hundred Pillared Mantapam and the other tall Galigopuram that faces west to east. In 1529 A.D., King Achutaraya of the Vijayanagara empire got his coronation performed here, before he celebrated in his capital City. The Natukottai Chettiars of Devakottai gave the final shape to the temple in 1912 by donating then around nine lakhs of rupees.

On 26 May 2010, the 136-foot ‘Rajagopuram' of the Srikalahasti temple, which has been in a precarious condition due to a deep fissure along its face, collapsed.
Immediately (27 May 2010), The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Konijeti Rosaiah
Konijeti Rosaiah
Konijeti Rosaiah is the current Governor of Tamil Nadu and a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was previously an MLC, MLA & MP of the Indian National Congress numerous times and has handled many ministerial posts over his long political career spanning over half a century...

 promised to reconstruct this ancient gift with exactly the same brick to brick dimensions as the one constructed by Sri Krishna Deva Rayalu.

On 16th April 2011, One of the oldest Rajagopuram at veyi lingal kona is collapsed. It is situated 8 k.m east of the main temple srikalahasti.

Places of interest

  • Sri Durga Temple
    Hillock
    North from temple

  • Sri Subrahmanya Temple
    Hillock
    East from temple

  • Sri Kannappa Temple
    Hillock
    South from temple

  • Sri sukabrahmashram
    Close to the Main temple

  • Sri Pancha Mukeswara Temple
    Adjacent to Main Temple
    South from temple

  • Sri Dakshina kali Temple
    Approximately 06 km
    South from temple

  • Sri Veyi Lingala Kona (Hills)
    Approximately 08 km
    South from temple

  • Sri Neelakanteswara swami Temple Urandur
    1.5 km form Railway station

  • Gudi Mallam
    Approximately 20 km
    South from temple

  • Thala Kona
    Approximately 120 km
    West from temple (Via Tirupati)

  • Pallikondeswara Swamy Temple
    Approximately 100 km
    East from temple (Via Nagalapuram)

  • Thondamanadu sri venkateshwara swamy temple built by thondaman chakravarthy brother of sri padmavathi ammavaru(brother-in-law to sri venkateswara swamy) and Temple is located 10km away from sri kalahasthi, good transport facility is available and this is only temple where u can see swamy will be sitting along with sri lakshmi devi and padmavathi ammavaru.

Geography

Srikalahasti is located at 13°45′N 79°42′E on the bank of river Swarnamukhi. It is located 38 km north of Tirupati
Tirumala - Tirupati
Tirupati is a major pilgrimage city located in the Chittoor district and seventh biggest city of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats at a distance of south of Hyderabad, the capital of the state, east of Bangalore, and north of Chennai.Tirupati is famous...

 central. It is one of the assembly constituencies in Chittor District.

Education
Srikalahasthi has many educational institutions ranging from Elementary schools to Engineering & Degree Colleges. Srikalahasteeswara Institute of Technology is an engineering college organized by Srikalahasteeswara Trust board. It is affiliated to J.N.T.U, Anantapur. Sri Vidya Prakasananda Degree college offers various bachelor courses like Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor of Arts (B.A) etc. This college is affiliated to Sri Venkateswara University
Sri Venkateswara University
Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, is a state university, which was established in 1954, in the famous temple city of Tirupati, South India, under the auspices of Late Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and with support of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams...

, Tirupati. In recent years, the Srikalahasteeswara temple trust board started a nursing college also in Kasa Gardens.

For Intermediate education, there are separate Government junior colleges for Boys and Girls. Government boys junior college is near to Panagal, and the girls junior college is located at Ayyala Nayudu Lake, near to the Government Hospital and the APSRTC Bus station.

