This Shiva temple is situated at Kalahasti in Chittur district of Andra Pradesh. This is one of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalam representing Vaayu tatva. It is also one of the 275 Shiva temples revered by Nayanmars. This is about 40 km from Tirupati Balaji temple. This temple is also a Rahu-Ketu Parihar sthala where sarpadosha shanti is performed. The temple is about 2000 years old. The river Swarnamookhi flows nearby.
Mulavar: Shrikalhastiswarar
Devi: Parvati, Gyana Prasunambika
This is a swayambhu linga where Lord Shiva is worshiped as Vaayu linga. This is the only temple to remain open during Lunar and Solar eclipse.
According to Purans, Brahma worshiped at this place in all 4 yugas. During Mahabharat, Arjuna worshiped here. As per puran, Vaayu performed penance at this place for about 1000 years with a lingam. Pleased by his penance, Lord Shiva granted him 3 boons. As per Vaayu’s wish, the lingam is known as Karpur (Camphor) lingam and is worshiped by all including Munis, Devas, Kinnars, Asuras etc. Besides, there are other references also found in puran. Parvati was asked to assume the human body by Lord Shiva. To get rid of this curse, She was asked to perform penance at this place. Pleased by Her penance, Lord Shiva recreated Her with much more beauty than Her previous heavenly body. She was initiated with Panchakshari mantra and with other mantras by Lord Shiva. Hence Parvati is addressed as, Gyana Prasunambika.
Mayura, Chandra, Devendra were freed from their curses at this place by bathing in Swarnamookhi river and performing penance.
Shrikalahasti gets the name according to the puran as per the following legend. During puranik days, a spider (Sri), serpent (Kal) and elephant (Hasti) worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. The spider lived in the inner sanctum and worshiped the Lord by weaving a web over Lord Shiva. Due to breeze, the web was destroyed by altar fire. Spider getting angry tried to gulp the flame and died. Appreciating its devotion it was granted moksha by Lord Shiva. This act of spider as if it was realizing the self (flame) by gulping and endangering its life i.e. its ego gave it moksha.
A cobra worshiped at this place by offering gems and valuable jewels. After sometime, an elephant came to worship and sprayed the lingam with water brought in its trunk. It placed bilva leaves over the lingam by removing gems and jewels. This process was going on for sometime. At last one day, the cobra getting angry, bit the elephant by entering into its trunk. The elephant dashed its trunk against the wall and both of them died. In appreciation of their devotion, Lord Shiva granted them moksha. At the foot of the linga we can see, the images of a spider, a five headed snake and 2 elephant tusks. A staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, Kannappa, sacrificed his both eyes and tried to fix it on the lingam. He had found the lingam bleeding from the eyes during one of his worship. After this incident, he was given moksha in appreciation of his devotion.
A lamp burns inside the inner sanctum that constantly flickers despite the lack of air movement inside. The Vaayu linga can be seen in motion despite the doors being closed (sanctum has no windows). The Linga is a swayambhu linga and is white in color. The Linga is made of a white stone resembling the trunk of an elephant.
There is shrine of Lord Vinayaka which is cut in a rock. It is placed below the ground level. The idols (images) of Vallabha Ganapati, Mahalaxmi Ganapati and Sahastra Linga are the rare ones found in this temple. There is a large shrine for Gyana Prasunambika. There are small shrines of Kashi-Vishwanath, Annapurni, Suryanarayan, Sadyog Ganapati and Lord Subramanyam. There are 2 sacred teerthas namely Surya Pushkarni and Chandra Pushkarni.
Festivals:
Mahashivaratri is the most important festival. Brahmotsavams are celebrated along with Shivaratri for 13 days. Karthigai deepam and Maasi festival (Feb-March) are other
noteworthy festivals.
Courtesy: Following sites
1. https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ and
2. https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/
3. https://temple-timings.blogspot.com/
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