Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple, is one of the
Pancharama Kshetras, and is located at Palakollu in West Godavari District,
Andhra Pradesh. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Ksheerarama. The shrine is located
around 24 km west of Bhimavaram and 100 km east of Kakinada.
The name ‘Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy’ because it is believed
that the Shivling was discovered by Bhagavan Sri Ram. ‘Ksheera’ because the Shivling
is white in color. There is another legend has it that Shiva blessed a saint
and made the milky white ocean appear in the pond here.
The Shivling worshipped in the temple is white in color.
Consort of Shiva here is Goddess Parvati. Nandi is as usual found infront of
the sanctum sanctorum. One can have darshan of the Shivling from four sides.
Palakollu Shiva Temple Gopuram
Palakollu Shiva Temple Gopuram
The temple gopuram of tower is the tallest in Andhra
Pradesh. It is believed to have been built during the 10th century
AD. The gopuram is 120 feet high and has nine storeys.
The mandapa in the temple has 72 black stone pillars.
In the temple complex, there are separate shrines of
Gokarneshwara, Ganesha, Subrahmanya and Janardhana Swamy.
Other murtis worshipped in the temple are that of
Surya, Kashi Vishwanath, Goddess Parvati, Goddess Lakshmi, Dundi Vighneshwara,
Nagareswara Lingam, Veerabhadra, Sapta Matrikas, Kanaka Durga, Brahma,
Saraswati, Kumaraswamy, Kartik, Mahishasuramardini, Kalabhairav, Nagas,
Nataraja, Dattatreya, Nageshwara, Shanishwara, Radha Krishna and Shankara.