Pancharama Kshetras — the Five Aramas of Andhra
పంచారామ క్షేత్రాలు
The Pancharama Kshetras are five revered Shiva temples spread across the Krishna and Godavari deltas of coastal Andhra Pradesh. Tradition binds them into a single pilgrimage: the great lingam that made the demon Tarakasura invincible was broken in the war led by Kumara Swamy, and its five pieces fell to earth and were enshrined here — each installed and worshipped by a celestial being. Amararama at Amaravati is linked to Indra; Draksharama, the 'Kasi of the South', joins Shiva with the Shakti Peetha of Manikyamba; Ksheerarama at Palakollu carries one of the region's tallest gopurams; Kumararama at Samalkota, raised by the Eastern Chalukyas, rises through two storeys; and Somarama at Bhimavaram guards a lingam that shifts colour with the phases of the moon. Together they trace both a sacred geography and the medieval flowering of Eastern Chalukya temple-building.