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Sri Pachchala Someswara Swamy Temple
Chaya Someswara Swamy temple is situated in a village called Panagal, 10 km to the east of Nalgonda, but now a part of the town. It is 113 kms away from Hyderabad, on the Narketpally-Addanki Highway connecting the National Highway 65 at Narketpally in Telangana and the National Highway 16 at Medarametla in Andhra Pradesh.
Click here for the location on Google Maps.
“Preserved here is the monumental sanctum sanctorum for posterity.” Thus begins the brief inscription on a brass foil at the temple’s threshold as a token of introduction in a capsule for visitors. The temple is Chaya Someswara Alayam, one of the Shiva temples, in the vicinity of Nalgonda in the Telangana region.
This iconic Someswara Swamy Temple was built during the Chola dynasty, either during the mid-eleventh century or the first quarter of the twelfth century. However, the Kakatiyas invaded the region shortly after building the temple and consequently, the Cholas became the subordinate ruling class of the Kakatiya dynasty.
The temple was in a dilapidated condition till about 1990s when a small group of devoted young men, under the banner of Chaya Someswara Alaya Abhivriddhi Samstha, initiated the restoration to its past glory. The shrine has now become a major centre of attraction to pilgrims thousands from far and wide every year, especially during the three days of Maha Sivaratri festive celebrations.
Mystery
An unravelled mystery of the architectural engineering of unparalleled creativity in this temple is the world-renowned shadow (chaya) that backdrops the Sivalinga in the west side shrine. Probably the only one of its kind in the world, the shadow can be seen from sunrise to sundown, whether the Sun is visible in the sky outside or not.
What mesmerizes the devotees most is that they can behold the shadow during the full-moon nights as well.
Garbhagriha / sanctum
The Garbhagriha or the sanctum of the temple houses three shrines, an architectural form known as Trikutalayam, a three-shrine sanctum sanctorum, each shrine seating the three deities – Siva, Surya and Vishnu each facing the east, the west and the south respectively, and the entrance facing the north.
One enticing attraction of the sculptural creativity here is the micro carvings of the epic story of the Ramayana chiseled on the temple pillars.
