Chebrolu
Chebrolu in Guntur district, famous for it’s Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara Temple was called as Tamrapuri during the Shalivahana era, an ancient settlement known for it’s temples. During time of Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri between 18th-19th century it came to be known as Chatúrmukhapuram after the temple here. The current name is derived from Jainaprolu, as it was an important Jaina center too in the past.
Most of the ancient temples in Chebrolu, were built in 10th century AD, by Eastern Chalukya ruler Bhima. During the Kakatiya era, it was an important settlement and fort from where Jayapa Senani, their commander and author of Nitya Ratnavali ruled.
Durimg the freedom struggle, Chebrolu played an important role, when 48 residents including 15 women were arrested, that included Vasireddy Parvatamma, Patibandla Parvatamma, and Suryadevara Annapurnamma. This was the first time in Andhra Pradesh such a large number of women actively participated in the freedom struggle.
The Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara Temple is the only temple dedicated to Brahma in Andhra Pradesh and was built by Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu. The other famous temples are Nageswara Swamy Temple built by brothers Kanttanna and Murthanna and temple dedicated to Rajyalakshmi.
It’s believed that Brahma was cursed by Rishi Brighu that he would not be worshipped during Kaliyuga, hence there are very few temples for him. The main Shiva Linga at the Chebrolu temple has Brahma engraved on 4 sides, hence the name Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara, only other such kind of Shiva Linga you have in India is at Kashi.
Also the Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara temple is surrounded by water on all sides, and there is only one walkway to the temple. Though this temple is not very famous it’s still worth a visit. Chebrolu was also the capital of the Eastern Chalukyas for some time, after their commander in chief Bayanambini, conquered the Dharanikota and Yanamadula forts. There are a lot of inscriptions dating to that time.
The other famous temple in Chebrolu is the Nageswara Temple, located in the center of the town, where Shiva is worshipped as Nageswara with his consorts Ganga and Parvati. The Chalukya ruler Bhima used to take the blessings of the deity here before every battle. The temple here was later renovated by the zamindar of Amaravati, Sri Raja Veera Venkata Bahadur.
The other famous Shaiva temples at Chebrolu are the Sahasra Lingeswara Temple and the Bheemeswara Temple. There are also temples dedicated to Adikeshava Swamy and Venugopala Swamy.
Though not as well known as some of the other Shaiva Kshetras in Andhra Pradesh, Chebrolu is worth a visit for it’s temples, ancient inscriptions and history.