Manikyamba Temple, Draksharamam

మాణిక్యాంబ అమ్మవారి ఆలయం

Manikyamba · with Bhimeswara (Shiva)

Draksharamam, Ramachandrapuram, Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh · Shakta tradition

The Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha stotram names Manikya at Daksharama twelfth among its eighteen seats of the Goddess.

The story begins: “Daksha holds a great sacrifice and invites everyone but his son-in-law.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Getting there
Kakinada

Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, 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.

Family note: this story includes violence or death.
Told in: The Skanda Purana, as summarised by the East Godavari district administration

Eighteen pieces, cut by the discus

Daksha holds a great sacrifice and invites everyone but his son-in-law. Shiva and Sati are left out. Sati goes anyway, uninvited, and in her father's hall she is humiliated. She gives up her life there.

Shiva takes up her body and dances the pralaya tandava, the dance of dissolution, with the corpse in his arms. To end it, Vishnu sends his discus. It cuts Sati's body into eighteen pieces, and the pieces fall across India. Each place where one lands becomes one of the Ashtadasa Peethas, the eighteen seats of the Goddess. In this telling, Manikyamba of Draksharama is the twelfth.

Draksharama holds a particular place in the story, because the district administration reads the town's name itself as 'the abode of Daksha Prajapati' — Shiva's father-in-law and Sati's father. The sacrifice that set everything in motion, on this reading, happened here.

The same page gives the god's side. Bhimanatha — Bhimeswara — came down from Kailasa and settled here at Parvati's request, since she was Daksha's daughter. The linga is held to be self-manifest, and god and goddess are worshipped as equals, as at Varanasi and Srisailam.

The district administration attributes this account to the Skanda Purana but gives no khanda or chapter, and we have not yet found the passage. It differs from the Devi Bhagavata's account in two concrete ways: here the cutting is done by Vishnu's discus rather than his arrows, and the body falls in exactly eighteen pieces. The district page does not say which piece fell at Draksharama. We have not yet found a written source for the tradition that it was the left cheek.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “Sati's body and the seats of the Goddess”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
Told in: The Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, Chapter 30

Sati's body and the seats of the Goddess

In the Devi Bhagavata, Daksha's quarrel begins with a garland from the sage Durvasa. Sati burns her body in a yogic fire, Virabhadra destroys the sacrifice, and Vishnu cuts the body apart with his arrows. Vyasa then lists the seats where Shiva remains — well over a hundred, not eighteen — and Draksharama is not among them. Its place among the eighteen comes from the later stotram.

Read this account

Daksha receives a garland from the sage Durvasa, who had it from the Goddess herself. In the Devi Bhagavata's telling, the way Daksha treats that gift turns him against Shiva and against his own daughter Sati, Shiva's wife. At Daksha's sacrifice the enmity comes to a head, and Sati burns her body in a fire she raises by yoga, keeping her devotion to her husband intact.

Shiva's anger threatens the three worlds. Virabhadra rises from it and Daksha's sacrifice is destroyed. Shiva lifts Sati's body and wanders with it in grief, and Vishnu cuts the body to pieces with his arrows. Wherever a part falls, Shiva remains there in some form, and the place becomes a seat — a pitha — of the Goddess. Vyasa, narrating, then names the seats one after another, each with the goddess who presides there.

This account differs from the version the district administration gives for Draksharama. Here Vishnu uses arrows, not his discus, and the list that follows is long — well over a hundred seats, not eighteen. Draksharama does not appear in it.

The count of eighteen and Draksharama's place in it come from the Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha stotram — traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara, though the attribution has not been confirmed — which names Manikya at Daksharama twelfth. The stotram places the goddess at 'Daksha's own house', the same reading of the name that the district administration gives.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “Eighteen pieces, cut by the discus”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, Chapter 30, vv. 26–102 (Swami Vijñanananda tr., 1921) wisdomlib.org
  • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, vv. 1–5a, beginning Laṅkāyāṃ Śāṅkarī devī. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; the attribution is unverified. No critical edition or verse numbering was found. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Manikyamba Temple, Draksharamam matters

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

  1. The Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha stotram names Manikya at Daksharama twelfth among its eighteen seats of the Goddess.

