Southern Odyssey 1 : Srisailam – Set off from home at about 7 am on the 24th Nov for Srisailam. The workday traffic was already thick on the city roads and the highway opened up only after crossing Pahadi Shareef (famous for the Dargah of Syedna Baba Sharfuddin). The road leading to the Nallamala hills snaked through the picturesque Amrabad Tiger Reserve and passed through quaintly named villages like Domala Penta (Heap of mosquitoes) and Eegala Penta (Heap or pile of flies), which, belying their names, were spotlessly clean. The road then descended into the reservoir area of Srisailam Dam (one of the largest in South India) before climbing up to Srisailam. Among the notice boards indicating various shrines and holy places, was an exhortation to the visitors to refrain from smoking and drinking in the temple city.

Located at about 210 Kms from Hyderabad at an altitude of over 1500 ft above MSL in the northern most part of the Nallamala hill range, Srisailam is an ancient pilgrimage centre of South India. The presiding deity is Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy in natural stone formation in the shape of Lingam. The present temple was built in the 14th Century and the walls are carved with depictions of elephants hunting scenes and Lord Shiva in different manifestations. Legend has it that when Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva about his most desired place apart from Kailasa in the universe, he chose Srisailam. Among the 12 Jyotirlingas, the second is the Mallikarjuna Swamy Lingam; among the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas, the sixth is Sri Bhramaramba Devi temple. Srisailam is the only temple where two such powerful icons exist under one temple premises. Adi Shnakaracharya is believed to have stayed here while writing the devotional hymn, Saundarya Lahari. The location is known as Phala Dhara-Pancha Dhara (streams running through the forehead and the five faces of Lord Shiva), locally corrupted in Telugu as Pala Dhara-Panchadara (streams of milk and sugar) A new 1 BHK built for Lord Shiva at this place awaits inauguration by a ‘dignitary’ And how can a trip to Srisailam be complete without a ‘naamam’, smartly stencilled by street urchins for Rs 5/-!!