ஸ்ரீகாளத்தீஸ்வரர் கோயில் (திருக்காளத்தி)Srikalahasteeswara Temple, Srikalahasti

Sthala Mahātmyam

Srikalahasti, on the banks of the Swarnamukhi river in Andhra Pradesh, is the Pancha Bhoota Sthalam of the wind element (Vayu). Shiva is worshipped here as Kalahasteeswara, the Vayu Lingam; though the inner sanctum is enclosed and untouched by draughts, lamps within flicker as if stirred by wind, taken as the sign of the air element. The town's name honours three devotees who attained liberation worshipping the lingam: Sri the spider, Kala the serpent, and Hasti the elephant. The temple also glorifies Kannappa Nayanar, the hunter who, ready to offer his own eyes to stanch the lingam's bleeding, won Shiva's grace. The goddess is Gnana Prasunambika, to whom Shiva is said to have taught the Panchakshara after her penance here. Revered as Dakshina Kailasam and the pre-eminent Rahu-Ketu kshetra, it is famed for Rahu-Ketu dosha remedies and, uniquely, stays open during solar and lunar eclipses. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam praised in the Tevaram.