The Kakatiya dynasty was a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their territory comprised much of the present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka, northern Tamil Nadu, and southern Odisha. Their capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal.
Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of West Godavari district of the Andhra Pradesh state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bhimavaram mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. It is a part of Eluru Urban Development Authority. As of 2011 census, it is the most populous urban area in the district with a population of 163,875. It is one of the major pilgrimage centers in the state, which is home to Somaramam, one of the five great Pancharama Kshetras.
The Pancharama Kshetras or the Pancharamas, are a group of five ancient Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Siva, located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. These temples are situated at Draksharamam, Samalkota, Amaravathi, Palakollu, and Bhimavaram. According to regional legend, the lingams in these temples, referred to as aramas, are believed to have been created from a single, unified Siva lingam.
Draksharamam or Daksharamam is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva and also 12th of Ashtadasha Shakthi Peetams. The temple is located in Draksharamam town of Konaseema district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The poet Mallikarjuna Panditaradhyudu who wrote first independent work in Telugu and who spread Lingayatism in Andhra region during medieval ages was born in this town.
Ksheerarama is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is located in Palakollu of West Godavari in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Shiva is known locally as Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy. It is believed that staying one day in Kshirarama is equivalent to staying one year in Varanasi. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of national importance.
Kumararama, also known as the Chalukya Bhimeswara Temple, is a historic Hindu temple located in Samalkota in the Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Dedicated to Lord Siva, it is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, revered pilgrimage sites in the state. The temple is renowned for housing a 14-foot tall white crystal Siva Linga, which spans two floors, believed to have been consecrated by Lord Kumara Swamy himself, giving the temple its name.
Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they became a sovereign power, and ruled the Vengi region of present-day Andhra Pradesh until c. 1001 CE. They continued ruling the region as feudatories of the Medieval Cholas until 1189 CE.
Samarlakota is a town in Kakinada district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town forms a part of Godavari Urban Development Authority. It was previously known as Chamarlakota, which dates back to a local kaifiyat that was written in the mid-eighteenth century.
Panagal, also referred to as Panagallu or Panugallu, is a historic town located 4 km northeast from Nalgonda city in Telangana, India.
The Chalukya dynasty was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani until the end of the 12th century.
The Kalleshwara temple is located in the town of Hire Hadagali of the Hoovina Hadagalitaluk in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state, India.
Alampuram Navabrahma Temples are a group of nine early Badami Chalukyan Hindu temples dated between the 7th and 9th centuries that are located at Alampuram (Hemalapuram) in Telangana, India, near the meeting point of Tungabhadra River and Krishna River at the border of Andhra Pradesh. They are called Nava-Brahma temples though they are dedicated to Shiva. They exemplify early North Indian Nagara style architecture with cut rock as the building block. The temples of Alampur resemble the style of Pattadakal, Aihole style as they were Karnata Dravida, Vesara style native to Karnataka.
Chaya Someswara Temple, also known as Chaya Someshvara Swamy Alayam or the Saila-Somesvara temple, is a Saivite Hindu temple located in Panagal, Nalgonda district of Telangana, India. It was built around the mid 11th-century during the rule of the Kunduru Chodas, supported and embellished further by later Hindu dynasties of Telangana. Some date it to late 11th to early 12th-century.
Vemulawada is a temple town in Karapa Mandal, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. It is close to Daksharamam.
Pushpagiri Temple Complex is a temple complex located in Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, India. Founded around 7th Century CE, it houses some of the oldest temple congregations in the region.
Amararamam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva, located in Amaravathi of Palnadu district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the five sacred Pancharama Kshetras and is unique for being situated on the Krishna River, unlike the others in the Godavari region. The temple enshrines a 15-foot white marble Sivalinga, and daily rituals are performed by priests on a platform. The main deity, Lord Amareswara, is accompanied by his consort, Bala Chamundika.
The Kurmanathaswamy temple, also known as the Kurmanatha temple, Srikurma or Srikurmam temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kurma – the second avatar of Vishnu. It is located in Srikurmam village, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, India. According to Prapannamrutam and earliest inscription of the temple, In saka 1035 CE Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha converted this temple to a Vaishnava khetra from a Siva temple.The temple was Built before 11th-century CE in a fusion architecture of kalinga Architecture and Dravidian Architecture. The temple's perambulatory were constructed by Eastern Ganga Dynasty king Anangabhima Deva III, and it is dedicated to Vishnu as Kurmanathaswamy and his consort Lakshmi as Kurmanayaki. The temple has century old Orissan Pattachitra style mural paintings in side wall of pradakshina mandapa.
Danavulapadu Jain temple is an ancient Jain center located in Danavulapadu village, within the Jammalamadugu mandal of Kadapa district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, also known as Mattapalli Narasimha Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Narasimha, the half-man half-lion avatar of Vishnu, and his consort Lakshmi. It is located in Mattampally, a village in the Mattampally mandal of Suryapet district in the Indian state of Telangana. One of the Pancha Narasimha Kshetras, the temple is located on the banks of the Krishna River, and was built in the 11th century by Anumala Machi Reddy, the king of Thangedu region after the deity appeared in his dream and instructed him to do so. The main shrine houses a swayambhu (self-manifested) idol of Narasimha as Yogananda Lakshmi Narasimha, and was worshipped by sage Bharadvaja and other seers for hundreds of years before the temple was constructed. Lakshmi is worshipped here as Rajalakshmi Thayar and Chenchu Lakshmi Thayar.
Sri Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple is a historic Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, located in Sarpavaram, approximately 5 km from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is recognized as one of the State Protected Monuments by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Andhra Pradesh and is renowned for its religious significance and historical inscriptions.
