Kaleshwaram is at the juncture of the rivers Godavari and its Pranahita tributary. Kaleshwaram town is on the border of Telangana and Maharashtra in Mahadevpur mandal, in Jayashankar Bhupalapally District, Telangana State.
Kaleshwaram town is famous for ancient Shiva temple known by the name Kaleshwara Mukteshwara Swamy Temple. Kaleswara Mukteshwara Swamy Temple is a unique temple. The sanctum sanctorum has four gates in four directions. Here, The unique aspect of this ancient temple is the presence of two Lingams holding onto one pedestal or the Panavattam. There is no other place like this in India. Here it is a specialty. Here Kaleswara is worshiped first and then Mukteswara.
Due to the presence of these two lingams, this temple is called Kaleswara Mukteshwara Swamy Temple. Shubhananda Devi, the divine consort of Lord Mukteshwara, graces the temple from a separate shrine. Other deities present here include Goddess Saraswati and Lord Ganesha. This ancient temple has many unique and interesting features that connect the devotees spiritually. On the top of the Muktheeshwar linga there are two nostrils and whatever quantum of water is poured,not even a drop of it comes out of it.
The three temples constituting the Trilinga Desam – “Land of Three Lingas,”- are at the Kaleshwara Mukteswara Swamy temple, Draksharamam, Srisailam. All the three temples are considered as Jyotirlingas that ornament the three corners of Telugu Land according to ancient scriptures.
The temple resembles the Kakatiya style of architecture, having a large linga similar to that found in the Sri Ramappa temple complex.
Many revered texts of the Skanda Purana narrating the story of Kartikeya (son of Shiva and Parvati) mention this shrine at Kaleswaram. In the premises of this temple there is a Yamakonam made in a triangular shape. It is the belief of the devotees that those who come to this Yamakonam without touching their head will not suffer from Yamuni. Another peculiarity here is that the Nandiswara on the stone flagpole in front of the temple seems to be facing south in Dakshinayanam and north in Uttarayanam. The temple has temples of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati, Lord Brahma, Surya and Sri Rama. Adi Mukteswara Temple is also located some distance from Kaleswara Temple.
Ancient story: In Skanda purana it is mentioned that River Godavari did penance for Bhagwan Siva, who self-manifested on the river bank as Mukteeswara Swamy. This led to an imbalance in the Universe as living creatures started attaining salvation by taking a holy dip in the river Godavari followed by the darshan of the main deity Mukteeswara Swamy. Yama, the God of death found he was work less since the dead people were not coming to Yama loka as they were attaining salvation. He did penance for Bhagwan Siva pleading Him to retain the life cycle (ie., birth, death and rebirth). Pleased Bhagwan Siva asked him to install Siva Linga (Kaleshwara Linga) next to Mukteeswara Linga. It is believed that whoever offer prayers at this temple will be relieved from the birth cycle and attains salvation. Hence the temple called by Kaleshwara and Mukteeswiara. This is the only temple where one can find two Lingas in Garbha Griha. In front of the sanctum sanctorum were Jaya-Vijay. Among them, Jaya argued that Kaleswaram was better than Kashi and Vijaya Kashi was better, and prayed to Suryanarayana Murthy for judgement. Thus the Jaya-Vijayas are the gatekeepers here (these Jaya-Vijayas are not the Jaya-Vijayas of Vaikuntha). As a witness to this, there is a Suryanarayana Swamy temple to the north-east of the temple. Saraswati temple is there. Kashi has Triveni Sangam. There is a confluence of five rivers in Kaleswaram. Death in Kashi is called Mukti. It is said that there is no rebirth due to darshan of Srisaila Shikhara. It is said that liberation can be achieved only by visiting Kaleswara Kshetra. Sub Temples at Kaleshwara Kshetram: There are many sub-temples in kaleshwara Mukteshwara temple premises like- Godess Parvati Devi Temple [Shubhananda Devi Temple] Maha Saraswathi Devi Temple Sri Ramalayam Temple Sri Adi Muktheswara Swamy Temple Sri Dattatreya Swamy Temple Sri Sangameswara Swamy Temple Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple
Kaleshwaram is easy to reach by road. Buses run from major cities like Hyderabad and Warangal. It is about 300 kilometers from Hyderabad, making it accessible for visitors.
