Somarama Someswara Swamy Temple

సోమారామం సోమేశ్వర స్వామి ఆలయం

Shiva · Someswara Swamy · with Rajarajeswari

Linga

Gunupudi, Bhimavaram, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh · Shaiva tradition

It is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, the shrine where Chandra, the moon, is held to have installed his piece of the broken linga.

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Getting there
Train: BhimavaramAir: Rajahmundry Airport

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 Amaravati sthala purana (as summarised by M. Krishna Kumari) and Telugu popular tradition (as retold in the press)

The moon's piece of Tarakasura's linga

Tarakasura is an asura ruler and a devotee of Shiva. He carries a Shiva linga in his throat, and while he holds it he cannot be killed.

Indra and the devas go to war with him. Kumaraswamy — Kartikeya, the son of Shiva — attacks Tarakasura and cuts him down, but the torn pieces of the asura's body keep joining together again. As long as the linga is whole, the fight cannot be finished.

The accounts differ on who supplies the remedy. In the Amaravati sthala purana, as summarised by the historian M. Krishna Kumari, Shiva himself tells the devas that the linga must be broken and that breaking it will bring about Tarakasura's death. In the version retold in Telugu popular tradition, it is Vishnu who explains it, and he adds a warning: the pieces will try to reunite, so each one must be fixed to the ground where it lands.

Kumaraswamy breaks the linga in Tarakasura's throat into five pieces. The popular retelling says he uses the agneyastra, the weapon of fire. The five pieces fall at five different places, and Tarakasura dies.

In the popular retelling it is Surya, the sun, who secures the pieces, fastening them down and raising temples over them. The scaly marks on the five lingas are explained in that tradition as the scars of the fire-weapon. The five places are the Pancharamas: Amararama, Draksharama, Somarama, Ksheerarama and Kumararama.

At Gunupudi, in Bhimavaram, one of the five pieces fell from Tarakasura's neck and Chandra, the moon, installed it. The place was therefore named Somarama and the god Someswara, after Soma, another name for the moon. The popular retelling adds that Chandra came here to atone for his sins, and the district administration records the belief that the linga's colour changes at the full moon and at Amavasya — white at Pournami and dark at the new moon, in the press account. The tank on the east side of the temple is called Soma Gundam.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “The Tripuras' linga, cut in five”, 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

  • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, pp. 28–30 archive.org
  • Press: Swarajya, "Trilinga Desa: The Telugu States' Tryst With The Divine" (Ratnakar Sadasyula), 24 February 2017 swarajyamag.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
Told in: The Bhimeswara Puranamu of Srinatha (Telugu, 14th–15th c., rendered from the Sanskrit Bhimakhanda), fourth ashvasa — as summarised by M. Krishna Kumari and by the East Godavari district administration

The Tripuras' linga, cut in five

Shiva destroys the asuras of the Tripuras with the Pashupata weapon after their boons turn them against the devas. The great stone linga they worshipped survives, and Shiva cuts it into five pieces, which Indra, Soma, Rama, Kumara and the god of Draksharama's own shrine receive at five places. This is the account of Srinatha's Telugu Bhimeswara Puranamu, the sthala purana of Draksharama. Here the piece is set up by Soma at Gunupudi on the Godavari.

Read this account

Vishnu, taking the form of Mohini, shares out the nectar of immortality and favours the devas over the asuras. The asuras, led by the lords of the Tripuras — the three cities — are left out. On the advice of the sage Narada they turn to penance, and Shiva grants them boons.

Strengthened by those boons, the Tripura asuras oppress the devas, who go to Shiva for help. Shiva burns the asuras and their kingdoms with the Pashupata weapon, and from that act he takes the name Tripurantaka, the destroyer of the Tripuras.

One thing survives the fire: a huge stone linga that the Tripuras had worshipped as their tutelary deity. Shiva cuts it into five pieces, and the five are set up at five places.

This is the account given in the fourth ashvasa of the Bhimeswara Puranamu, the Telugu sthala purana of Draksharama written by the poet Srinatha, who lived at the Reddi court of Rajahmundry and rendered the work from the Sanskrit Bhimakhanda. In it, Indra sets up one piece at Dharanikota on the bank of the Krishna, where it becomes Amareswara of Amararama. Soma sets up another on the bank of the Godavari at the village of Gunupudi. Rama sets up the third at Balakota, where it becomes Ramalingeswara of Ksheerarama. Kumara sets up the fourth at Bhimavaram, the capital of the Chalukyas. The remaining piece is set up at Draksharama itself.

For Somarama the account names Soma as the one who sets up the piece, on the bank of the Godavari at the village of Gunupudi. Krishna Kumari reads the temple's Somarama tradition from the Bhimeswara Puranamu. Note that the Puranamu's "Bhimavaram, the capital of the Chalukyas", where Kumara sets up the fourth piece, is a different place — Chalukya Bhimavaram, the old name of Samalkot — and not this town.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “The moon's piece of Tarakasura's linga”, 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

  • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, pp. 17–18 archive.org
  • Government: East Godavari District Administration, "Sri Chalukya Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari Temple, Samalkot" eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: East Godavari District Administration, "Sri Chalukya Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari Temple, Samalkot" eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Somarama Someswara Swamy Temple matters

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

  1. It is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, the shrine where Chandra, the moon, is held to have installed his piece of the broken linga.

