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	SRI KALAHASTI - SRI KALAHASTEESWARA

About the Temple Temple History Sthalapuranam Legend of Sri - Kala - Hasti Legend of Bhakta Kannappa Other Shrines Fairs & Festivals

The temple and its History :

The town retaining the freshness of the ancient grandeur welcomes the tourists with the sight of a majestic temple tower standing amidst the busy Market Street. This is a gali gopuram marking the entrance of the temple but not leading one into the inner precincts of the temple and is known to be constructed as an attempt to change the course of River Swarnamukhi. There also is an "Alms Tower" or Bichchala Gopuram, as it is commonly called. It is a smaller tower constructed by the Yadava kings by collecting alms and hence got its name.

With the hills serving as the walls of the temple at places and the prakaras following the contour of the adjoining hill, the temple plan is rather irregular. North of the temple is the Durgambika hill, South the Kannappa Hill and East the Kumaraswamy hill.

The present temple structure as shown by the inscriptions owes its foundation to the Cholas of 10^th century and the subsequent improvements and additions to the Chola rulers of Tamilnadu and the Vijayanagara emperors. The three lofty gopurams and the huge hundred-pillared mantapam are remarkable for their Architecture. The Tondaman emperor and later the Pallava rulers contributed to the growth of the temple environs. After Pallavas, the Cholas remodeled the temple premises and built huge walls around it. Adi Sankara is also said to have visited this temple and offered worship here.

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