Sri Sailam

Sri Sailam is populary known as “The Kailash of the south” and it is one of the most ancient and sacred places in South India, situated on the banks of the holy River Krishna.

Situated
Sri Sailam is a small pilgrimage town in the thick and quite inaccessible forests of the Nallamalai Hills, in the northeastern part of the Nandikotkur Taluk of Kurnool District in Andhra Pradesh, 201 km from Hyderabad. This very important wildlife area is the largest of the States wildlife sanctuaries and you find tigers, leopard, a large colony of Indian pangolins, panther, wild dogs, civet, hyena, jackals, wolves, giant squirrels, crocodiles, lizards, python, vipers, kraits and over 150 species of birds.

At times the area is disturbed due to political activists and can be very difficult to get permission to visit.

Sri Sailam is one of the three “Shiva-Shakti Peetahs” in India, with the temples of the Mallikarjuna Jyotir Linga and the Goddess Bhramaramba. The other Shiva-Shakti Peethas are the Vishwanatha Temple in Kasi or Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), and the Mahakaleswara Temple in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).

Scholars have stated in epichs of India that three holy places offer instant salvation. They are Kasi, Arunachalam and Sri Sailam.

Shiva and Parvati appered here as “Arjuna” and “Mallika”, hence the name “Mallikarjuna”. The mount is famous as “Sri Sailam” meaning “The Esteemed Mount”

Sri Sailam has been prevailing from the times of the Vedas even before the Arya and Dravidian culture. In the 32nd chapter of the Srikhanda article in the Scanda Purana, Veda Vyasa asks Sanat Kumara to explain about Sri Sailam. Sri Sailam is mentioned in several other texts and Puranas and is also called “Sri Giri”, “Sri Parvata”, “Sri Nagara”, “Rudra Parvata” and “Seshachalam”.

Sri Sailam city has grown around the Temple area. There are several possiblities for lodging near the temple, especially out of the big festival times as Maha Shivaratri (Feb/March) or Shrawan Poornima.

All life in the city evolves around the famous temple and Vedic chanting from the morning and evening rituals is heard all over the city. The rest of the day “Om Namah Shivaya” is transmitted, to awaken the spirit and tune the minds towards God.

How to get there
Sri Sailam can be reached by bus or taxi, driving 7 hours (220 km) from Hyderabad or 5 hours (aprox. 175 km) from Kurnool. After 4½ hours drive from Hyderabad the road goes through the dense Nallamalai Forest and a harsh mountaindrive where u-turns begins. The forest is a wildlife sanctuary, with restricted access mainly because of the tiger population. It is advisable to go by daylight as the roads are in poor condition. From Sri Sailam to Kurnool the road is onetracked for aproximately two hours drive through the hilly forest.