Kaleswaram, a holy temple town situated on the south bank of pavana Godvari in the Karimnagar District.
Among the unique features of this temple there are two lingas on one and the same Panivattam called Mukteswaralinga and Kaleeswaralinga; the Mukteswaralinga bears two holes in it and they cannot be filled up with any quantity of water poured into them.
This village lies in thick forest surroundings, at a distance of 16kms from Mahadevapuram and 32kms from Manthani and and 115 kilometers from Warangal at a picturesque spot where the river Godavari receives into its stream another small river called the Pranahitha. The place is considered to be sacred not only on account of it being a confluence but also due to the existence of many ancient temples. Among these temples, the one dedicated to "Mukteswara Swamy"is the mostimportant. special signi ficance attatched to these shrine owing to the eistence of two Sivalingams on one Panivattam. The Sivalingam in this place is considered to be one of the three Jyothirlingams of Lord Siva which constitued the three corners of the Andhra Desha, the other two being at Srisailam in Kurnool and in Draksharama in East Godavari districts. There is also a temple dedicated to Brahma here, a rather uncommon feature. Mahasivarathri festival cele brated here for two days during 'Magha' attracts a very large number of devotees.
The ancient temple dedicated to Mukteshwara Swamy is of special significcance as two Sivalingas are found on a single pedestal.
This picturesque spot Kaleswaram lies in the interior of thick forest at the confluence of the river Godavari and its tributary Pranahita. This place can be reached by bus from Karimnagar via Manthani or from Warangal via Parkal.
Another little known temple dedicated to Lord Brahma is found in Kaleshwar, in the Karimnagar area of north central Andhra Pradesh. As in Alampur, this temple is one in a group of shrines predominantly dedicated to Lord Shiva. Kaleshwaram, also known as Manthrakuta, is located 130 kilometers from Karimnagar, in the thick interior forests of A.P., at the confluence of the Godavari River and its tributary, Pranahita. The nearest village is Manthani, 32 kms. away. 'Kaleswara' also refers to the Lord of Death, or Yamaraj.
The antiquity of Kaleshwaram is established in Puranic literature, and it has been a center of Vaisnava, Saivite, and Jain worship over many centuries. The Skanda Purana mentions the importance of Kaleshwaram's placement at the river confluence.
The most visited temple in Kaleshwaram is the Mukteshwaraswamy Temple, which is one of the three Jyotirlingas in Andhra Pradesh. The Temple is jointly dedicated to Mukteswara (Shiva) and Kaleswara (Yamaraja), and is famous for the fact that two Shivalingas reside here, situated on a single panivattam (pedestal) in the sactum.
Alongside the Mukteshwaraswamy mandir are several smaller tirthas in the temple complex. Many of these, like the Brahma Temple, have fallen into ruin, their deities or murtis eventually removed and placed in front of the main temple as free-standing murtis. In his book, "The History and Culture of Karimnagar", Dr. J. Ramanaiah describes the Lord Brahma deity.
"There are a large number of loose sculptures placed in two rows outside the temple and beside the southern compound wall. The figures of dancers, archers, horse-riders, Garuda, Mithuna, Arjuna's Matsya Yantra, Gopikavastrapaharana, Skanda riding on a peacock, lion in action at the back of the elephant holding its upraised trunk, male and female devotees with folded hands, etc., are depicted in different small panels can be noticed on the spot. The Nagas and Naginis found here are similar to those of Polas. Most of these loose sculptures are in red sandstone and can be dated back to 11th and 12th centuries A.D."
He goes on to describe the Brahmadev murti, a catur-mukha linga: "This linga is a fine sculpture in basalt with four faces carved on four sides. The linga is flat topped and it is now placed in the courtyard of the temple. Judging from its smooth polish and accuracy of carving, this sculpture resembles that of the Chaturmukha linga of the ruined Swayambhu temple, which is now placed in the courtyard of the Sambhunigudi in the Warangal fort. A similar Chaturmukha linga is also found at Manikesvara temple in Kalahasti."
The Shiva temple in Kaleswaram is one of three Shiva temples noted as residing in Trilinga Desham (Land of Three Lingams), the region of the Telugu speaking people of Andhra Pradesh. Kaleswaram forms one of the three corners of Andhra Desha, with the other two main temples being Draksharamam in East Godavari district and Srishailam in Kurnool. The site of the Brahma Temple marks the northernmost border of the Telugu nation.
Kaleshwar is also known as Dakshina Triveni Sangamam, because of the confluence of the two rivers, with are said to meet with a third unseen flow of the Antarvaahini (part of the underground Saraswati River). It is said that a Vaishya once performed abhisheka to Kaleswara Mukteswara here with hundreds of milk pots, and the milk was being produced by the sangam (confluence) of Godavari and Pranahita. Thus, it is also called Dakshina Gangotri.
There are also a number of sacred spots along the river Godavari at Kalesvaram, called AshtaTirthas, which include the Brahma Tirtham, Pichchuka Tirtham, Jnana Tirtham, Vayasa Tirtham, Sangama Tirtham, Narasimha Tirtham, Hanumath Tirtham, and Vyasa Tirtham.
Prior to 1975, there was so little facility for transport, that the Kalesvaram temple was far too difficult for most pilgrims to try and reach. It was surrounded by thick forest, and several streams had to be crossed along the way. Only a narrow cart track existed for foot traffic. Over many centuries, probably since the time the main temple was built by the Chalukyas, then renovated by the Kakatiyas during the 12th or 13th century, no effort was made to make Kalesvaram more accessible. That only happened when a government grant allowed a temple committee to be formed in the mid-1970's, and they began temple renovations and created road
access.
Today, three big festivals are celebrated in Kaleshwar each year -- Maha Shivaratri, Shiva Kalyanam, and Durga Navratri - and throngs of pilgrims come here during Kartikka. The hermitage of Saint Gautama and his Manthani temple are nearby, along with a famous Lord Nrsimhadev temple, and another dedicated to Hanuman.
78 kms. from Karimnagar along the River Godavari is the 15th century temple town of Dharmapuri, where King Bali Verma performed the Dharma Devta Yagna. A famous 13th century Sri Lakshmi-Narsimha Swamy temple is located here, along with Sri Venkateshwara Swamy temple, the Sri Ramallingeshwara Swamy temple where Shiva and Vishnu temples exist side by side, and another Brahma deity we will mention later.
Accommodation:-
Private and Temple Guest houses are available in the Village
How to Reach This Place
Road : in Karimnagar district is situated at a distance of 16 kms from Mahadevapur, 65 kms. from Manthani, 110 kms from Warangal and 130 kms from Karimnagar. Kaleswaram is well connected by Road and there are frequent buses and Private Transport from Mahadevapur, Manthani, Godavari Khani and Mancherial.
Train: Nearest Railway Station is Ramagundam ( Karimnagar dist)
Air : Hyderabad Airport.
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