Discover The Keesaragutta Temple
Discover The Keesaragutta Temple
It is said that there is no better service than narrating the stories of god and enlightening people. I feel blessed to be given opportunity to narrate many stories to you all. Today I discovered the story of the Keesaragutta temple which I decided to share here. To start with, the Keesaragutta temple is also popular by the name Ramalingeswara Swami temple. Both these names have been given for specific reasons which you will discover as you read further. It is said that after killing the ten headed demon king, Ravana, Lord Rama was advised to install a Shiva Lingam along with his wife, Goddess Sita to get rid of the sins acquired by Brahmana Hatya [killing by a Brahman]. For this purpose he chose the hillock which is now at a distance of 13kms from Hyderabad. After reaching the chosen spot, Lord Rama order Lord Hanuman to bring a Shiva Lingam.
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. As the auspicious hour was approaching fast, Lord Shiva himself appeared and presented a Lingam to Lord Rama which was successfully installed at the right time. This is the reason why the presiding deity at this temple is known as Swayambhu Shiva Lingam. On account of the installation of the Shiva Lingam by Lord Rama, this temple gained fame as the Ramalingeswara Swami temple. When Lord Hanuman finally arrived with a Shiva Lingam, he was greatly disappointed to see that a Lingam has already been installed. Agitated by this, he thew the Shiva Lingam in his hand which then became a 101 of them.
To pacify an angry Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama declared that the hill will be known as Kesaragiri [hill of the son of Kesari] and that he should be worshiped along with the main deities of the temple. The name later got modified by the local dialect and became Keesaragutta. When you visit this temple, you get a clear idea of architecture during the Gupta period in in 5th century AD. The offering of prayers at the Keesaragutta begins with Sprabhata Seva at 6 am, followed by Mahayana Poorvaka Rudrabhishekam at 6:30am. Then they perform the Maha Aarathi at 7:45am after which there are a series of Abhishekams performed from 8am to 12:45pm. After this they have Archanas and Abhishekams once again from 3pm to 7pm. Nivedana, Aarathi, Mantra Pushpam & Pavalipu Seva is the last offering made to the Lord for the day, starting from 7pm to 7:30pm. It is a popular belief among the people that those who offer prayers to each and every one of the 101 Shiva Lingams there, is blessed by 330 million gods. To get your share of blessings you have to visit the pious Keesaragutta temple.
- Kruti Beesam
