Amaravathi Amareswara Temple

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The Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord shiva is one of the famous Pancharams.Situated in Amaravathi, a small town on the banks of River Krishna in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Amaravati, also known as Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota is the site of a great Buddhist Stupa built in pre-Mauryan times. It is on the south eastern side of the Srisailam temple. It was also the capital of Satavahanas, the first great Andhra kings who ruled from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, after the downfall of Maurya empire. The Sthalapurana for the temple tells an interesting story. At the end of Dwaparayuga 5053 years ago, Maharshi Narada was asked by the Sounakadi rishis as to the best means to obtain liberation. Narada told them that as Lord Krishna had created the river Krishna, so had he advised the rishis to live near the river and bath in its holy water to attain salvation. If a devotee remains in this area for more than three days and worships Lord Amareswara with devotion after a dip in the holy river he will attain the Sivaloka. The Lord Amareswara is worshipped here with his consort Bala Chamundika who is considered as the fourth of the 18 Goddesses. There are other minor deities in the temple.