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SriKalahasti temple is located 36 km away from Tirupathi in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradhesh, India. The inner temple is constructed around 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 12th Century.

Srikalahasti Temple is situated in Chittoor district of the state of Andhra Pradesh. In South India, it occupies a place of eminence among the holy Siva kshetras. The temple is called as Dakshina Kailasam located on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. The architecture of Srikalahasti Temple-Chitoor is extraordinary, it has three massive Gopurams which are breathtaking. Another striking feature of the temple is its huge Mantapam with hundred pillars.


Srikalahasti is a holy town and a municipality near Tirupati, Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. It is also informally and wrongly referred to as Kalahasti. It is a popular ancient Temple dedicated to Shiva and is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams (temples celebrating Shiva as the embodiment of the primary elements), air being the element in case here, the other five temples being Tiruvannamalai (Fire), Chidambaram (Space), Tiruvanaikkaval (Water) and Kanchipuram (Earth) respectively. Thousands of pilgrims from all over India visit the temple to have darshan of the almighty Sri Kalahasteeswara God and Goddesses Sri Gnanaprasunambika Devi.

This temple is also associated with Rahu and Ketu, (of the nine grahams or celestial bodies in the Indian astrological scheme). The Tamil Cholas and the Vijayanagara Rulers have made several endowments to this temple. Adi Sankara is said to have visited this temple and offered worship here. There are Chola inscriptions in this temple which date back to the 10th century CE. The deities worshiped in Srikalahasti Temple-Chitoor are Srikalahastiswara and his spouse Gnanaprasunambika.

The Chola rulers constructed the main temple. In 11th century A.D., the Chola king Kuluthungal built the Caligopuram. While in the 12th century AD Veeranarashimha Yadavaraya contributed to the construction of the temple by constructing the compound wall or Prakara and the four Gopurams. In 1516 A. D., the great Chola king Krishnadevaraya built the huge 100- pillared Mandapa. The inscriptions on the temple inform that it was built by the great Pallava kings and folowed by the Tondaman Chakravarthi (Pandyam Kings).

One of the major festivals celebrated in Srikalahasti Temple-Chitoor is Mahashivratri, celebrated in the month of February and March for 10 days. The Shiva Linga of Srikalahasti Temple is considered to be one of the five important Lingas. According to Hindu mythology the five lingas represent the five great elements namely - Water, Fire, Ether, Air and Earth,established in the five great 'Kshetras'.

At Srikalahasti Temple, Lord Shiva is worshiped as Vayu Linga of the wind God. A flame present in the Garbhagraha of the temple flickers even though no wind can enter the shrine. The skilful Yadav architecture of the temple indicates the presence of a shaft of wind near the deity and hence the fire in the lamp flickers.

The temple architecture is a treat to the eyes for all those who visit Srikalahasti. A huge white architecture with three lofty gopurams speaks volume for its construction that dates back to Krishnadevaraya and Chola dynasty. Srikalahasti Temple was built by Chola Kings including Todaman Chakravarti. Historically, the temple was constructed in parts by different kings of Chola Dynasty. It is the Chola Dynasty which is credited for renovating and embellishing the temple with intricate sculpture and art. Kulottunga Chola, the great Chola King, contrived and built the beautiful gopurams, located at the entrance facing south, during the 11th century AD. In the late 12th century, Veeranarasimha Yadavaraya festooned the temple with outer Prakaras and four other gopurams connecting four entrances.

The Mantapams and Galigopurams facing east were developed by the Vijaynagar rulers in 16th century. Finally, the Natukottai Chettiars of Devakottai gave a final touch to the temple in 1912 by contributing 9 lakhs of rupees.The tower built by Krishnadevaraya in 15th century over the main gate stands at an imposing height of 120 ft. Alongside, the hundred pillared Mantapam (hall inside temple) is another architectural splendour that Srikalahasti is famed for. The Prakara or the compound and four gopurams were built by Veeranarashimha Yadavaraya in 12th Century. The Mantapam or 100 pillared hall was contrived and built by Krishnadevaraya during 1516 AD.

In the centre of the bustling street and bazaars on the sides, Srikalahasti Temple stands elevated with an architecture enwrapped in old world charm. Estimated to be a 1000 and more years old, during a recent repair work, the Shiva temple reflects oodles of culture and antiquity in look.

