Keesaragutta Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to
Shiva and his consort
Parvati at
Keesaragutta , Keesara Village in
Medchal-Malkajgiri district,
Telangana,
India. It is about 30 km from
Hyderabad and 12 km from ECIL. It is located on a small hillock. The temple draws up to lakhs of devotees on the
Maha Shivaratri festival and during the ''Kartika'' month of the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...
.
Legend
Legend has it that
Rama installed the
lingam here to atone for the sin of killing
Ravana, who was a brahmin by birth but a demon by nature. He selected this beautiful valley surrounded by hills and verdant greenery for the purpose and ordered
Hanuman to bring a lingam from
Varanasi, believed to be
Shiva's favourite place. Hanuman was late in arriving with the lingam and as the auspicious hour was nearing, Shiva himself, appeared before Rama and presented a lingam to him for installation. Hence the lingam in the temple is called a
Swayambhu
Swayambhu ( sa, स्वयंभू) is a Sanskrit word that means "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that is created by its own accord".
Often, the word swayambhu is used to describe a self-manifested image of a deity, which was not made ...
Linga. It is also called ''Ramalingeswara'' as Rama had installed the lingam.
Hanuman returned with 101 lingams for selection from Varanasi and felt aggrieved at not having his lingam installed. Hence he threw them all over the area. Even to this day several lingams are found scattered all over the place outside the temple. These lingams are worshipped along with the lingam in the sanctum of the temple to this day.
To pacify Hanuman, Rama ordained that precedence would be given to him for worship at the temple. He also said that the hillock where the lingam was installed would bear his name ''Kesarigiri'' that is, Hanuman, the son of Kesari. Over a period of time, it has colloquially transformed and is now known as Keesara and the hill as Keesaragutta. Ever since, the rituals follow the command of Rama.
Archaeological Excavations
Exploration and Excavations were conducted by the archaeological department in the surroundings of Keesaragutta Temple. Many Remnants of Brick structures and Shiva Lingas were found on the hill north of the temple and a hillock near the water resource. The remnants belonged to Chalukyan Empire reign. Fortification walls, Yagasala and prayer halls were excavated here. Some vestige remnants and rock cut cisterns were found on the hills as an indication that Jainism and Buddhism flourished contemporaneously. On 18 October 2014, twelve idols of
Jain Tirthankara dating back to the 4th-5th century were found near the temple steps at a depth of one foot which proves that
Jainism co-existed along with Hinduism at Keesaragutta during the time of Vishnukundinas in 4-5th century.
References
{{coord missing, Telangana
Shiva temples in Telangana
Hindu temples in Telangana