Mukhalingam Temple

Legend has it that once a Koya chief named Chitrasena had two wifes- Chiddi and Chikkala who quarrels with each other all the time. Chitrasena used to worship a Vippa tree (known by name ‘Madhuka’ in Sanskrit) in the forest on regular basis to get relief from the pressure of his wifes. One day his wifes had a big heated arruguments on the streets which made Chitrasena to feel insulted before the villagers. This act provoked him to cutdown the Tree he used to worship in anger and huge flames emerged from the base of the tree. Chitrasena realized that this was none other than Siva and prayed for mercy for his sinful act. Lord Siva appeared before him and intimated him about his presence in that part of the tree and also promised to grant salvation to the devotees who make darshan of him here with open eyes. The portion of the tree turned as a lingam with facial features on its surface and hence the Lord is named after the Tree as Madhukeswara.

In Madhukeswara temple there is a large mud pot called Golem with a diameter larger than the width of the sanctum door. According to sthalapurana, once upon a time, there was a potter named Naganna who was childless and came for the darshan of Madhukeswara. He came along with a big pot of milk to perform Abhishekam but was unable to take the pot into the sanctum due to its size. So, he left the golem at the entrance of the door and returned home sadly. The next morning, when the priest opened the temple door, to his utmost amazement, he found the golem just behind the deity. Everyone believed it was the god’s miracle, and the potter was also blessed with a child.

Mukhalingam is identified as the Kalinganagara, the capital city of Early Eastern Gangas and the initial capital of imperial Eastern Ganga dynasty. The Early Eastern Gangas were confined to a small territory in the northern Andhra Pradesh between 5th century and early 10th century and ended with the rise of Imperial Gangas from 900 CE. The relation between the two clans is not clear but both the branches had their capital at Kalinganagara, the present day Mukhalingam. 

The earliest temple among the Mukhalingam group is the Madhukeswara temple also known as the Mukhalingeswara temple. There are many inscriptions engraved on this temple but none of them registers about the date of its construction. The Korni Copper plate grant of Anantavarma Chodaganga dated to 1112 CE mentions that Kamarnava II built the temple dedicated to Madhukeswara. The temple is dated to the second half of the 8th century CE based on the architectural features.

The Somesvara temple has was constructed a hundred years later than the Madhukeswara in the second half of 9th century CE. The Bhimeswara temple has few inscriptions with mostly belonging to the Gajapati period. An inscription mentions the deity as Aniyanka-Bhimeswara  which refers to the Ganga king Vajrahasta II, who ruled from 982 CE to 1016 CE and hence temple have been constructed during the beginning of 11th century CE.

The Mukhalingam group of temples are the typical examples of early Kalinga architecture constructed between 8th and 11th century CE. The temples are considered as one of the finest sculptural structures with almost every inch of all the architectural members consist of rich and incarnate carvings.  

Madhukeswara temple:

The temple is enclosed in a compound wall which has entrances from the east and south side. The east entrance with guarding lion sculptures on its either side opens into a vestibule which consists of a Nandi shine in the center. The second compound wall with the only entrance in the east with three recessed jambs and lintels. This entrance leads to the main structure which is of the Panchayatana type in which the main shrine is accompanied four shrines at the corners of compound. The central shrine dedicated to Madhukeswara consists of garbhagriha and jaganmohana (a closed mandapa). The Garbhagriha consist of a shrikara known as the Rekha-deul with two amalakas at the top. The mandapa has two entrances one in the east, the other in the south and has small grills in the north wall for light to pass through. The four corners of the mandapa have small shikaras rising little higher than the roof level of mandapa. The four subsidiary shrines in the corners consist of shikaras above the main chamber.

The temple complex consists of the intricate carvings on all the architectural members. The outer wall and the doorjambs of the shrines contains rich sculptural elements in the form of icons, panels and decorative features. The entrance of the shrines and mandapas are designed with recessed jambs on which extensive art work of deities, humans, horses, elephants and war scenes and the projected structure over the entrances also consists of the deity icons in the niches such as Nataraja, Ganesha, Durga and various other forms of Siva. The walls of the central shrine is carved with niches in a row and consist of series icons such as Gangadaramurti, Nataraja, Mahishasuramardini, Varaha, Durga, Parvati, Narasimha and various other representations of Siva.

Someswara Temple:

Someswara temple is located at the entrance of the village and faces west. The temple has only the Shikara portion remaining over the garbhagriha which belongs to the Tri-ratha type with an amalaka on its top. The shrine has an entrance with doorjambs flanked by Ganga and Yamuna and Lintel with sculpture of Gajalaxmi and above it is the frieze of nine planets. There is an icon of Nataraja on the Sikhara front portion i.e. Sukanasi and large icons of Mahishasuramardhini, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Siva and Lakulisa on the sides of the lower structure.

Bhimeswara Temple:

The Bhimeswara temple is located between these two temples and consist of garbhagriha, arthamandapa and a mandapa. The garbhagriha consists of shikara of the Kalinga architecture and has the icons of Brahma, Dakshinamurti and Narasimha on the outer walls. The arthamandapa has icons of Ganesha and Mahishasuramardhini on its outer walls. The walls of the mandapa are plain without the carvings as that of other two temples.

The most celebrated festivals in the Temples are Maha-Sivaratri and Kartika-Purnima. The days of Kartika month are observed holy and special pujas are conducted.

5AM – 12.30 PM & 2 PM – 8PM