Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Srisailam

శ్రీశైల మల్లికార్జున స్వామి ఆలయం

Shiva · Mallikarjuna Swamy · with Bhramaramba

Jyotirlinga

Srisailam, Nandyal district, Andhra Pradesh · Shaiva tradition

Andhra Pradesh Tourism describes Srisailam as the only place where an ancient Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha exist together, the Shakti Peetha being the shrine of Bhramaramba.

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 5:30 am – 1:00 pm · Darshan (morning)
  • 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm · Darshan (evening)
Getting there
Train: MarkapurAir: Hyderabad

Not yet confirmed: dress code, phone rules, entry for visitors of other faiths, walking distance. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

2 accounts are recorded. Each is told separately, in the words of its own tradition — they are never merged.

Told in: The Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita (Kumara Khanda) 20 and Koti-rudra Samhita 15

The son who would not come home

Kartikeya — Kumara, the son of Shiva and Parvati and the slayer of the demon Taraka — comes back to Kailasa after circling the earth. The sage Narada is there with news. While Kumara was away, his parents held the wedding of his brother Ganesha, who has married Siddhi and Buddhi, the daughters of Prajapati Vishvarupa, and already has two sons, Kshema and Labha. Narada tells Kumara that he was sent away on a pretext so that the wedding could go ahead without him, and that the deception was wrong.

Kumara bows to his father and leaves. Against the explicit wishes of both parents he goes to Mount Krauncha, and there he stays, resolved to remain unmarried for life.

Parvati is distressed by the separation. Shiva tells her that their son will come back and that she should not give in to grief, but she does not accept it. Shiva sends gods and sages to Krauncha to plead with Kumara and bring him home. Kumara ignores them, and they report back to Shiva and disperse.

So the parents go themselves. When Kumara learns that they are coming, he moves further off — three yojanas away in the Kumara Khanda's account — and settles there at the request of the gods and sages. Shiva and Parvati stay where they stopped. Shiva takes the form of a Jyotirlinga there, named Mallikarjuna. From then on the two keep a fixed rhythm of visits to their son: Shiva goes on each new-moon day, Parvati on each full-moon day.

The Koti-rudra Samhita closes its version of the episode by naming this the second Jyotirlinga, and the list of twelve at the opening of the same samhita places Mallikarjuna at Shrishaila — the hill this temple stands on. The narrative chapters themselves never mention Shrishaila. They name only Krauncha, which the translator's note places in the Kailasa region and describes as difficult to reconcile with Shrishaila on the Krishna. Both chapters end with a phalashruti: hearing or seeing this account removes sin and fulfils desire.

The episode is the Puranic answer to why Shiva is present here as a Jyotirlinga at all. He did not come to be worshipped; he came as a parent following a son who would not come home, and stayed.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita, Kumara Khanda 20 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 15.1-23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
Told in: The account published by Andhra Pradesh Tourism, which names no Purana

The sage's son who became the hill

Parvata, son of the sage Shilada, pleases Shiva with penance and asks him to dwell on his body. Shiva agrees, and Parvata takes the form of a hill. The hill is known after him as Sriparvata, which the state tourism department gives as the origin of that name for the hill on which the temple stands. The published account names no Purana and gives no further detail, so it is told briefly here until a primary text is found.

Read this account

Parvata is the son of the sage Shilada. He performs penance to Shiva, and Shiva is pleased with him. Parvata asks that Shiva dwell on his body, and Shiva agrees. Parvata then takes the form of a hill so that Shiva can live on it.

The hill is known after him as Sriparvata, and the account published by the state tourism department gives this as the origin of that name for the hill on which the temple stands.

The account as published is brief. It does not say where Shilada lived, how long the penance lasted, or in which Purana the story is told, and none of that is filled in here until a primary text is found.

Where this account comes from

  • Government: Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Srisailam (destination page) aptourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Srisailam matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Mallikarjuna at Shrishaila.

    Source for: The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Mallikarjuna at Shrisha
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  2. The Koti-rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana calls Mallikarjuna the second Jyotirlinga, at the close of its chapter on his origin.

    Source for: The Koti-rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana calls Mallikarjuna the second Jyotirl
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 15.23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  3. Andhra Pradesh Tourism describes Srisailam as the only place where an ancient Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha exist together, the Shakti Peetha being the shrine of Bhramaramba.

    Source for: Andhra Pradesh Tourism describes Srisailam as the only place where an ancient Jy
    • Government: Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Srisailam (destination page) aptourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  4. Devotees may touch the linga with the hand or forehead, which Andhra Pradesh Tourism notes is rare among major temples.

    Source for: Devotees may touch the linga with the hand or forehead, which Andhra Pradesh Tou
    • Government: Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Srisailam (destination page) aptourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Dravida

Andhra Pradesh Tourism describes the main sanctum's vimana as nine-tiered and pyramidal and calls the style Chalukyan. A stepped pyramidal vimana is a Dravida form, but no architectural survey has been found that classifies the building, so the style is not yet confirmed.

  • Gateway tower

    Four gateway towers

    The boundary wall is entered by four gates, each with a tall gopuram over it.

    Where to stand: Outside the enclosure wall, to see the gopuram over whichever gate you arrive by.

  • Enclosure

    The carved enclosure wall

    Relief panels on the outer wall: elephants, hunting scenes, Shiva in different manifestations, and the story of Shiva appearing as a hunter and marrying a Chenchu girl.

    Where to stand: Walking along the outside face of the enclosure wall.

