Srisailam · Nandyal · Andhra Pradesh · Nallamala Forest · Krishna River
Where the neck (greeva) of Goddess Sati fell in the Nallamala Hills above the Krishna river — the only sacred complex in India that simultaneously enshrines a Shakti Peetha and a Jyotirlinga. Bhramaramba, the Bee Goddess, destroyed the demon Arunasura by releasing swarms of six-legged bees when no other weapon could prevail, and presides here in the deep jungle of the Nallamala range alongside Lord Mallikarjuna, the Jasmine-Garlanded Shiva.
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Bhramaramba Devi Temple is situated within the Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple complex in Srisailam, in the Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh. Srisailam stands on a plateau in the Nallamala Hills above the Krishna river, surrounded by one of the largest contiguous forests in peninsular India. The town is approximately 220 km from Hyderabad and 170 km from Kurnool.
According to Shakta tradition, the neck (greeva) of Goddess Sati fell at Srisailam. The neck — the organ connecting head (thought/consciousness) to body (action/existence) — manifested here as Bhramaramba, "the Mother who took the form of a bee." The name comes from bhramara (bee or bumblebee) and amba (mother). The Goddess is worshipped here as the divine feminine who chose the smallest, most unexpected form to defeat what no conventional weapon could touch.
The legend of Bhramaramba's battle with the demon Arunasura is one of the most extraordinary in all of goddess mythology. Arunasura was a demon who could not be killed by any human, god, or animal — he had secured a boon making him invincible against all weapons and all beings with two feet or four. The gods, desperate, approached the Goddess. She manifested as Bhramari — the bee goddess — and released swarms of six-legged bees (bhramaras) against Arunasura. Six-legged bees were not covered by his boon. The demon was destroyed by the most humble creature in existence, wielded by the most supreme power in creation. This is the theology of Bhramaramba: the Goddess works through what is overlooked, what is underestimated, what the arrogant demon never thought to fear.
The Bhramaramba temple is inside the Mallikarjuna complex — the two divinities of Srisailam are worshipped together in a sacred circuit that takes pilgrims from the Shaktipeeth to the Jyotirlinga and back. The entire Srisailam plateau is considered an kshetra (sacred zone) of extraordinary spiritual power, and the forest surrounding it — the Nallamala Hills — has been a site of Tantric sadhana since antiquity.
Why People Visit
The only sacred complex in India combining a Maha Shakti Peetha and a Jyotirlinga — the Bee Goddess and the Jasmine Shiva together in the deep Nallamala forest above a sacred river gorge.
Getting There
Srisailam is approximately 220 km from Hyderabad, 170 km from Kurnool, and 250 km from Vijayawada. Access is by road only through the Nallamala forest — no railway station in Srisailam itself. The nearest station is Markapur Road (~100 km) or Kurnool City (~170 km).
Visitor Guidelines
In the deep Nallamala forest above the Krishna gorge, two of the most supreme sacred presences in Hinduism share a single compound — Bhramaramba, who defeated the invincible demon with the most humble creature in creation, and Mallikarjuna, Shiva garlanded in jasmine. Come to Srisailam for both. Stay the night in the forest. Dawn in the Nallamala Hills is something the Goddess offers only to those who come far enough.