Sri Chaya Someswara Temple, also known as the Chaya Someshvara Swamy Alayam or the Saila-Somesvara temple, is a Saivite Hindu temple located in Panagal, Nalgonda district of Telangana, India.
The temple got the name as it is believed that the formation of relentless shadow (Chaya in Telugu) of a pillar falls over the main deity of Shivalingam throughout the day. This amazing temple, engineered by the Kunduru, testifies the fantastic creative thinking and scientific knowledge of its architects. The complex houses three deities – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva facing three different directions connected by common mahamandapa. The temple also demonstrates wonderful sculpture and art work.
The temple is known for its architecture. One of the garbhagrihas situated in the west and facing east contains a continuing shadow of a pillar throughout the day. This mysterious shadow is a huge attraction of the temple. The chaya that falls on the deity looks like a shadow of one of the pillars carved in front of the sacred chamber. But it is not actually the shadow of any pillar. The dark area is formed by the reflection of light through multiple pillars placed in front of garbhagriha and the shadow is a consolidated shadow of those four pillars. The pillars in the temple are strategically placed so that the light falls at the same place throughout the day.
The pillars of the temple are decorated in great detail with relief sculpture of episodes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Several sculptures collected from this area are preserved at the museum constructed in the compound of Pachala Someswara Swamy temple. Some of the ancient shivalingas preserved in the museum were collected from a village called Yelleswaram, which was submerged during the construction of Pachala Ramalingeshwara Temple lies 1.2 km from Sri Chaya Someshwara Temple in Panagal Village is another wonderful place that can be visited.Chaya Someshwara Temple is well known for its architecture & mysterious shadow that falls on the deity. Here, Lord Shiva is worshiped as Someshwara Swamy. Because of the shadow, the temple is called as Chaya Someshwara Alayam.
The temple has three Garbhagrihas that houses three deities Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, hence it is also called as “Thrikutalayam”.
The Garbhagriha situated on the west and facing east is dedicated to Lord Shiva. We can see a constant and continuous shadow of a pillar on Shiva Lingam throughout the day.
There is another architectural wonder apart from this Shadow which falls on the deity of the temple. If one stands in front of Shiva Lingam in the inner sanctum they will find their own shadow divided into two postures behind the wall of the deity.
Also, In Lord Vishnu garbhagriha, one can notice their hand waved, when standing in front of the deity, it splits into 5 shadow postures.
The temple is known for its architecture. One of the garbhagrihas situated in the west and facing east contains a continuing shadow of a pillar throughout the day. This mysterious shadow is a huge attraction of the temple. The chaya that falls on the deity looks like a shadow of one of the pillars carved in front of the sacred chamber. But it is not actually the shadow of any pillar. The dark area is formed by the reflection of light through multiple pillars placed in front of garbhagriha and the shadow is a consolidated shadow of those four pillars. The pillars in the temple are strategically placed so that the light falls at the same place throughout the day.
The pillars of the temple are decorated in great detail with relief sculpture of episodes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Several sculptures collected from this area are preserved at the museum constructed in the compound of Pachala Someswara Swamy temple. Some of the ancient shivalingas preserved in the museum were collected from a village called Yelleswaram, which was submerged during the construction of Pachala Ramalingeshwara Temple lies 1.2 km from Sri Chaya Someshwara Temple in Panagal Village is another wonderful place that can be visited.Chaya Someshwara Temple is well known for its architecture & mysterious shadow that falls on the deity. Here, Lord Shiva is worshiped as Someshwara Swamy. Because of the shadow, the temple is called as Chaya Someshwara Alayam.
The temple has three Garbhagrihas that houses three deities Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, hence it is also called as “Thrikutalayam”.
The Garbhagriha situated on the west and facing east is dedicated to Lord Shiva. We can see a constant and continuous shadow of a pillar on Shiva Lingam throughout the day.
There is another architectural wonder apart from this Shadow which falls on the deity of the temple. If one stands in front of Shiva Lingam in the inner sanctum they will find their own shadow divided into two postures behind the wall of the deity.
Also, In Lord Vishnu garbhagriha, one can notice their hand waved, when standing in front of the deity, it splits into 5 shadow postures.
The dark area is formed by the reflection of light through multiple pillars placed in front of garbhagriha and the shadow is a consolidated shadow of those four pillars. The pillars in the temple are strategically placed so that the light falls at the same place throughout the day.
The temple was built during Kundur Cholas period between 11th – 12th century. It is one of the ancient and historical pilgrimage sites in Telangana. The architecture and the pillar shadow on the deity show creative thinking & scientific knowledge of Kunduru Cholas.
The temple is located in Panagal at a distance of 1.4 km from Panagal Bus Station, nearly 4 km from Nalgonda city, 45 km from Suryapet city and about 107 kilometres from Hyderabad.
The temple is located in Panagal at a distance of 1.4 km from Panagal Bus Station, nearly 4 km from Nalgonda city, 45 km from Suryapet city and about 107 kilometres from Hyderabad.
Timings : 6 AM to 12 PM and 3 PM to 8 PM
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