  • Detail

    The east-west line of shrines

    In the inner courtyard the Nandi mandapa, the Veerasiro mandapa, the Mallikarjuna shrine and the Bhramaramba temple stand in a line running from east to west.

    Where to stand: At the Nandi mandapa, looking west.

  • Tower over the sanctum

    Nine-tiered vimana

    The tower over the main sanctum rises in nine tiers in a pyramidal form.

  • Detail

    The five mathas

    The Gantha, Bheema Sankara, Vibhooti, Rudraksha and Sarangadhara mathas. Twenty-one copper-plate grants were found in 2021 inside the stone walls of the Gantha Matam during cleaning.

  • Sacred water

    Pathala Ganga

    A bathing place on the Krishna about 1 km from the temple, per Andhra Pradesh Tourism.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

Darshan (morning)5:30 am – 1:00 pm
Darshan (evening)6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice. These times are not from the temple’s own notice.

Before you go

  • No dress code or entry rules have been confirmed for this temple yet. Traditional, modest clothing is always the safe choice; ask at the entrance.

Walking, steps and access

We have not yet confirmed how much walking or climbing is involved, or whether there is wheelchair access. If you are travelling with elders, ask at the temple office or the devasthanam enquiry counter before you set out.

Getting there

  • By air: Hyderabad · about 210 kmAndhra Pradesh Tourism names Hyderabad as the nearest airport; the Nandyal district page gives Srisailam as 210 km from Hyderabad.
  • By train: MarkapurNamed by Andhra Pradesh Tourism as the nearest railway station; no distance given.
  • By road: Kurnool · about 180 kmPer the Nandyal district page, which also gives Nandyal town at 158 km.

Routes are general guidance and not yet checked against an official source.

PIN 518101 (not yet checked with India Post)

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Maha Shivaratri

    Feb–Mar · Magha, Krishna paksha, Chaturdashi

    The principal annual festival of Shiva. We have not yet found the temple's own account of how it is kept at Srisailam.

Customs you will see here

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. Shiva stays near Krauncha as the Jyotirlinga Mallikarjuna

    The Shiva Purana's origin account: Shiva and Parvati follow Kartikeya and Shiva remains as the Jyotirlinga. The Purana does not say in which yuga this happened.

    2 sources for: Shiva stays near Krauncha as the Jyotirlinga Mallikarjuna
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita, Kumara Khanda 20 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 15.1-23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

In the historical record

  1. c. 1300–1399

    Temple built in the 14th century

    The Nandyal district administration dates the temple to the 14th century. No inscription or builder is named on that page.

    Source for: Temple built in the 14th century
    • Government: Nandyal District Administration, Temple Tourism nandyal.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  2. 1421

    Recharla chieftain calls for an uprising to restore worship

    Per the ASI's Director of Epigraphy, K. Munirathnam Reddy, as reported in 2025: a copper-plate record states that in 1421 the local agrahara was taken over and rituals at Srisailam stopped, and that the Recharla chieftain Lingama Nayaka called for an uprising. Reddy's reading of this as the earliest use of the term 'Swarajya' is his interpretation, not established fact.

    Source for: Recharla chieftain calls for an uprising to restore worship
    • Press: South First, Saicharan Sana, "Etched in copper, lost with time: Srisailam's history comes to the fore as the temple town welcomes Modi", 16 October 2025 thesouthfirst.com · seen 2026-10-09

  3. 1456

    Grant made on the appearance of a comet

    A Sanskrit copper-plate grant in Nagari script from the reign of the Vijayanagara king Mallikarjuna records the gift of the village of Simgapura as an agrahara to the scholar Lingannarya, to ward off the effects of a comet. The ASI identifies it as the first known Indian epigraphical reference to Halley's Comet.

    Source for: Grant made on the appearance of a comet
    • Press: South First, Saicharan Sana, "Etched in copper, lost with time: Srisailam's history comes to the fore as the temple town welcomes Modi", 16 October 2025 thesouthfirst.com · seen 2026-10-09

  4. 2021

    Twenty-one copper plates found in the Gantha Matam

    Temple staff cleaning the five mathas found 21 copper plates inside the walls of the Gantha Matam. Read by the ASI, they span the Recharla, Gajapati, Chengalva and Reddi dynasties among others, are in Telugu and Odia among other languages, and cumulatively record grants of 75 villages to the temple.

    Source for: Twenty-one copper plates found in the Gantha Matam
    • Press: South First, Saicharan Sana, "Etched in copper, lost with time: Srisailam's history comes to the fore as the temple town welcomes Modi", 16 October 2025 thesouthfirst.com · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Bhramaramba shrine

    The Shakti Peetha shrine of the goddess Bhramaramba, inside the same complex, west of Mallikarjuna's sanctum.

  • Ghat

    Pathala Ganga

    Bathing place on the Krishna about 1 km from the temple.

  • Temple

    Sakshi Ganapathi

    About 3 km away; devotees hold that this Ganesha keeps a record of pilgrims who visit Srisailam.

  • Waterfall

    Paladhara Panchadhara

    Springs about 4 km away, where Andhra Pradesh Tourism says Adi Shankara composed the Sivanandalahari.

Also in Nandyal district

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 15.23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Government: Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Srisailam (destination page) aptourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita, Kumara Khanda 20 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 15.1-23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Government: Nandyal District Administration, Temple Tourism nandyal.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Press: South First, Saicharan Sana, "Etched in copper, lost with time: Srisailam's history comes to the fore as the temple town welcomes Modi", 16 October 2025 thesouthfirst.com · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Srisailam”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/mallikarjuna-srisailam (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence