Suruttapalli Pallikondeswarar Temple

You would have seen Lord Vishnu in the reclining posture in many temples (as Lord Ranganatha). However, Lord Shiva is present in the form of Shiva Linga in most of the temples. The only temple where you can find Lord Shiva in the reclining posture is Pallikondeswarar temple in Suruttapalli.

Location:

Suruttapalli is a small town in Chittoor district in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The nearest city is Chennai. 

Highlights:

• God - Pallikondeswarar and Valmikeeswarar
• Goddess - Sarva Mangalambigai and Maragadambal 
• Shiva is found in the reclining posture and has his head rested on the lap of Parvati.
• The presiding deity is a triangular-shaped Shiva LInga.
• Many unique idols such as Lava, Kusha, Kubera, Sanga Nidhi, Padma Nidhi, Kama Dhenu and Kalpa Vruksha are found.
• Valmiki worshiped the deity before writing Ramayana.
• Shiva got a new name as Neelakantha in this site.
• The auspicious day of Shiva, Pradosha, originated in this site.
• Lava and Kusha visited this site, it is believed.
• Dakshinamurti with his consort is found here.
• 14th century CE period temple

Legend:

The popular legend of the churning of the milky ocean is associated with this site. The Devas and Asuras were churning the milky ocean using the Mandara mountain as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. After one point, Vasuki was unable to bear the pressure, and it spilled out the poison. As per the prayers from the Devas, Lord Shiva consumed the poison himself and saved everyone.

After consuming the poison, Shiva felt little giddiness. Parvati supported him and made him lie down on her lap. She also gently touched his neck, thus avoiding the poison from spreading to his body's other parts. His neck turned into a blue color, and he was thereafter, also known as 'Neelakantha'. The word 'Neela' means blue color, and the word 'kantha' means neck. It is believed that this particular incident happened in this site. Hence, the principal deity is found in the reclining posture on the lap of Parvati.

All the sages and Devas assembled here to check the well being of Shiva. Hence, Shiva and Parvati's images in this temple are surrounded by the images of various deities. The word 'Surutta' means the assembly of Gods, and hence this place is called Suruttapalli.

The Devas and Asuras continued to churn the ocean, and on the Dwadashi day, they obtained their objective of getting Amruta. In that process, they completely forgot Lord Shiva. On Trayodasha day, they realized their mistake and prayed for his forgiveness. 

Lord Shiva forgave them and started his tandava dance. All the deities and sages joined him in his dance. This moment has been celebrated as Pradosha every fortnight. The Pradosha Pooja is believed to have originated in this site.

As per another legend, Lava and Kusha, the sons of Lord Rama, came here along with Valmiki and prayed to Lord Shiva.

There is another legend, which claims that the sage Valmiki came here to seek the blessing of Shiva Linga before he started authoring Ramayana. Hence, there is a Shiva Linga named Valmikeeswarar in this temple.

To get rid of the sin committed in killing Ravan, Rama sought the advice of his Guru Vasishtha. As per his direction, he came here and installed a Shiva Linga and prayed to Shiva. This idol is called Rama Lingeswara.

History:

The temple is a Vijayanagara architecture, and it was built during the period of the kings Harihara and Bukka in the 14th century CE. The temple has been renovated so bad that you will not find any other ancient trace except for the deities.

Temple Layout:

The temple has a small Raja Gopuram (tower), and outside the temple, a big Nandi idol is found facing towards the temple tower.

The sanctum enshrines the Shiva Linga named Valmikeeswara. It is triangular in shape, which is unique. It is believed that the sage Valmiki worshiped this Linga, and hence he is called Valmikeeswara. Although the temple is called Pallikondeswarar temple, Valmkikeeswara is technically the principal deity. At the sanctum entrance, the idols of Kubera, Shankha Nidhi and Padma Nidhi are found.

The beautiful idol of Goddess Maragadambal is found in a separate shrine. She is found in the standing posture along with Kama Dhenu and Kalpa Vruksha on either sides.

The prakaras (circumambulatory passage) around the shrines of Valmikeeswarar and Maragambal as well as the other areas of the temple have many idols such as Varasidhi Vinayaka, Venu Gopala, Kasi Vishwanatha (Shiva Linga) with Vishalakshi, Subramanya with Valli and Devasena, Ganesha with Siddhi and Buddhi, the rare Salagrama Ganesha, Shasta with Poorna and Pushkala, 63 Nayanmars, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Annapoorna, the three-faced Jwarahara Murti, Chandikeshwara, Raja Matangi, Valmiki, Surya, Ayyappa, Kapala Hastheeswarar (Vishnu), Parvata Vardhini, Ayyappa and Bhairava. 

Dakshinamurti along with his consort Tara is found as a niche image. It is also unique. The other niche idols are Ganesha, Lingodbhava, Brahma and Durga.

There is a shrine dedicated to another Shiva Linga called Rama Lingeswara. Apart from Linga, the idols of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Lava and Kusha are also found in this shrine.

There is a stone stab where the footprints of Lava and Kusha are found.

There is a separate principal shrine dedicated to Pallikondeswarar. Here, Shiva's six feet long idol is found in the resting position with his head rested on the lap of his consort, Parvati. Parvati is called Sarva Mangalambigai in this shrine. Many deities and sages such as Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Markandeya, Agastya, Valmiki, Indra, Narad, Surya and Chandra are found in the form of relief images in the same shrine.

The unique practice followed in this temple is that instead of Vibhooti (the holy ash), teerth (holy water) is given to the devotees as prasad. This practice is similar to that of Vishnu temples.

Happy travelling.

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