Mahanandi.

The Mahanandi Temple is 16km from Nandyal and about 280km south of Hyderabad. It is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Siva. The linga is uniquea rough, uncut rock with two cavities.

The priests allow you to touch the linga. There is a huge Nandi in front of the main shrine. Many people include this temple in a visit to Srisailam.

This temple is unique for South India because the vimana (tower) over the linga is built in the North Indian style. The temples main gate faces west. There is a tank here which is always 1.5m (5 ft) deep.

The mystery is that no one knows how the water enters the tankonly that it is always the same level and crystal clear.The nearest railway station is in Nandyal which is well connected to Dronachalam and Guntur.

From Ahobilam, We drove towards Mahanandi,a place of great religious significance. The temple is ancient and unique in many senses, the place is around 60 kms from Ahobilam and just 20 Kms from Nandiyal.

Nandiyal once upon a time was the parliamentary constituencyof Late N Sanjiva Reddy, former President of India.Mahanandilies in the foothills of Nallamala forest range onits eastern side.

The ancient temple dates back to over 1500 years. The inscriptions of10th century tablets speak of the temple being repaired and rebuilt through successive ages by many kings.

The Holy tank is of sixty square feet with a Mantapa in the centre. The inlets and outlets of the tank are so arranged that the depth of the wateris constantly kept at five feet, thus enabling all pilgrims to have a plunge.

The source of supply of water to this tank has not been traced uptill now. The water is seen flowing into the tank through some inlets that have been built. But their exact location is still a matter of doubt. The water is crystalline pure and is ever tepid. The outlet of the water feeds 2000 Acres of fertile land.

The specialty of the water source is, it has a constant flow irrespective ofchange of seasons.The water source originates at the Garbhagruha just below Swayam Bhu Linga. one can touch the water near the Shiva linga. The best part is, every devotee irrespective of his caste or creed can touch the linga and prayin the Garbhagruha.

Drive The night halt was again in Nandiyal as the ghat section to Srishilam our next destination gets closed in the night around 9 PM. Earlier it used to be closed by 6 pm. The distance from Nandiyal to Srishilam is 180 KMs via Atmakur and 210 Via Dornal. The route Via Dornal is very good fora drive .

Next day morning, we started off at 0700 Hrs and by 1100 Hrs were on Srishailam hill top. Most of the distance is covered through thick Nallamala ranges. The place is beautiful and the drive give us immense pleasure.