Ksheerarama Temple
Pancharama Kshetras are called so, after the five temples dedicated to Shiva, in coastal Andhra. All Shiva linga at the five temples were apparently, derived from a single linga. Supposedly, this massive Shiva linga was owned by an Asura ruler Tarakasura, which made him practically invincible. It was finally Kumara Swamy who attacked Tarakasura and used his power to kill him. However, Kumara Swamy discovered that the torn pieces of Tarakasura’s body would rejoin, repeatedly, making his efforts go futile. It was then on the advice of Lord Vishnu, to break the Shiva linga which Taraka was wearing into five pieces, that Kumara Swamy could destroy the Asura king. He also cautioned Kumara Swamy, that the pieces of the linga would reunite, and hence should be fixed to the ground.
Soon Swamy, used the Agni-asthra, the weapon of fire, to break the Shiva linga into five pieces, which then Lord Surya erected by fastening them with nails and building temples over them. If one notices the five Shivalingas carefully, they have scaly markings, believed to be caused by the Agni-asthra. Now, the five different temples are collectively called as Pancharamas (five places of rest). These are located at Draksharama, Amaravati( Amararama), Samarlakota( Kumara Rama), Bhimavaram(Somarama) and Palakollu(Ksheerarama).
Ksheeraramalingeswara Swamy Temple is located in Palakollu, West Godavari district, surrounded by lush green paddy fields. The temple so gets it’s name from the milky white color of the Shiva Lingam here, that is believed to have been installed by Vishnu himself, who is also the Kshetrapalaka. Adi Shankara visited the temple, and installed the Sri Chakra here.
As per the Sthala Puranam, Upamanyu, a devotee of Shiva, did penace, pleased with his devotion, struck the place with his Trishul, and milk flowed from it. And that gave the place the name of Ksheerapuri, Upamanyupuram in ancient times. Since the milk collected in a tank, it was called as Palakolanu meaning Lake of Milk, which in due course of time became Palakollu.
The temple was built by the Eastern Chalukyas during the 10th-11th centuries, and as per the inscriptions, Brahmasri Kase Sulacharya was the architect of the temple. The temple is known for it’s 150 ft high gopuram, containing 9 storeys, built by Allada Reddi Bhupaludu in 1415.
Gudambika, the wife of the Velanati Chola ruler donated an Akhanda Deepam to the temple in 1157, while Kona Ganapatideva Maharaja installed the bronze doors to the Natya Mandapam here. The Kalyana Mantapam was built by Chellapinnamaneni Narahari.
Historically too Palakollu has a lot of importance, during the Qutub Shahi period, it had a flourishing textile industry, with manufacture of cotton, calico garments, and blankets. However the terrible drought that hit the Godavari-Krishna delta during 1770 crippled the business here, and import of British made cloth, forced the textile industry here to shut down.
Apart from Ksheeraramam temple, the town has many other well known temples like Ashtabhuja Lakshmi Narayana Temple, and temples dedicated to Pedintamma, the town’s guardian deity, as well as Desalamma the Grama devata. It is also a cultural center with the Lalitakalanjali Kshetram regularly organizing plays here, while the Bala Kendram trains children in painting, fine arts, Bharatanatyam, music.
This could be the reason why quite a lot of Telugu cinema personalities are from Palakollu, legendary comedian Allu Ramalingayya comes from this town, as also superstar Chiranjeevi who grew up here.
Director actor Dasari Narayana Rao is from here, as well as other directors like Kodi Ramakrishna, Raviraja Pinisetty, Relangi Narasimha Rao and Prashant Varma, director of Hanuman.
The musical prodigy Mandolin Srinivas is from this town, as well as Ghazal Srinivas, the Telugu singer famous for his Ghazals and lyricist Ananta Sriram.
And Beri Thimappa, who negotiated the purchase of Madras from the Srikalahasti Nayak rulers for Francis Day of East India Company too from here.’
The town is famous for oranges, as also manufacture of “Navvaru”, used in cots and lace manufacture at a village called Kommachikala nearby.
The temple apart, the lush green paddy fields, coconut groves, canals, leisurely pace of life, the hospitality, the delicious cuisine here make Palakollu a place worth visiting.