Location: Gudlur, Mahbubnagar
Deity: Lord Shiva
This temple was built during the reign of Maurya Chandragupta contains a grand image of Errana, adored in literature. The Shivalinga is a surprise for the devotees because of its colour - it is white on one side and red on the other side. There is an enormous tank where a thousand elephants can swim at the same time. It contains the images of Chandi, Subrahmanya, Virabhadra, Kumaraswamy and other gods. This is called the northern gateway to Srisailam, and a leading Saiva kshetra enshrining one of the twelve jyotirlingas. It is a hill temple, built by Kalyana
Chalukyas in the seventh century itself.
Legend: According to legend, the linga was drinking the milk of a cow in the form of a serpent, and when a cowherd beat the snake, it turned white; the red indicates the blood that came out. The Sthalapurana says that Parvathi did penance here, propitiating Lord Siva and in the end married Him in the presence of Saptamaharshis. The hill is crescent shaped and contains aalayas both upon it and at its foot. This Aalaya is described as Guptamaheswaram in literary treatises. It lies in the town of Uma Maheswaram of Achchampet taluk of Mahabubnagar district of
Andhra Pradesh.
