Umamaheswaram temple also known as Maheshwaram and Umamaheshrum temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is located near Rangapur Village, Achampet Mandal, Nagarkurnool District, Telangana, India.
Umamaheshwaram is the northern gateway of Srisailam. Many Vedas have mentioned that a visit to a Srisailam without Umamaheswaram is incomplete. The temple is located in between the forests on top of the hill. The hill ranges shield the temple and the temperature is always less than normal as no sunlight falls on the stretch. So, this hill range is also referred to as mini Ooty.
The bottom of the hill has steep and dangerous curves and one has to drive carefully to reach the temple. Lord Shiva, The Adiyogi is worshipped by the Hindus in great faith and with devotion. Umamaheswara Swamy Temple in the Nallamala Forest Range in Telangana is one of the famous temples for Lord Shiva in Southern India.
The Umamaheswara Swamy temple is an ancient temple belonging to the 2nd Century AD. The temple is at a distance of 100 km from Hyderabad and can be reached by Hyderabad Srisailam Highway NH 7.
History of Umamaheshwaram temple
The temple has been constructed by Maurya Chandragupta during the 2nd century. Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathi are worshipped in the temple in the forms of Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba by the devotees. On the right side of the Shiva idol, the idol of Mahishamardini is placed. And, on his left side, Goddess Umadevi is placed.
It was mentioned in the ancient scriptures that Lord Sri Rama had visited this place while doing Parikrama to Srisaila Parvatam. Some other temples like Lord Veerabhadra Swamy, Lord Janardhana Swamy, and Lord Nagaraju temples are on the way to Umamaheshwaram.
The architecture of Umamaheswaram Temple:
The Shivlinga in the Umamaheswari temple is so unique. The Shiv Ling is white on one side and red on the other and makes everyone wonder about it for some time.
Moreover, the temple architecture is awesome with many gods and goddesses crafted. Some of them are Chandi, Subrahmanya, Virabhadra, Kumaraswamy, and other gods.
Umamaheshwaram’s spiritual importance connected with Srisailam:
Umamaheswaram is the northern gateway of the four gateways of Srisailam. As per the Vedic scripts, the darshan of the Srisailam temple is incomplete without the darshan of the Umamaheswari temple in the Nallamal Forest Range.
Mysterious History of Papanasanam:
On the premises of the temple, there is a holy water pool that comes from a waterfall on a hill. People say that the water has lots of medicinal properties as it comes from the top of the hill flowing through various roots of the trees. The water pool is also called Papasnanam. According to our tradition, it is told that people get free from their sins if they dip in the Papasnanam. The waterfall has been present in the forest area for thousands of years and the water flow does not come down even in summer. The temple area is home to many sadhus since ancient times and is a place for the Holy bath in Papanasanam to attain Mukti.
Modes of Transportation
The Achampet route is the most convenient and shortest route to reach the temple. One can reach the temple from Achampet via Rangapur. You can opt for autos from Achampet (10-12 km) to reach the temple.
Another way is to travel to Munnanur from Srisailam. From there, you can take an auto-rickshaw to travel 15 km to reach the temple. One can stay in the temple Hall in Umamaheshwaram for the night as well.
Accommodation facilities
There are hotels available near Umamaheswaram, Mahabubnagar. The rental charges for the rooms in these hotels range between Rs. 200 – Rs.400 per day.
Temple Timings: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm
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