Draksharama is one of the five

Pancharama Kshetras The Pancharama Kshetras (or the Pancharamas) are five ancient Hindu temples of Shiva in Andhra Pradesh. The Sivalingas at these temples are made from a single Sivalinga. Legend As per the legend, a Shiva Lingam was owned by the Rakshasa king ...

that are sacred to the Hindu god Siva. The temple is located in

Draksharamam Draksharamam is a village in Konaseema district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Bhimeswara Swamy Temple in this town is one of the five temples of Shiva known as Pancharama Kshetras. Ashta Someswaras Eight lingas are consecrated in ...

town of

Konaseema district Konaseema district, officially known as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, is a district in Coastal Andhra between the tributaries of the Godavari river in the Konaseema region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was carved out of ...

in the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. Bhimeswara Swamy refers to Lord Siva in this temple.

Etymology

The town was formerly known as ''Dhakshatapovana'' and ''Dhakshavatika''. This is the place where Daksha head of all prajapatis did a yagna or yajna called "Nireeswara yaga" or "Nireeswara yagna". This place's present name is a derivative of "Daksha aaraama" which means "Abode of Daksha". This place was also referred to as Daksha vaatika by Jagadguru Shankaracharya/ Adi Shankara in maha shakti peetha sloka at "Maanikye Daksha vaatika" which points to "Maanikyamba devi of Draksharama". The place where Daksha performed "Nireeswara yagna" is still visited by pilgrims here.

History of the temple

Inscriptions in the temple reveal that it was built between the 9th and 10th centuries CE by the Eastern Chalukyan king, Bhima. The big Mandapam of the temple was built by Ganga Mahadevi ,daughter-In-Law of

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

king

Narasingha Deva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Odia Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, and a warrior of the early medieval Odisha region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Eastern ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

.Architecturally and sculpturally, the temple reflects a blend of Chalukyan and Chola styles. The temple is historically prominent. It was built by Eastern Chalukyas who reigned over this area. It's believed to have been constructed earlier to the Bhimeswaraswamy temple in SamarlaKota (Samalkot) that was built between 892 C.E. and 922 C.E.

Legend

Daksharama is considered to be the place where Daksha Yagnam happened. Lord Siva sanctified the place after the rampage and carnage carried out at the place by Lord Veerabhadra.

Landmarks

Bheemeswara Swami temple is a big temple which was renovated by eastern chalukyas. Temple has a pushkarini called "Sapta godavari" where sapta rishis brought waters from seven different rivers to create it. One can find saptarishis in a small mantapa located in sapta godavari pushkarini. One can visit kashi viswesara temple constructed by vyasa and agasthyeswara swami who was worshiped by sage Agasthya. There are few mantapas available in the temple compound too. You can find four gopurams around the temple and few temples like kala bhairava, veera bhadra and vatuka bhairava temples inside the temple premises.

Festivals

Maha Siva Ratri and Dasara are the main festivals associated with Draksharama.

Transport

Draksharamama is located at a distance of 25 km from

Amalapuram Amalapuram is a town in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the district headquarters and the largest town of Konaseema district. It is the mandal and divisional headquarters of Amalapuram mandal and Amalapuram revenue division respectivel ...

, 28 km from

Kakinada Kakinada (List of renamed places in India, formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population, sixth largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra P ...

and 50 km from

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

. People can reach Rajahmundry and Kakinada by train and from there by road can reach Daksharamam. State highway connects it with all major towns and cities in India. Frequent bus services are available. The nearest airport is

Rajahmundry Airport Rajahmundry Airport is a domestic airport located at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on National Highway 516E. During 1985–1994, it was used by Vayudoot. It is heavily used by the helicopters of Oil and Natural Gas Corpo ...

. One can reach Draksharama by road, train and air. Road: One can reach Rajahmundry and take a bus to Ramachandrapuram or One can reach Ravulapalem and take a bus to Ramachandrapuram. From Ramachandrapuram one should take Kotipalli or Yanam and other buses to reach Draksharama. Train: One can reach Kakinada and take a train to Draksharama but there is only one rail bus running now and it won't run continuously. Air: One can fly up to Rajahmundry and take a cab from airport to reach Draksharama in one and half hour.

References

{{Navboxes , list = {{Trilinga Kshetras {{Pancharama Kshetras {{Hindu Temples in Andhra Pradesh {{East Godavari district {{Shiva temples {{Shaktism {{Hindu holy cities * Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Pancharama Kshetras Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh