Jaladheeswara Swamy Temple, popularly known as Sree Balaparvati Sametha Jaladheeswara Aalayam, is in a village named
Ghantasala in
Krishna District
Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the di ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, India. ()
It is one of the more ancient temples, believed to exist before 2nd century A.D. The fact that Siva and Parvathi are placed on a single "peetam" (panavattamu) makes the temple different from many other ancient temples like Srisailam and Srikalahasti.
According to D. Kannababu, assistant superintendent,
Archaeology Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
, "Jaladheeswara Temple was the fourth ancient temple in Andhra Pradesh. From the evidenced existing today, this temple existed before 2nd century A.D. This siva Lingam has similar features with some of the ancient temples like Gudimallam (Chittoor district near Sri Kalahasti), Amaravati, Draksharamam."
Salient features of the temple:
* It is the only temple in the world to have lords Siva and Parvati on a single peetam.
* According to the temple history, the peetam was placed by Sage Agastya.
* Nandeeshwara is more beautiful and realistic in this temple.
* According to
Skanda Purana, this temple darshana has the same pious (punya phala) effect equivalent to Darshanam of Dwadasha Jyotirlingas (12) and Ashtadasa Shakti Peetams (18) due to the placement of Siva and Parvati on a single peetam.
* The devotees believe that Jaladeeshwara abhisheka theertham is a cure for many diseases.
References
{{Hindu temples in Andhra Pradesh
Hindu temples in Krishna district