    2 sources for: The Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha stotram names Manikya at Daksharama twelfth among it
    • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, vv. 1–5a, beginning Laṅkāyāṃ Śāṅkarī devī. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; the attribution is unverified. No critical edition or verse numbering was found. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  2. The place-name is read as 'the abode of Daksha', Sati's father, whose sacrifice begins the Shakti Peetha story.

    Source for: The place-name is read as 'the abode of Daksha', Sati's father, whose sacrifice
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  3. The goddess and the god are held equally important here, which the district administration likens to Varanasi and Srisailam.

    Source for: The goddess and the god are held equally important here, which the district admi
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  4. The temple is a protected monument whose walls carry many inscriptions.

    Source for: The temple is a protected monument whose walls carry many inscriptions.
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Architectural style not yet identified

The district administration describes the complex as an ancient protected monument and a 'paradise for the epigraphist', but gives no style, plan or building dates. It states that the temple's history is on record from the thirteenth century; the dating of the Bhimeswara temple is discussed on that temple's own page.

  • Inscription

    Inscribed walls

    The many inscriptions cut into the temple walls, which the district administration singles out as the site's richest historical record.

  • Sanctum

    Manikyamba's shrine

    The goddess's own shrine within the Bhimeswara complex, the twelfth seat of the stotram.

  • Sanctum

    Bhimeswara

    The self-manifest linga of the Pancharama shrine, worshipped as the goddess's equal.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

We could not confirm the opening times from the temple’s own notice, so we are not printing any. Please check with the temple office or the devasthanam before you travel.

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 road: Kakinada · about 28 km
  • By road: Rajahmundry · about 50 kmRajahmundry also has the nearest airport.
  • By road: Amalapuram · about 25 km

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

PIN 533262 (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

  • Sharannavaratri

    Sep–Oct · Ashvayuja, Shukla paksha, Padyami onward

    The goddess's autumn festival, beginning on Ashvayuja Shuddha Padyami.

  • Kartika Mondays and Jwalathoranam

    Nov · Kartika

    Mondays of Kartika and the Jwalathoranam, the arch of flame.

  • Kalyanam

    Feb · Magha, Shukla paksha, Ekadashi (Bhishma Ekadashi)

    The divine marriage of Bhimeswara and Manikyamba.

  • Maha Shivaratri

    Feb–Mar · Magha

    Shiva's great night at the Pancharama shrine.

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. Daksha's sacrifice at Draksharama

    In the account the district administration attributes to the Skanda Purana, Daksha's sacrifice and Sati's death are tied to this place, whose name is read as Daksha's abode. No yuga is given.

    Source for: Daksha's sacrifice at Draksharama
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In the historical record

  1. c. 1200–1299

    Historical record of the temple begins

    The district administration states that the temple's history is on record from the thirteenth century. Other dates for the Bhimeswara temple circulate but none has yet been checked against an inscription corpus.

    Source for: Historical record of the temple begins
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Administered by the Endowments Department; protected monument

    The temple is run by an Executive Officer of the Endowments Department and is a protected monument under the archaeological department, which is to carry out renovation.

    Source for: Administered by the Endowments Department; protected monument
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, vv. 1–5a, beginning Laṅkāyāṃ Śāṅkarī devī. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; the attribution is unverified. No critical edition or verse numbering was found. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, Chapter 30, vv. 26–102 (Swami Vijñanananda tr., 1921) wisdomlib.org
  • Government: East Godavari District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, "Draksharamam" — Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Manikyamba Temple, Draksharamam”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/manikyamba-draksharamam (accessed ).

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