Sculptures of sage Kannappa, Shakti Vinayak and Saivaite bronze figures are quiet old and the exact date of these idols are known till date. Even the lingam of the temple dates back to more than 1000 years. An inside view and study of the pillar and carvings in the temple prove its antiquity beyond 1000 years.

Note: While all the temples are closed during the eclipse, the temple of Srikalahasteesvara is open and special Abhishekams are performed here.The Manikanteswara temple, also in Kalahasti dates back to the period of Raja Raja Chola I (early 11th century), and it was reconstructed in stone in 1196 by Kulottunga III. Shiva here is also referred to as Manikkengauyudaiya Nayanar. There is also a Vishnu shrine in this temple.Bhaktha Kannappa, a hunter is said to have been a great devotee of Kalahasteeswarar. Legend has it that he offered his own eyes to the Shivalingam, and for this reason earned the name Kannappan (his original name being Thinnan), and the distinction of having his statue adorn the sanctum. Nakkiradevar, Indra, Rama, Muchukunda and others are believed to have worshipped Shiva at this temple.

The Sivarathri Brahmotsavam is a 12-day festival of great importance that attracts lakhs of people from various parts of our country. Mahasivarathri, Nandi Seva, Lingodbhavam, Rathotsavam, Teppotsavam and Sri Swami-Ammavarla Kalyanotsavam are the important aspects of this festival.

The main Linga, which is in the shape of an elephant trunk, with tusks on each side and a figure of a spider at the bottom, is untouched by human hands, even by the priests. Abhishekam (anointing the Lord) is done to the 'Utsava Murthi' by pouring a mixture of water, milk, camphor and Panchamrita. Even sandal paste, flowers and sacred threads are offered to the utsava murthi and not to the main idol. There are some legends and myths associated with the temple of which two are most popular.

Nearby tourist places to Srikalahasti Temple Tirupathi Visakhapatnam Warangal

One of them is in "Sri Kalahasti Satakam", describing the origin of the name of the temple and the other, in the Tamil hagiology, describing the association of the original jungle temple where Kannappa, an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva worshipped.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6 am to 9 pm and on other days fom 6 am to 9.30pm.

S.No	Seva	Timing
1	Suprabatham	5-30 AM
2	Sarvadarshanam	6-00 AM
3	Pradhama Kala Abhishekam	7-30 AM
4	Dwthiya Kala Abhishekam	9-00 AM
5	Ucchi kala Abhishekam	10-30 AM
6	Rudhra Homam	11-00 AM
7	Chandhi Homam	11-00 AM
8	Nityothsavam	11-00 AM
9	Nithya Kalyanam	11-30 AM
10	Prodhosha Kala Abhishekam	5-30 PM
11	Nirajana Manthra Pushpam	7-00 PM
12	Ekantha Seva	9-00 PM
13	Temple Closing time	9-00 PM (every day)  9-30 PM (on Saturday to Monday)

1.Chidambaram Natarajar temple representing Akash (space).
2.Thiruvanaikoil Jambukeswarar temple representing Jalam (water),
3.Kancheepuram Ekambareswarar temple representing Prithvi (earth) and
4.Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar temple representing Agni (fire)

Through Airways: The nearest airport is in Tirupati Airport, which is just 25 kms. There are daily flights from Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore. Chennai International airport is the major closest airport to Srikalahasti at about 99 Kms. Bengaluru International Airport is about 230 km.


Through Railways: Through railways there is a railway station at Sri Kalahasthi. Srikalahasti is on Tirupati-Vijayawada broad gauge rail route and all express trains have stop at Srikalahast. It is well connected to all major cities in South India directly. There are trains from Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Kolkata .The closest railway junction is Renigunta and all trains plying between Chennai and Mumbai stop at Renigunta.The Renigunta is just 25 kms from Sri Kalahasthi.


Through Roadways: It takes about 5 hours by road to get to Tirupati from Bangalore. Both KSRTC and APSRTC operate buses during the day and night. It is about 3 hours by road from Chennai. Frequent buses are available from CMBT Chennai. APSRTC has buses plying very frequently (every ½ hour) from Tirupati. It also operates a special package called Yathra darsini and Divyadarsini.