Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Srisailam

Wikipedia states that inscriptional evidence from the Satavahana period suggests a shrine existed here by about the 2nd century CE, and that many later additions were made under Vijayanagara rulers. Firmer epigraphic records survive from the later medieval period. An inscription published in South Indian Inscriptions, Volume 10, found on pillars of the mandapa next to the Nandi mandapa, records that the Reddi king Anavema Reddi built a viramantapam in the temple of Mallikarjuna on the Srisaila hill; it is dated Saka 1299 (1377 CE).

The devasthanam's own material notes that Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara built many mandapas in front of the main temple, and that inscriptions of 1511 CE from his reign refer to several mathas at Srisailam. A PTI report states that Chhatrapati Shivaji visited the shrine in 1677, and a memorial meditation hall in the temple town commemorates the visit.

In 2021 temple staff found a cache of copper plates inside the walls of the Ghanta Matham, one of the old mathas at Srisailam. According to a South First report quoting the ASI's Director of Epigraphy, the plates record grants of 75 villages to the temple over several periods and refer to several dynasties, including the Reddis and the Gajapatis. One plate of 1456 CE is described by the ASI as the first known Indian inscription to refer to Halley's Comet.

Architecture and sacred features

Wikipedia describes a large walled complex of about two hectares with four gopurams (gateway towers), enclosed by high stone walls carved with sculpture. The shrines of Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba are the most important, and the complex includes many halls, the best known being the Mukha Mandapa from the Vijayanagara period, with intricately carved pillars.

The devasthanam notes a Ratnagarbha Ganapathi image in the Mukha Mandapa of the Mallikarjuna temple. Down the hillside, the Krishna River flows past as Patalaganga; the devasthanam describes it as a north-flowing stretch of the river, and Wikipedia records that its water is used to bathe the linga.