Trip to Sri kalahasti 15 April 2013

Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple at Sri kalahasti

Pancha Bhoota Stalam or Pancha Bhoota Stala refers to the five Shiva temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva representing five basic elements.  

Tiruvannamalai (Thejosthalam - Fire)  

Kanchipuram (Prithvi sthalam - Earth) 

Tiruvanaikaval (Appu sthalam - Water)  

Chidambaram (Akasa sthalam - Space)

Sri Kalahasthi ( Vayu Lingam - Air)

 

Having visited Tiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram, decided to see the  third  of the Pancha Bhoota Stalam. Daring the peak summer, along with my family chose to travel our KSRTC - Volvo early morning at 6.00 am. En-route, a heavy breakfast at Kamat Upahara , we reached Tirupati by 12.00 noon. The temperature was about 40 degree, we decided to boarded a local bus to Sri Kalahasti to reach on time for lunch. Just a distance of 38 Kms ahead, it took an hour to reach our destination. We stayed at Hotel Shannkur Residency - A clean and decent accommodation with a/c (and a 24 hrs generator) just across the temple .    Sri Kalahasti Temple one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams, enshrining one of the elemental Lingas, the Vayu (Air) Linga.   The spider is call "Sri," the snake "Kala," and the elephant "Hasti." The three names are combined together in the name Srikalahasti. The spider is said to have a web above the linga to protect it from the sun and rain. The main sanctum was magnificent illuminated with lamps.  When seen from the top, the Shiva Linga looks like that of a snake with five hoods. The lamp inside the inner sanctum continuously sparkles, even without the air movement inside.It is said that the shiva linga is not touched by human hands, even by the priests. The skillful architecture of the temple is such that the flame flickers continuously in the sanctum sanctorum, indicating the presence of wind near the deity.  There are hundreds of lingas in the temple, spatika linga was just amazing. Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple is also linked with Lord Rahu , Lord Kethu and Sarpadosha Nivarana with a long queue to perform the pooja with various prices starting from Rs.300, Rs.600 and Rs.1500 respectively. The statue of Goddess Gnana Prasunambika Devi- the flower of divine knowledge, assumes great importance here, as this is considered one the 108 Shakti Peethas of Goddess Shakti.   Other dieties in the temple like 'Sri Pathala Vinayaka',  'Lord Subrahmanya',  'Sri Kasi Visweswara',  'Sri Ramalingeswara'are a few I noticed.    Exploring the surroundings of the temple in a task itself as it is a huge place adding to the summer heat.  Many stalls in the temple entrance. Buttermilk vendors selling thirsty pilgrims in summer.

Food in Srikalahasthi is just about edible. 

 

I was excited to see "Chennai Sharavana Bhavan" across, but i was disappointed. 

The food was unsatisfactory as much as the high price. We had Ganesh Bhavan 

for breakfast with yummy chutney and Dinner at MGM Grand was tasty with 

North Indian Ala Carte. 

Next morning we decided to have a darshanam again and boarded a bus to 

Tirupati bus stop. 

I was very happy to see Smt. M.S.Subbalakshmi statue at Tirupati temple town.

Having booked the Tirupati - Yeshwanpur express, at 2.50 pm,

Hmmmmmm!!

3 hours' 

time to spent was the right answer through lunch at

Hotel Udayee International Hotel, just opposite the bus stop. 

  Yummmy !!.... Andra Meals was just perfect!

Having visited Tiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram, decided to see the  third  of the Pancha Bhoota Stalam. Daring the peak summer, along with my family chose to travel our KSRTC - Volvo early morning at 6.00 am. En-route, a heavy breakfast at Kamat Upahara , we reached Tirupati by 12.00 noon. The temperature was about 40 degree, we decided to boarded a local bus to Sri Kalahasti to reach on time for lunch. Just a distance of 38 Kms ahead, it took an hour to reach our destination.

We stayed at Hotel Shannkur Residency - A clean and decent accommodation with a/c (and a 24 hrs generator) just across the temple .

 

 Sri Kalahasti Temple one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams, enshrining one of the elemental Lingas, the Vayu (Air) Linga. 

 The spider is call "Sri," the snake "Kala," and the elephant "Hasti." The three names are combined together in the name Srikalahasti. The spider is said to have a web above the linga to protect it from the sun and rain.

The main sanctum was magnificent illuminated with lamps.  When seen from the top, the Shiva Linga looks like that of a snake with five hoods. The lamp inside the inner sanctum continuously sparkles, even without the air movement inside.It is said that the shiva linga is not touched by human hands, even by the priests. The skillful architecture of the temple is such that the flame flickers continuously in the sanctum sanctorum, indicating the presence of wind near the deity. 

There are hundreds of lingas in the temple, spatika linga was just amazing.

Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple is also linked with Lord Rahu , Lord Kethu and Sarpadosha Nivarana with a long queue to perform the pooja with various prices starting from Rs.300, Rs.600 and Rs.1500 respectively.

The statue of Goddess Gnana Prasunambika Devi- the flower of divine knowledge, assumes great importance here, as this is considered one the 108 Shakti Peethas of Goddess Shakti.  

Other dieties in the temple like 'Sri Pathala Vinayaka',  'Lord Subrahmanya',  'Sri Kasi Visweswara',  'Sri Ramalingeswara'are a few I noticed.

 

 Exploring the surroundings of the temple in a task itself as it is a huge place adding to the summer heat. 

Many stalls in the temple entrance.

Buttermilk vendors selling thirsty pilgrims in summer.