Government High Schools:
  1. R.P.B.S Z.P Boys High School, B.P. Agraharam
  2. Z.P High School for Girls, Near Government Hospital
  3. Government High School, Panagal
  4. Municipal High School, Bhaskarpet,
  5. A.P. Welfare Resedential High School for Girls, Kasa Gardens


Private High Schools:
  1. R.C.P Gurukulam
  2. SRI VANI VIDYA MANDIR,KOTHAPET.
  3. Vivekananda High School
  4. Sri balaji English Medium High School
  5. Viswabharati High School
  6. M.G.M High School
  7. Raja High School
  8. Rushi Valley High School, Sriramnagar Colony
  9. Vidyajyothi High School, Sriramnagar Colony
  10. Srinivasa bharati High School, B.P. Agraharam
  11. Sri Chaitanya High school, Sriramnagar Colony
  12. The School, near Checkpost
  13. St. Xaviers English Medium School
  14. NARAYANA E-TECHNO SCHOOL & COLLEGE,kotha peta

Economy

The town depends mainly on agriculture and tourism. The main crops are paddy, sugar cane and ground nuts. Hundreds of Kalamkari
Kalamkari
Kalamkari or Qalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile, produced in parts of India. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam and kari , meaning drawing with a pen....

 artists also bring some revenue. Pilgrims visitng the Tirumala temple also visit the SriKalaHasti temple , rendering it many footsteps each day and thereby making it the second famous temple in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Government

It is located under the administration of Chittoor district. The Srikalahasti mandal headquarters are located here.

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Srikalahasti had a population of 1,20,000. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Srikalahasti has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 59%. In Srikalahasti, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Transport

The nearest airport is about 20 km from here at Renigunta, the Tirupati Airport
Tirupati Airport
Tirupati Airport is located at Tirumala - Tirupati in Chittoor Dist in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The airport is situated at a distance of 14 km from Tirupati city. The night landing facility has been installed. The runway is going to be increased by another 900 metres...

. It is reachable by road from Tirupati, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 or Gudur
Gudur
Gudur is third largest town and municipality,in Nellore District in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In India, Gudur is the largest division in Nellore and a very old municipality. The mica belt around Gudur is considered the 2nd largest in the country. The mica deposits are located in a 1000sq.km...

.
It is on the Renigunta-Gudur section of Guntakal (GTL) Division of the South Central Railway (SCR). All trains from Vijayawada to Tirupati halt at Kalahasti.

Sri Kalahasthi is connected to the state capital Hyderabad (HYD) by the following trains:
  • Tirupati-Adilabad Krishna Express
  • Tirupati-Secunderabad Narayanadri Express
  • Tirupati-Secunderabad Padmavathy Express
  • Thiruvananthapuram Central-Hyderabad Sabari Express
  • Tirupati-Vishakapatnam Tirumala Express


The local transport is by taxis or autorickshaws and city buses. Shuttle buses between Tirupathi and Srikalahasti run every 10 mins.

Andhra Pradesh State owned Bus services (APSRTC) are available from Tirupati central bus station, at a frequency of 10 minutes and other tour operators provide religious tour package visits to the temple in Srikalahasti from the City centre at Tirupati. Taxicabs are also available from Tirupati.

Sports

Cricket is the most watched and played sport. Local clubs sponsor annual Lawn Tennis tournaments. Traditional games like kabaddi
Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a South Asian team sport...

, kho-kho are also played by school and college-going students.

Media

Major Telugu news papers like Eenadu
Eenadu
Eenadu , headquartered in Hyderabad, India, is the largest circulated Telugu news daily in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the world. According to NRS 2011 it has a readership of 17,00,000 and is the third most circulated regional language daily and 10th most circulated daily in India...

, Vaartha
Vaartha
Vaartha , headquartered in Hyderabad, India is a Telugu news paper.Vaartha means "News" in Telugu. Vaartha is the firstly daily in Andhra Pradesh to have facilitated Information Technology in publishing all the news that broke as late as 4 a.m. Vaartha is extremely popular in the beginning of its...

 and Sakshi
Sakshi
Sakshi is a Telugu media group. The group has a news daily and a Telugu News channel. It is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.-Sakshi Newspaper:Main article: Sakshi...

 and local magazines like Kalahasti Zone are read, which are published from Tirupati. The district special versions cover Kalahasti news. The popular TV Channels are state wide Telugu cable channels ETV, Maa TV, Gemini and Teja and in cable (the local cable channel scv). Local Paper Chaithanya Political Weekly.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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