OM SRIKALAHASTI EASWARA NAMAHA

Lord Siva as Vayulingam in South India A.P.

People from all over with sarp dosha or kal sarp yoga flock to this place to offer prayers and inspire many more to come here and obtain the blessings of Lord Siva.

The temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements for devotees offering prayers and the costs are extremely nominal

Entry fees Rs 2 per person. Sarvadarsanam

Special entrance Rs 20 per person per temple -There are two temples for which there is a charge inside the temple complex-one for Srikalahasthieaswara and one of Ammavari Gnanaprasunambika Devi.

Sarp Dosh Pooja Rs 200 per person -3 persons are allowed inside the temple on the basis of one ticket of Sarp Dosh Pooja. This includes the price of the samagri for the sarp dosh pooja.

The temple remains open from 6 AM in the morning till 9 PM in the evening

It is considered best to offer prayers during Rahu kalam time(one and a half hours) as under

Monday 7.30 AM to 9 AM

Tuesday 3PM to 4.30 PM

Wednesday Noon to 1.30PM

Thursday 1.30PM to 3 PM

Friday 10.30 AM till Noon

Saturday 9 AM to 10.30 AM

Sunday 4.30PM to 6 PM

Sarp dosha occurs if a persons planets fall on one side of Rahu (head of a snake )and ketu (tail of a snake ) or if the moon is in the eighth house from rahu .There are several other methods in which this dosh occurs and it requires an astrologer -a real good one (I would say a super specialist) to diagnose such dosh.Sarp dosh or Kal Sarp Dosh results in

• unhappy or no marriage
• spouse prone to fighting
• endless struggles in life
• No children
• Lack of peace of mind
• Enmity in family or society etc.

Prayers should be offered as many times as the number of houses are affected by rahu and ketu .One should preferably go out of town for the night and come back and offer prayers again . Prayers are offered first to Patal Vighneshwara Lord Ganesha and then again to Lord Ganesha .The two silver snake icons after prayer have to be put into the kanuka ( offering box ) of Lord Sri kalahasthieaswara. One should be alert during the prayers and should take a seat next to a person who understands your language as well as the local dialect -tamil or telugu. YOU MUST KNOW YOUR NAME (!) ,YOUR GOTRA AND THE CONSTELATION UNDER WHICH YOU WERE BORN AS THE PRIEST WILL ASK THIS INFORMATION AND IN THIS ORDER.Apart from the samagri given by the temple authorities some people sell lotus flowers (Rs 20) and the priests also ask for a fees or a dakshina -these days they specify Rs 31 minimum (A shame since they are salaried employees of the temple per my information and the dakshina should be according to the will of the devotee and not something forced upon a person.Though the sum is quite nominal but it is the principle .)

Charity in form of food to the hungry or needy is called for and one may get food packets didtributed to the poor at the entrance to the temple .Annadan or charity of food after the prayers have been offered .Coconut is a sembelence of ones own head being offered to the Lord or the Goddess and breaking it symbolises ones own head .Some bilva leaves are also offered toSrikalasthieaswara. There are a no of other statues inside the temple complex and one should pay obeisance to as many as possible.( but to Lord Shani one must.)

" There never has been now will there ever be ,any gift equal to the gift of food ……"

Anusasana parva 13.63.3-6

The legend of Swarabhanu needs to be mentioned here as he was a demon and tried to partake the nectar by deceit but was observed by the sun and the moon and Lord Vishnu slaughtered Swarabhanu and since he had had the nectar or amrit he became immortal with two bodies -rahu and ketu.These are the shadow planets or the unseen planets and even western astronomers have placed the intersection of the moons orbit by the earth as somewhat a shadow (I am not very sure of the facts relating to astronomy)

As rahu and ketu are unseen yet they manifest themselves and made themselves known to us through some mysterious force similarly it is vayu that pervades every where yet we cannot see.Some people regard Lord Siva and Parvati as rahu and ketu respectively .Vayu or air pervades everywhere yet we cannot see it but can feel it similarly the vayulingam at Srikalahasthi is the Vayulingam one that is every where but which can be felt but not seen .Lord Siva has 12 Jyotirlingas mainly Kedarnath,,Rameshavaram, Somnath, Mallikaarjuna, Mahakaleshwar, Mamleshwar or Parmaeshwar, Vaidnath, Bheemashankar, Nageshwar, Vishavanath, Triambakam, Dhushmeshwar.

The panchbhootas or the five elements have five lingas that is air, water, earth, ether and Vayu.The vayulingam is at Srikalahasthi Andhra Pradesh .

Sri kalahasthi is only 60 kilometeres from Tirupati and about 135 Kilometeres north of Chennai or Madras.It is a small town with about 20,000 people and some lodges and choultries and dharamshalas.The nearest railheads are Renugunta and Gudur about 50 kilometeres on each side.Kalahasthi has a small railway station but it is well connected by bus to Chennai or Madras and also to Tirupati.

