Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy Temple
There are many temples of Lord Shiva in our country. In most temples, Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of ‘linga’. In the temple at Surutupalli, Lord Shiva appeared in the manifestation of a ‘Murthy’ in the sleeping posture i.e., ‘Sayanamurthy.’
- Lord Shiva receives worship in a sleeping posture.
- The Lord is named as ‘Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy’.
- Goddess Parvathi is named ‘Sri Sarvamangala Devi‘.
Surutupalli / Surutapalli / Suruttapalli
‘Surutupalli’ is located on the banks of the holy river Aruna in Nagalapuram Mandal in Tirupati district, A.P. It is named ‘Kalakuta Sayana Kshetram’ as it is the place where Lord Shiva slept and rested due to chaos after consuming ‘Kalakuta Visham’ (poison) emerged from the Ocean of Milk at the time of churning.
During that time all the deities i.e. crores of ‘suras’ prayed to Lord Shiva. Hence this place was named as ‘Surakotipalli’. Later Surakotipalli was changed to Surutupalli.
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Temple Legend
There was an interesting ‘sthalapurana’ behind the appearance of Lord Shiva as a sleeping posture in Surutupalli. In the past, the gods prepared to churn the Ocean of Milk for ‘Amrutam (Nectar).’ The Mandara Mountain in the middle of the earth was used as a churning rod and the serpent Vasuki was used as a rope to churn the Milky Ocean.
When the mountain Mandara was getting down into the Ocean of Milk, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and went into the sea to lift it. He became the ‘avatar’ of Kurmanadha. He lifted the mountain Mandara with His hump and the gods and demons together started churning the Ocean of Milk. First, ‘Halahalam’ (poison) emerged from the Ocean of Milk, which was very dangerous and burnt fourteen ‘Lokas.’
During that time with the prayers of the deities Lord Shiva drank and kept it in His throat. Owing to the effect of ‘halahalam,’ Lord Shiva reclined in the lap of His consort Sri Sarvamangala Devi and She continued to serve Lord Shiva.
In this way, all the other deities and sages offered prayers and ‘sevas’ to Lord Shiva. As per the wishes of the Suras and the Sages, Lord Shiva settled in Surutupalli in His sleeping posture.
History of the Temple
According to historical sources, Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy at Surutupalli had a wonderful history. It is said that Swami has been worshipping for thousands of years. The temple was first built during the Chola period in the 11th century. Later, all the rulers who ruled this region worked for the development of the temple and worshipped the Lord.
Over time, the temple was in a dilapidated condition and the local people took up its renovation about two decades ago and made it beautiful.
Temple Description
Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy temple is located in a spacious courtyard next to the main road in Surutupalli village. The temple faces the East. There are two entrances in the East and the North sides for the temple. An ancient Gopura can be seen at the eastern gate. There are two temples on the premises.
One of them is a temple where Lord Shiva is in a sleeping posture; in the other, Lord Shiva is in the ‘linga’ form. Both temples have separate ‘dwajasthambams.’
Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy temple consists of Mahamandapa, Mukhamandapa, Antaralayam and Garbhalayam. In the Garbhalayam, Lord Shiva appears as Sayanamurthy. One finds the idol of Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy who has four hands. Swamy holds a deer in one hand and an ‘ankusham’ in the other. Near to his head, there is one hand. There is another hand on His body.
Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy is surrounded by various deities and sages offering prayers. All these deities and sages are moulded on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum.
Deities Inside Temple
Various deities like Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Tumburu, Lord Chandra, Lord Vinayaka, Lord Subrahmanya Swamy and His two consorts and sages like Narada, Agastya, Gautama, Pulastya, the great devotee Markandeya, Lord Surya, appear around Lord Pallikondeswara Swamy.
One can see on the top of Garbhalayam Gopuram like Rajagopuram instead of Garbhalaya Ekakalasa Gopuram.
Sri Valmikeswara Swamy
In the temple premises to the right of Sri Pallikondeswaraswamy’s temple, one can see another temple. In this temple, Lord Shiva is being worshipped as Sri Valmikeswara Swamy in the ‘linga’ form. The temple consists of Pradosha mandapa, Mukha mandapa, Antaralayam and Garbhalayam.
In Garbhalayam Lord Shiva as Sri Valmikeshwara Swamy in the ‘linga’ form receives ‘abhishekam’ and ‘puja.’ When Maharishi Sri Valmiki worshipped Lord Shiva in this area, Lord Shiva appeared before him. He blessed the sage and He became self-made as Sri Valmikeshwara Swamy as per the wish of the sage.
Sri Dakshinamurthy
On the outer walls of the sanctum sanctorum, one can see Sri Dakshinamurthy with His consort Gouri Devi, Sri Lingodbhavamurthy and Sri Brahmadeva on the south, west and north respectively. On either side of the entrance of the temple, one can see Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi along with their wives Vasundhara and Vasumathi.
In the front part of the temple and Pradakshina ‘mandapa’ one can see Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka, Sri Mahalakshmi, Sri Ramalingeshwar, Sri Nageswara, Sri Subrahmanya Swamy, Sri Kala Bhairava, Sri Vishalakshi, Sri Vishnumurthy, Lord Lingodbhavamurthy and Saptamatrikas.
On the premises of Sri Valmikeswara Swamy temple, there is a separate temple for Deveri Sri Marakatambika on the right side.
There are Kamadhenu and Kalpa Vruksham situated on either side of the entrance of the temple. By visiting the temple and worshipping the Lord, the wishes of the devotees will be fulfilled and it will develop love and affection between wife and husband. Devotees believe that if they perform ‘Padosha Puja’ in this temple, all their troubles will be removed.
Utsavams
On the auspicious occasion of ‘Mahashivaratri’ in the month of Magha, Utsavams are performed every year. Special pujas are performed during the month of Kartika. In the temple, ‘Pradosha Pujas’ are specially performed during the evening i.e., in ‘Pradosha’ time on Trayodashi day.
Accommodation And Transport Facilities
There is a limited accommodation facility in Surutupalli. Surutupalli is located on the Tirupati-Chennai road at a distance of approx. 73 km from Tirupati,36 km from Puttur, sixty-four km from Chennai and eleven km from Nagalapuram.
There is a bus facility from Tirupati, Puttur, Nagari, Chittoor and Chennai. The Department of Tourism in A.P. operates package tours from TTD Vishnu Nivasam and TTD Srinivasam rest houses in Tirupati which cover the visit of the temple at Surutupalli.
