Kusumanchi Sri Ganapeshwaralayam Shivalayam temple was built by Lord Ganapati during the Kakatiya period in the 11th-12th century AD at the time of the construction of thousands of Shiva temples. However, Kusumanchi is a town and Mandal in Khammam district, Telangana, India, which was popularly known as Krupamani since the Kakatiya period. The existing Shiva lingam in this temple is one of the largest in the entire south India.
One of the Shiva temples in Kusumanchi was the witness to the artistic excellence of the Kakatiyas. Yeshivalayam is also known as Ganapeshwara Temple and Ramalingeshware Swamy Temple. This temple was built in the north of Kusumanchi in the Khammam district. It is being said for a long time that the construction of the temple was done by a sculptor without arms and legs. The Kakatiya rulers built Ganapeshwaralayam, Mukkanteswaralayam in Kusumanchi.
The Shiva Lingam in Shiva Temple is remarkable in that the temple is built on top of stones and made up like a star shape when viewed from above and a Shiva Linga shape on the other side. The Shiva lingam in the temple is 6 feet in height and has a radius of 5.3 cm, it is similar to a smooth granite stone. Another amazing feature of the temple is that it is built in that way the rays of the sunshine are on the Shiva Lingam every day at sunrise.
Sri Ganapeshwaralayam temple and Mukkanteswaralayam temple, these two Siva temples built by Kakatiya rulers during 1he 12-13th centuries in Kusumanchi. The historical temple looks like the famous Ramappa and Ghanpur temples of the Kakatiya period in the Bhupalpalli district.
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For hundreds of years, it has been surrounded by hummocks and mounds and no one cares about it. Sathu Weerapratap Reddy, who was the CI of Kusumanchi at that time, came to know about the temple, and with the help of the villagers, the temple was brought to light.
And thankfully they improved it and started worshiping it. This temple came into the visitor’s light due to devotees and since then people started visiting the temple and came into the existence again and evolved as a great temple. Devotees believe that if they visit this Kusumanchi Shiva Temple, their all wishes will be fulfilled.
Now the devotees follow the daily rituals without any interruption at Ganapeshwaralayam. This temple attracts devotees from far and people visit this temple every year on special occasions.
The group of devotees, and pilgrims, visited more during Sravanamasam and other auspicious occasions particularly during the Sivaratri jatara, according to the priest of Ganapeshwara shrine. There is a dire necessity for a Kalyana mandapam in the temple to perform special rituals.
How to reach
Ganapeshwaralayam is approximately about 1.7 km from Kusumanchi Bus Stand. This temple was constructed using stone resembling the thousand pillars temple of Warangal in architecture. This temple is built on an elevated platform which is facing east, the temple is made up of the pillared rangamandapa and antarala followed by the shrine. With entrances on three sides, the temple has an amazing structure.
Furthermore, Mukkanteswaralayam is located a few meters far from Ganapeshwaralayam. It is a trikutalaya with three shrines having a common mandapa. Each shrine has a doorway, garbhagruha, and antarala with a common 16-pillared mandapa. The pillars in the common mandapa are beautifully carved with images of swans and floral designs.
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