Macherla Chennakesava Swamy Temple

Macherla was one of the main cities of the Palnadu region, and the famous battle was fought in 1182, with Gurazala, that saw the demise of many smaller kingdoms and rise of the Kakatiya empire. During the time of the ruling Haiheyas, there was a huge lake, with a temple dedicated to Mahadevi in it's midst. The place was named as Mahadevicherla, which in due course of time became Macherla.

The Sri Lakshmi Chennakesava Temple located on the banks of the Chandravanka River is one of the older temples in Andhra Pradesh, dating to 1132 AD. Originally a Shaivite temple, it was later converted to a Vaishnava Temple, under Brahmanaidu, the minister of the Haiheya kingdom.

The main deity here is Shri Chennakesava Swamy, and his consort Lakshmi. Chennakeshava is another name of Vishnu, meaning one who loves being decorated.

The Ranga Mandapam here has 4 pillars with exquisite carvings in Chola style from the Ramayana,Mahabharata, Bhagavatam and various Puranas. The dice game from Mahabharata, final battle between Rama and Ravana from Ramayana, Shiva destroying the Tripuras, Sagar Manthan are all depicted beautifully.

Just in front of the Dwaja Stambham, there is the Balipeetam, where it’s believed Chennakesava Swamy resides, and Bali is given during the Brahmotsavams. The Dwaja Stambham was built around 1566 AD by Palutla Tirupathayya.

There is also a Kappaka Stambham , which is primarily the broken upper part of the Dwajastambham. It’s believed whoever does Pradakshinas around this, will have their wishes fulfilled.

The temple is famous for having the tallest Ratha(Chariot) in Andhra Pradesh, that is drawn during the Brahmotsavam time. The 60 ft Ratha with 6 storeys was built by a merchant from Golkonda, Kunchanapalli Narayana Rao, who donated it to the temple in 1880.

There is also a Nagasilastambha Edict on white marble pillar, located in front of the Giriswara Temple in southern part of the complex. It was inscribed in 1033 AD, by Adityudu, the son of Sridharudu during the reign of Varakamudu. The edict has details about then ruler Sagibeta I, his marriage with Medambika.

The original Shiva temple called the Adityeswaralayam, built around 1111 AD by Aditya during the rule of Chagi Betharaju, who also built the Nagashila Stambham before the temple.

There is also an Otigulla on the outskirts of Macherla, basically a temple complex without any deity, by the Jains.

Macherla can be reached from Guntur, VIjayawada either by road or rail. Apart from the temple, you can use it as a base to visit Nagarjunakonda and Ettipothala falls too.