हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Bhimeswara Temple, Draksharamam

Daksha’s aramam, where Daksha Prajapati held the yajna that Sati entered: one of the five Pancharama shrines and a Shakti Peetha of Manikyamba, in the Godavari delta.

Built: c. 9th–10th century, attributed to the Eastern Chalukya king Bhima IWhere: Andhra PradeshDeity: Bhagwan Shiva as Bhimeswara; Mata Manikyamba (Shakti Peetha)16.79° N, 82.06° E
  1. c. 900 CE
  2. 11th–13th century
Photo: Aditya Gopal · CC BY-SA 3.0

01Daksha’s garden

Draksharamam is ‘Daksha-aramam’, the grove of Daksha. The temple tradition holds that this is where Daksha Prajapati performed the yajna to which he did not invite Shiva, where Sati gave up her body and Veerabhadra destroyed the sacrifice. The linga, a tall pillar of crystal-white stone, is counted among the Pancharamas, where pieces of the linga broken by Kartikeya after slaying Tarakasura fell. Manikyamba, the Devi here, is one of the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas.

02Two storeys of stone

The temple is built in two storeys, and the great linga rises through both, so that the abhisheka is poured from the upper floor. The building is attributed to the Eastern Chalukya king Chalukya Bhima I of Vengi, around the turn of the 10th century, and its twin in plan stands at Samalkot, the Kumararama. Its walls hold several hundred inscriptions of the Eastern Chalukyas, the Cholas, the Velanati Chodas and the Kakatiyas, among the largest collections in Andhra.

The life of this place

  1. c. 900 CEThe temple is built, by tradition under Chalukya Bhima I of Vengi.
  2. 11th–13th centuryChola, Velanati Choda and Kakatiya gifts are cut on the walls.
Visiting

About 30 km from Kakinada. Pilgrims who do the Pancharama yatra visit Amaravati, Draksharamam, Samalkot, Palakollu and Bhimavaram.

Nearby

Kumararama, Bhimeswara Temple, SamalkotStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Kumararama, Bhimeswara Temple, Samalkot

The Pancharama installed by Kumara himself, at Samalkot near Kakinada. Built under the Eastern Chalukyas as a twin of Draksharama, it is protected by the ASI.

Kotilingeswara Temple and the Godavari Tir Shakti Peetha, RajahmundryStanding
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Kotilingeswara Temple and the Godavari Tir Shakti Peetha, Rajahmundry

Uma Kotilingeswara stands at Kotilingala ghat on the Godavari at Rajahmundry. Most lists that try to place the Godavari Tir Shakti Peetha, where Sati’s left cheek fell, put it here at Rajahmundry, though the exact spot is not settled.

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Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Puruhutika Devi and Kukkuteswara Temple, Pithapuram

Pithikayam Puruhutika: one of the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas, inside the temple of Shiva as Kukkuteswara. Pithapuram is also Pada Gaya, the feet of the three Gayas, and the birthplace of Sripada Srivallabha of the Datta tradition.

Ksheerarama, Ksheera Ramalingeswara Temple, PalakolluStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Ksheerarama, Ksheera Ramalingeswara Temple, Palakollu

The Pancharama of Vishnu, in the delta town of Palakollu, where the sthala purana says milk sprang from the earth at Shiva’s trident. Its gopuram is one of the tallest in Andhra.