Keesaragutta Temple is of immense historical and mythological importance.
Keesaragutta Temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and his consorts Bhavani and Sivadurga at Keesaragutta in Rangareddy district which is near hyderabad in Medchal-Malkajgiri District .
It is about 30 km from the city of Hyderabad. It is located on a small hillock. The temple draws thousands of devotees on Shivaratri. The temples is also known by the name Shri Ramalingeswara Swami.
keesaragutta temple history
As per leegend lord Sri Ram installed the Siva lingam here to atone for the sin of killing Ravana, a Brahman. He chose this beautiful valley, surrounded by hills and lush greenery.
He then requested Lord Hanuman to bring the Shivalingam from Varanasi.
When Lord Hanuman went on a search for the same, he was unable to choose which one to bring. His uncertainty in the matter caused a lot of delay.
So Lord Hanuman was late in arriving with the Siva lingam and as the auspicious hour was nearing, Lord Siva himself appeared before Sri Rama and presented a Sivilingam for installation.
This is the reason why the lingam in the temple is called Swayambhu Linga.
It is also called Ramalingeswara as Lord Sri Rama had installed this Shivalinga here.
Hanuman returned with 100 lingams for selection from Varanasi and felt aggrieved as was late.
He was greatly disappointed to see that a Lingam has already been installed. Agitated by this, he thew the Shiva Lingam in his hand on the ground. So now there were a total of 101 shiva lingams there.
Hence Sri Rama ordained that precedence would be given to him for worship at the temple.
He also said that the hillock where the lingam was installed will be called kesarigiri i.e, the son of Kesari , another name of Lord Hanuman…
Over a period of time, the name became Keesara and the hill was known as Keesaragutta.
Architecture of Keesaragutta Temple
Since lord Sri Rama had worshipped this Swayambumurthi the shivalinga is also called as Ramalingeshwara and is present in the sanctum sanctoram.
The temple also has shrines separately for Lord Lakshmi Narasimha and Lord Rama with ma Sita.
There were many excavations which were undertaked around this area by ASI ( archaeological survey of India ).
On the north of the temple remains of several Shiva Lingas and brick remnants were found.
The remains belonged to the rule of the Chalukyan Empire. Here, prayer halls, Yagasalas, and fortification walls were unearthed.
On the hills, some vestiges and rock-cut cisterns were discovered as proof that Jainism and Buddhism coexisted and thrived.
Twelve Jain Tirthankara idols from the fourth or fifth century that were discovered on October 18, 2014, close to the temple stairs at a depth of one foot demonstrate that Jainism and Hinduism co-existed at Keesaragutta during the reign of the Vishnukundinas in the fourth or fifth century.
Source – wikipedia
How to reach Keesara
- keesaragutta temple distance from hyderabad is around 45 Kms and will generally take an hour to reach.
- The bus route no. is 242 and there are many buses available from all parts from Hyderabad to the temple
- You can also hire cabs / autos from the city
- keesaragutta temple distance from bangalore is around 610 Kms
So this temple is very important from religious and historical stand point. Do visit this temple when you find some time.
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