KAALA HASTI(Vayu linga)
Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in the
state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the most worshiped
Shiva temples in South India.The name of the place comes from
three animals, Sri (spider), Kala (snake) and Hasti (elephant) who
worshipped Shiva and gained salvation here. A statue that shows all
three animals is situated in the main shrine.
The Skanda Purana, Shiva Purana and Linga Purnas have a mention
about Srikalahasti. The Skanda Purana says that Arjuna visited this
place, worshipped Kalahastiswara and met the sage Bharadwaja on
the top of the hill. It is believed that Kannappa (also known as
Bhakta Kannappa), a tribal devotee has worshipped Siva at
Srikalahasti.The temple is the place where his supreme devotee
Kannappa was ready to offer both his eyes to stop blood flowing
from the Siva linga’s eyes,before Lord Siva stopped him and
blessed him.The temple is situated 36km distance from Tirupati.
The inner temple construction began in 5th century and the outer
temple was constructed in the 12th century by the Chola and
Vijayanagara kings. Vayu (God of air) is incarnated as Lord Shiva
and worshiped as ‘Kalahasteeswara’. Sri Kalahasti is named after
the unwavering devotees of Lord Shiva. They were the Spider
(Sri), the Serpent (Kala) and the Elephant (Hasti). Pleased by their
firm devotion, Lord Shiva granted a boon that their names be
merged with the Vayu linga and henceforth called as Sri
Kalahasteeswara. As per Hindu mythology, the elephant(hasti) used
to clean Shiva’s deity carrying water from its tusk, the spider
protects the deity from external damage weaving its web and the
snake (kala) places its precious gem on the linga to decorate the
lord. Each of the above devotees worshipped Lord Shiva
individually unaware of other‘s action. Unfortunately there was a
confusion among the three animal creatures in their actions and
resulted in a conflict with each other. The spider’s web protection
and the snake’s gem was displaced by the water poured from the
elephant’s tusk. Angry kala or the snake tried to enter the
elephant’s tusk and in the process suffocates and dies as well as
the elephant because of the snake’s poison. In their fight, even
the spider died as it was squashed between the two bigger
animals. Lord Shiva then appeared before the three devotees and
gave them moksha or mukti for their selfless devotion. The spider
takes rebirth as a great king while the snake and elephant get
relieved from their karmas and reached heaven. The king remained
dutiful to his subjects and people and built many temples
worshipping lord Shiva. So this is the unique history of the temple
for devotees to understand before offering their prayers.
Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in the
state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the most worshiped
Shiva temples in South India.The name of the place comes from
three animals, Sri (spider), Kala (snake) and Hasti (elephant) who
worshipped Shiva and gained salvation here. A statue that shows all
three animals is situated in the main shrine.
The Skanda Purana, Shiva Purana and Linga Purnas have a mention
about Srikalahasti. The Skanda Purana says that Arjuna visited this
place, worshipped Kalahastiswara and met the sage Bharadwaja on
the top of the hill. It is believed that Kannappa (also known as
Bhakta Kannappa), a tribal devotee has worshipped Siva at
Srikalahasti.The temple is the place where his supreme devotee
Kannappa was ready to offer both his eyes to stop blood flowing
from the Siva linga’s eyes,before Lord Siva stopped him and
blessed him.The temple is situated 36km distance from Tirupati.
The inner temple construction began in 5th century and the outer
temple was constructed in the 12th century by the Chola and
Vijayanagara kings. Vayu (God of air) is incarnated as Lord Shiva
and worshiped as ‘Kalahasteeswara’. Sri Kalahasti is named after
the unwavering devotees of Lord Shiva. They were the Spider
(Sri), the Serpent (Kala) and the Elephant (Hasti). Pleased by their
firm devotion, Lord Shiva granted a boon that their names be
merged with the Vayu linga and henceforth called as Sri
Kalahasteeswara. As per Hindu mythology, the elephant(hasti) used
to clean Shiva’s deity carrying water from its tusk, the spider
protects the deity from external damage weaving its web and the
snake (kala) places its precious gem on the linga to decorate the
lord. Each of the above devotees worshipped Lord Shiva
individually unaware of other‘s action. Unfortunately there was a
confusion among the three animal creatures in their actions and
resulted in a conflict with each other. The spider’s web protection
and the snake’s gem was displaced by the water poured from the
elephant’s tusk. Angry kala or the snake tried to enter the
elephant’s tusk and in the process suffocates and dies as well as
the elephant because of the snake’s poison. In their fight, even
the spider died as it was squashed between the two bigger
animals. Lord Shiva then appeared before the three devotees and
gave them moksha or mukti for their selfless devotion. The spider
takes rebirth as a great king while the snake and elephant get
relieved from their karmas and reached heaven. The king remained
dutiful to his subjects and people and built many temples
worshipping lord Shiva. So this is the unique history of the temple
for devotees to understand before offering their prayers.
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