Pillalamarri Erakeswara Temple, Telangana

Address

Pillalamarri Erakeswara Temple, Pillalamarri Rd, Pilalamarri, Suryapet district Telangana 508376

Diety

Erakeswara

Introduction

Pillalamarri is located at a distance of 8 km northwest of Suryapet town, off highway 65. Erakeswara Temple is a Saivite temple located in the western side of Pillalamarri village, Suryapet district of Telangana, India. The temple was built on the banks of the Musi river in c. 1208 CE by Erakasani, the wife of Bēti Reddi of the Recherla family who was the feudatories of Kakatiyas. Erakeswara Temple is one of the four prominent and intricately carved stone and granite temples located in Pillalamarri village the other three are about 250 meters east of the Erakeswara temple. These include the double temples next to each other: Parvati-Mahadeva Nameswara Temple and Trikuteshwara Temple (both Shiva); and the third being the Chennakeshava Temple (Vishnu) in ruins that is a few hundred feet southwest of the double temples. They are all from 12th to early 13th century period.

Puranic Significance

The temple was built in the early 13th century (c. 1203-1208 CE) by the Recherla chiefs who served as the feudatories of Kakatiyas. One inscription notes that Erakasani, the wife of Bēti Reddi of the Recherla family built the temple in 1208 CE in Pillalamarri. The deity Erakeswara is named after her, meaning “lord of Eraka”. The temple was vandalised during the raids of Alauddin Khilji into the Deccan region in the early 14th century. An inscription dated to 1357 CE records the re-establishment of Lord Erakeswara by a local feudatory chief serving Kapaya Nayaka of Musunuri Nayaka dynasty.