Chebrolu

Chebrolu in Guntur district, famous for the Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara Temple, was called as Tamrapuri during the Shalivahana era, and later Chatúrmukhapuram during Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri's reign. The current name is believed to be a derivation of Jainuprolu, as this was an important Jaina center too in the past.

Most of the ancient temples in Chebrolu were built during the reign of the Chalukya ruler Bhima, during the 10th century AD. It was an important settlement in the Kakatiya empire, Jayapa Senani, their commander who wrote Nrtiya Ratnavali, ruled from the fort here. The place also played an important rule in the freedom struggle, when 48 residents of this village here were arrested, that included 15 women among them Vasireddy Parvatamma, Patibandla Parvatamma, Suryadevara Annapurnamma. It was the first time in Andhra Pradesh, that such a large number of women played an active role in the freedom movement.

The famous Chaturmukha Brahma Lingeswara temple was built by Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu. The other famous temples in Chebrolu are the Nageswara Swamy Temple built by brothers Kanttanna and Murthanna. There is also a temple dedicated to Rajyalakshmi here.

The Brahma Lingeswara Temple in Chebrolu is the only temple dedicated to Brahma in Andhra Pradesh. 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 in Chebrolu.

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.