01Spider, serpent, elephant, hunter
The name is three devotees in one. Sri the spider wove a web over the linga to shade it, Kala the serpent laid jewels on it, and Hasti the elephant washed it with water carried in his trunk; all three won moksha here. Then came Kannappa, a hunter of these hills, who offered Shiva meat and water from his own mouth. When blood flowed from one eye of the linga he put his own eye in its place, and as the second eye began to bleed he set his foot on it to mark the place and raised his arrow to his last eye, until Shiva stopped his hand. The Periya Puranam counts him among the sixty-three Nayanars.
02A gopuram that fell
Inside the sanctum a lamp flame flickers continually though no wind reaches it, and the priests say this is Vayu himself. Chola inscriptions of the 11th century record gifts to the temple, and in 1516 Krishnadevaraya built the great rajagopuram and a hundred-pillared mandapa. Cracks had long been seen in that gopuram, and on 26 May 2010 it collapsed. It was built again on the old design and consecrated in 2017. The temple is also known across the south for Rahu-Ketu puja.
The life of this place
- 11th centuryChola inscriptions record gifts to the temple.
- 1516Krishnadevaraya builds the rajagopuram and hundred-pillared mandapa.
- 26 May 2010The Vijayanagara rajagopuram collapses.
- 2017The rebuilt gopuram is consecrated.
About 36 km from Tirupati, often visited the same day. Climb Kannappa’s hill behind the temple for the view.
