When the God’s abode is forsaken…

Nalgonda: The Katyayani Sametha Mallilkarjuna Swamy Temple located at Yeleswaram amid the Krishna in the backwaters of the Nagarjunasagar reservoir has a unique feature. It is believed that the devotees who do not have children are blessed with offspring, if they offer prayers to the deity. The shrine is known by various names including ‘Baddu Mallayya’, ‘Santhana Mallikarjuna Swamy’, ‘Mallayya Gattu’ and ‘Nandikonda’.

To reach the temple near Kambalapalli village in Chandampet madal amid thousands of acres of thick Nallamala forests through which the Krishna river flows, one has to travel a distance of 20 kilometres for two hours, after leaving the Pogilla village outskirts in country boats. It is located at about five kilometres from Kambalapalli. If a road is laid, linking Kacharajupalli, Guvvalagutta and Dubba thandas, the temple can be reached in 30 minutes.

The Yeleswaram hill at a height of 1,200 metres can be reached from the Vizag Colony in the mandal in two hours covering 20 kilometres. From Nagarjunasagar, the distance is reduced to 16 km consuming one-and-a-half hours and from Anuvu in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, it is only 13 km away.

With the devotees raising ‘Sambho Siva Sankara’ chants, visitors do not feel the strain of going up the hill, where two temples, one of Sakshi Ganapati and another of Parvathi-Siva, are located in a small area. Legend has it that if women, after bathing in true and committed devotion in the river, offer worship to the deity in wet clothes and chew ‘nuvvulu’ seeds, they will be blessed with an offspring, according to Archaka Sripadu. Here, the Lord gives darshan to the devotees as ‘Santhana Mallikarjunudu’, he told The Hans India.

The temple is only one to survive the submersion after the Nagarjunasagar reservoir was built. As it is located atop a hill it is not being patronised. Another reason is lack of even basic facilities like water supply and accommodation. Only the Krishna water is consumed by the visitors.
Temple Committee Chairman Chandravanka Chinnaramulu told THI that during the Sivaratri festival, lakhs of devotees visit the shrine every year. Local residents have been organising the festival for the last 15 years.

The residents pointed out that the visitors spend joyous and happy time going round the natural beauty spots surrounding the temple, akin to those found in Papikondalu and Araku Valley. The uniqueness of the place was brought to the State government’s notice in 2008. The Tourism Department operates boats each with a capacity to carry 30 persons. However, lack of tourist facilities is proving to be a handicap for the spot.

Devarakonda MLA Ravindra Naik said that he would submit a report to the State government with proposals to develop the temple, which, he said, had been neglected for years in the unified Andhra Pradesh. He would take issue of the temple development to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s notice, he added.

Measures need for the temple’s upkeep are building proper steps (now lacking), reviving the road connectivity (that has been stopped) and provision of facilities like water supply and making it a tourist spot. It has all the potential to generate funds to the Tourism department and create jobs to local youth belonging to the Girijan and fishermen communities.

By B Ashok​