Bhairavakona - 8 Temples Carved Out Of Rock

Bhairavakona, in the dense Nallamala forests, is a true natural wonder with beautiful caves, ponds and waterfalls. It is also a big attraction for devotees and tourists who come in large numbers to the Kalabhairava temple.

The Temple is situated near kanigiri , prakasam District , Andhra Pradesh.The main attraction here is the Durga temple and devotees, after bathing in the holy pond, tie threads around a nearby tree in the hope of having their prayers answered.

According to a legend, Lord Siva and goddess Parvati once visited the place and were captivated by its beauty. They left behind a Siva lingam that resembles the one at Amarnath. According to archaeologists, this temple belongs to the 7th or 8th century AD.

Kalabhairava is said to have once reigned over this region and from there stems the name, Bhairavakona.Kalabhariva temple is sometimes called the temple of the Holy Trinity. This is perhaps the only temple in India where Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara are worshipped at one place. An interesting feature of this place is that eight temples were carved out of one rock.

Lord Siva appears in eight different forms of Shashinaga, Rudra, Visweswara, Nagarikeswara, Bhargeswara, Rameswara, Mallikarjuna and Pakshamalika Linga. Devotees also come to Bhairavakona to see the moonlight fall on the idol of goddess Durgadevi on the days of Kartika Pournami and Maha Sivaratri.

The fort on the hill, built by the Pallava dynasty, is in ruins due to the negligence of the archaeological and tourism departments. Recently, on November 21, three teenagers went missing in Bhairavakona and it took the police 20 hours to trace them around 10 km into the jungle.