Mukhalingam, also known as Srimukhalingam or Mukhalinga is a village panchayat in

Jalumuru Jalamuru is a village in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Jalumuru mandal is bordered by Narasannapeta, Sarubujjili, Saravakota Saravakota is a village in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Prades ...

mandal of

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is one of the twenty-six districts of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme ...

in indian state of

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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Mukhalingam is derived from an

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

word ''Muhalinga'' which is the corrupt form of "Madhukalinga", a linga formed by madhuka/Mahula (Honey plant) tree. Before 1936 it was under undivided Ganjam District. It was the erstwhile capital of the Eastern Ganga dynasty , and later the capital of Khemundi Gangas of

Paralakhemundi Estate Parlakhemundi estate was a Zamindari of Odisha in the British Raj period .Before odisha province formation it was under Madras Presidency.The state was ruled as an independent kingdom till 1769.The royal family belong to the Krishnatreya gotra ...

.It is home to a group of three Śiva temples - Madhukeswara, Someswara, Bhimeswara - which have been variously dated by historians from late eighth century to early eleventh century CE. The village is located on the left bank of

Vamsadhara River Vamsadhara or River Banshadhara is an important east flowing river between Rushikulya and Godavari, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states in India. The river originates in the border of Thuamul Rampur in the Kalahandi district and Kalyansi ...

river at a distance of 31km from

Paralakhemundi Paralakhemundi shortly known as Parala is district Headquarter of Gajapati district and one of the oldest Municipality established in 1885, in the Indian state of Odisha. Majority of the people in the town speak Odia. The city and the Distr ...

town and 48 km from

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

town. The main temple of Sri mukhalingam was built by

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

King Kamaranava deva II, great grand father of

Anantavarman Chodaganga Gangesvara Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva () was an Eastern Ganga monarch who reigned between 1077 CE to 1150 CE. He was the ruler of the Kalinga region from river Ganga to Godavari, and later the early medieval Odisha region with the incorporati ...

Deva of

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...

.Later in 17th century Maharaja of

Renovated this temple.

Geography

Mukhalingam is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Transportation

Srimukhalingam is well Connected by road ways. Andhrapradesh State Highway 106 passes through Srimukhalingam village. The village is also very near to

town , district Headquarter of

Gajapati District Gajapati district is a district of Odisha State in India. It was created from Ganjam District on 2 October, 1992. Gajapati district was named after Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deb, the King of the Paralakhemundi estate and the first Prime ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

state. Auto , taxi, bus , cabs facilities are there from the town.

APSRTC Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Nehru bus station of ...

operates Several buses from

srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

bus stand to Srimukhalingam village. Many of Autos , Taxis and cabs are also available from

Challavanipeta Challavanipeta is a village in Srikakulam district in 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 popu ...

village to Srimukhalingam village.

Andhrapradesh 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 ...

SH106 Connects

Jarjangi Jarjangi is a Panchayath village in Kotabommali mandal (formerly Narasannapeta taluk), Srikakulam district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Postal Index Code of this village is 532195. Jarjangi village is located on National Highwa ...

, Budithi , komanapalli and Pindruvada villages with Sri mukhalingam village.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Informatio ...

, the demographic details of Mukhalingam are as follows: * Total Population: 3,022 in 837 Households * Male Population: 1,504 and Female Population: 1,518 * Children under six years of age: 265 (Boys - 139 and Girls - 126) * Literacy rate: 63.58%

Culture

The dating of the temples has been contested among historians. The temples have been variously dated from late eighth century to eleventh century CE. The earliest among them was constructed in the late eighth or early ninth century and the latest one dates to early eleventh century. Every year famous Chakratirtha Snana (holy bath) is taken by pilgrims. Lakhs of pilgrims visit from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on the auspicious day to take the holy bath and take blessings of Lord Shiva. The tample's first daily avisheka happens on the name of present

ruler of

as Dharmakata of the temple.

Gallery

File:A relief of Trimurti on a dome at Sri Mukhalingam temple complex.jpg, A relief of Trimurti on a dome at Sri Mukhalingam temple complex File:View of a dome at Sri Mukhalingam Temple complex.jpg, View of a dome at Sri Mukhalingam Temple complex File:A relief carved out on walls for a drain at Sri Mukhalingam Temple.jpg, A relief carved out on walls for a drain at Sri Mukhalingam File:A Temple in Sri Mukhalingam temple complex.jpg, A Temple in Sri Mukhalingam temple complex

References

Villages in Srikakulam district Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Former capital cities in India Uttarandhra {{Srikakulam-geo-stub