    2 sources for: It is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, the shrine where Chandra, the moon, i
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, p. 30 archive.org

  2. The linga is believed to change colour with the moon — white at full moon and dark at the new moon.

    2 sources for: The linga is believed to change colour with the moon — white at full moon and da
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Press: Swarajya, "Trilinga Desa: The Telugu States' Tryst With The Divine" (Ratnakar Sadasyula), 24 February 2017 swarajyamag.com · seen 2026-10-09

  3. A shrine of the goddess Annapurna stands on the storey directly above the garbhagriha.

    2 sources for: A shrine of the goddess Annapurna stands on the storey directly above the garbha
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Press: Swarajya, "Trilinga Desa: The Telugu States' Tryst With The Divine" (Ratnakar Sadasyula), 24 February 2017 swarajyamag.com · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Architectural style not yet identified

No architectural survey was found. Krishna Kumari judges the building to look later than the other Pancharamas because of several renovations.

  • Sanctum

    Someswara linga and inscribed doorways

    The linga said to change colour with the moon; the inscriptions on the garbhagriha doorways, the earliest of which Krishna Kumari assigns to the reign of Shaktivarman I.

  • Detail

    Annapurna shrine above the sanctum

    The goddess Annapurna's shrine on the storey above the garbhagriha; the district administration notes an image of Shiva holding Ganga on his head.

  • Detail

    Pillar before the main entrance

    The pillar in front of the main entrance.

    Where to stand: In front of the main entrance.

    pillar in front of the main entrance: 15 ft

  • Temple tank

    Soma Gundam

    The pushkarini on the east side of the temple, called Soma Gundam.

    Where to stand: East side of the temple.

  • Detail

    Subsidiary shrines

    Shrines of Anjaneya, Kumaraswamy, the Navagrahas, Surya and Ganesha inside the complex, and Adilakshmi to the south of the garbhagriha.

  • Sacred water

    Soma Gundam

    Pushkarini on the east side of the temple.

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 train: BhimavaramThe district administration describes Bhimavaram as well connected by train and bus; the station name is not given there.
  • By road: Palakollu · about 20 kmKsheerarama, another Pancharama, is about 20 km away per the district administration.
  • By air: Rajahmundry AirportNearest airport from general knowledge; not from an official page.

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

PIN 534201 (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

The temple’s festival calendar has not been sourced yet.

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. Chandra installs the linga

    In both the Tarakasura and the Bhimeswara Puranamu accounts, Chandra (Soma) installs the piece of the linga at Gunupudi. Neither account says in which yuga this happened.

    2 sources for: Chandra installs the linga
    • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, pp. 18, 30 archive.org
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In the historical record

  1. c. 1001–1011

    Earliest inscription, of the reign of Shaktivarman I

    The earliest inscription on the garbhagriha doorways is undated, but Krishna Kumari assigns it by content to the Eastern Chalukya Shaktivarman I (AD 1001–1011) and on that basis dates the temple's construction to the 10th century.

    Disagrees with: Construction credited to "King Chalukya Bheema"

    Source for: Earliest inscription, of the reign of Shaktivarman I
    • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, pp. 30–31 archive.org

  2. Construction credited to "King Chalukya Bheema"

    The West Godavari administration states that the main contribution to the temple's construction was made by King Chalukya Bheema "during 4th century". The Eastern Chalukya kings named Bhima reigned in the 9th and 10th centuries, so the stated century cannot be reconciled with the king named; no year is given.

    Disagrees with: Earliest inscription, of the reign of Shaktivarman I

    4 sources for: Construction credited to "King Chalukya Bheema"
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Religious Tourism" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: East Godavari District Administration, "Sri Chalukya Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari Temple, Samalkot" eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: Ministry of Tourism, Utsav portal, "Maha Shivaratri Mahostavamulu — Sree Chalukya Kumararama Bheemeswara Swami Temple, Samarlakota" utsav.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  3. Endowments Department administration

    The temple is administered by an Executive Officer, whose contact the West Godavari administration publishes.

    Source for: Endowments Department administration

Around here

Worth the detour

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Tourist Places" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: West Godavari District Administration, "Religious Tourism" westgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Scholarship: M. Krishna Kumari, Pancharamas in Medieval Andhradesa, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1989, pp. 1–31 archive.org
  • Press: Swarajya, "Trilinga Desa: The Telugu States' Tryst With The Divine" (Ratnakar Sadasyula), 24 February 2017 swarajyamag.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: East Godavari District Administration, "Sri Chalukya Kumararama Sri Bhimeswaraswamy vari Temple, Samalkot" eastgodavari.ap.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Ministry of Tourism, Utsav portal, "Maha Shivaratri Mahostavamulu — Sree Chalukya Kumararama Bheemeswara Swami Temple, Samarlakota" utsav.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Somarama Someswara Swamy Temple”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/somarama-bhimavaram (accessed ).

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