Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple:- Kurnool(Andhra Pradesh) Temple Story

Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple of Lord Shiva is located in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. Many caves near the temple make it a marvelous experience. It is believed that no crows have been seen at this cave temple since time immemorial. Legend has it that Agastya sage cursed them after being disturbed while he was in deep meditation.

One story of the site’s origin is as follows:

The sage Agastya wanted to build a temple for Venkateswara (Vishnu) here. However, the Idol that was made could not be installed as the toenail got broken. The sage was upset over this and performed a penance for Lord Shiva.

When Lord Shiva appeared, he said this place better suits him as it resembles Kailash. Agastya then requested Lord Shiva to give the devotees the Goddess Parvathi as Lord Uma Maheswara in a single stone, which Lord Shiva obliged. Pushkarini, a small pond of water is also located on the temple premise (Water comes out of Nandi’s mouth, and no one knows from where the water is coming from but water flow continues irrespective of the seasons). The most interesting part of Yaganti is, Nandi grows in size. According to ASI, Nandi grows 1 inch every 20 years. One of the pillars was removed because of this.

In Sri Venkateswara Cave, the Idol of Vishnu is present. It is believed that this Idol was sculptured prior to the arrival of Lord Venkateswara Swamy to the Tirumala hills.