Kaleswaram Temple History

As mentioned in the Skanda Purana, River Godavari and River Ganga had an argument on the holiest river. River Ganga did penance for Lord Siva, who self-manifested on the river bank as Mukteeswara Swamy. There was an imbalance as living creatures attaining salvation by taking a holy dip in the river Godavari followed by the main deity Darshan. Yama. the God of death did penance for Lord Siva to retain the life cycle. Pleased Lord Siva asked him to Install Siva Linga (Kaleswara Linga) next to Mukteeswara Linga. It is believed that whoever offer prayers at this temple will be relieved from the birth cycle and attains salvation. Hence the temple called by Kaleshwara and Mukteeswara. This is the only temple where one can find two Lingas in Garbha Griha.

From the inscriptions, it is known that this temple was built during the reign of Kakatiya Rudra Deva. It is said that Vemulawada Kakatiya rulers worshipped this deity