No north Indian food is available in the town and most restaurants do not even serve tea. Food is sumptuous and wholesome -the south Indian food. Good place to eat near the temple are Bheemas and a couple of other restaurants with a similar menu and rates.Parts of these restaurants are air conditioned as well .One can eat lunch/dinner for Rs 20 and Kings breakfast for a similar sum -all south Indian .Drink your own water and as far as possible eat fried or steamed vadas or idlies .

A good place to stay is the MSM LODGE -about half a kilometer from the temple . They have rooms with TV and some AC rooms as well. A single room (Non AC -NoTV)is Rs 100 for 24 hours and double for Rs 175 .WC are mostly Indian style (-preferable as chances of hepatitis infection is lesser in such cases.) .Free choultries (dharam shalas are in plenty near the temple) and even some lodges and cheaper places to stay.

Nobody speaks Hindi and even english speaking people are very rare in Kalahasthi and communication can be a real problem for a tourist.Even instructyion inside the temple are given in Tamil or may be Telugu

Plenty of International telephone booths, fax centers and even E mail -cyber cafes are there in Kalahasthi.

Tit bits as icons ,bell metal items etc may be purchased .One item I recommend is a tape by Shiva audios called Dakshina kasi -Suprabhatam and sthothras by Shiva audio company ,kalahasthi . It has two women singers -Lalita nad Malathi singing praises to Lord Siva.This also includes the SIVA SATHANAMA STOTRAM by Adi Shankara Charya .This tape is in Sanskrit.

The name kalashathi is derived from the stauant devotees of Lord Siva -

1. Sri -the spider
2. Kala-the snake
3. Hasthi-the elephant

These devotees were so dear to the Lord that they are forming a part of the Vayuingam with an eternal message that the Lord considers all as equal and even animals can attain him.Doing and contemplating the unknown and endeavoring to grasp the significance of the omniscient Vayu-the air of our being and becoming Pranvayu -though present everywhere yet to grasp it is ever eluding !!!

The other place of prominence is for his devotee Bhakat Kannapa.He was a hunter who used to pray to the Lord in his own manner -by offering him meat and water which he carried in his mouth .No priest could stop him since he was a hunter and lost his temper very fast.Yet when he saw that one of the eyes in Sivalingam was red he took out both his eyes and offered them to the Lord.

The holy river Swaranmukhi flows northwards from the temple into the sea.

The place is also known as Dakshin Kashi or Dakshin Kailash.A visit to this place is a must for the spiritual aspirants (though all priests are commercial in nature)

Srimad Dakshina Kailasa Sikharam samasritah!

Yatradese pravertantae sadhavo dwija sattamah!

Tatratya praninam muktih kimutatra nivasinam

SIVA RAHASYA KHANDAM

Kailasvasi bhagwan kalahasteeeaswara sivaha

Karotu nitya kalyanam karuna varunaalayaha

The temples architecture and design is beyond description and is based on the nervous system of the body and is also linked very closely to the Isopanishad -the very essence of Hinduism. Dakshinamurthy and the statues have a meaning for the seeker IF only one has the inquisitiveness and the brains and the patience to understand what the sages and the artists wanted to convey. Our sages endeavoured to convey to us the meaning of great truths indirectly (Paroksha ) by means of stories, edicts , riddles, sculptures, paintings etc. and left the individuals to contemplate and draw their own conclusions as best as they could. It can only be experienced and no words can describe a visit to this small dusty town of SriKalahasthi.I find myself at peace after a visit here.

Dakshinamurthy is supposed to have a lot of divine powers and is considered the preceptor of all the worlds ,the healer of the diseasesdz associated with birth as well as the repositary of all learning.

Gurave sarva lokanaam Bhishaje bhava roginaam

Nidhaye sarva vidyaanaam Dakshinaa murthaye namah

Om namo shivaya,om shivaya namah, om maheshwareya namah ,om sambhve namah, om pinakine namaha, om shashishekharaye namah , om vam devaye namah , om viruppashvarya namah, om kripanidhye namah, om shankaraye namah, om bheemayae namah, om shoorpaniye namah, om khatvange namah, om shativishthaye namah, om ambikae namah, om kantaye namah, om bhakta vatsalye namah, om bhavaye namah, om sravaye namah, om trilokaye namah, om priyaye namah, om kapalene namah, om kamayne namah, om andhakarsodnaye namah, om ganga dharaye namah, om lalateyaakshe namah, om kripanidhaye namah, om bhimaye namah,

Om dardaye namah, om bhujang bhushanaye namah, om giripriyae namah, om giridharae namha, om kritivasne namah, om bhagwatene namah, om sooshmatene namah, om jagatvyapene namah, om vyomkeshe namah, om rudraye namah, om charuvikramaye namah, om sthanraye namah, om jagat gurve namah, om bhootputye namah, om digamraye namah, om karve namah, om manikanameh namah, om lingaye namah, om swati karvaye namah, om jallingaye namah, om vayulingaye namah, om prithvilingaye namah, om tejolingaye namah, om kalahasti namah, om akash lingaye namah, om mahadevaye namah, om devaye namah, om anantai namah,Om shivai namah,

If you have any queries please write back at

Rajesh

without any obligation.I shall try my best to answer you to the best of my abilities.