Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the most famous Shiva temples in South India, and is said to be the site where Kannappa was ready to offer both his eyes to cover blood flowing from the Siva linga before the Lord Siva stopped him and granted him mukti.
Srikalahasti temple, situated 36 km away from Tirupati is famous for its Vayu linga, one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams, representing wind. The temple is also regarded as Rahu-Ketu kshetra and Dakshina Kailasam. The inner temple was constructed around 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 12th century by the Chola kings and the Vijayanagara kings. Lord Shiva in his aspect as Vayu is worshiped as Kalahasteeswara.
Sri kalahasti is regarded as one of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams of Lord Shiva; the other four includes Tiruvannamalai, Thiruvanaikaval, Chidambaram and Kanchipuram. The place is representative of the Vayu Sthalam or the Element of Air. This temple is also associated with Rahu and Ketu, two of the nine celestial bodies in the Indian astrological scheme. It is believed that a visit to this temple will provide relief to those who have the planet Rahu in inimical positions in their horoscopes.
This small town is dotted with many small and big temples; most of which were constructed during the reign of Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara kings. Srikalahasti is associated with Bhakta Kannappa, one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva how offered his eyes to the lord. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is celebrated with great zeal in February to March.
Renigunta is the nearest airport (26 km from Kalahasti) which serves direct flights from Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai as well as Bangalore. Kalahasti Railway Station is well connected with Hyderabad, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Vizag, Bangalore, Karimnagar, Patna, Kochi, Puri and Bilaspur. Buses are available from Srikalahasti to the adjacent cities like Tirupati, Chennai, Vizag, Bangalore, Vijayawada and Hyderabad.
