Bhemeswara Swamy Temple - Chebrolu

Nice

oldest god brahma temple

Ancient temple. Some structures Reconstructed in 2015. Tourism circuit could be planned with chebrolu temples. The temple is located inside the village.

Superb Temple dates back to 11 century. The ancient temple among all the temples. Lord Shiva's Idol is excellent. But the main problem is that there won't be any dedicated Priest to this temple. We have a darshan only through a window that too before 9:30 Am. If govt allocates any dedicated Priest and opens the temple for darshan it will be excellent.

Bhimesvara temple of Chebrolu is the oldest temple in Chebrolu and one of many historic temples here. The town is about 14 kilometers southeast of Guntur, and is ancient. It is mentioned in both Hindu and Buddhist texts with names such as Chembrolu, Tamrapur, Tambrapasthana and Tambrapa. Both traditions describe it as "city of temples and monasteries", and a pilgrimage site for Shiva, Kartikeya, Vishnu and Devi-Shakta. The earliest records are from the Vakataka-Satavahana period (pre-4th century). Most of the temples in historic texts were lost in or after the 14th-century based on continuity of inscriptions and sudden stop of new inscriptions after the 14th century. Five major ones survive in damaged form. Bhimeswara is the earliest dated, one with uncommon two-storey Hindu temple architecture and artwork that is from the Eastern Chalukya era (also called Chalukyas of Vengi). The Bhimeswara temple is special for many more reasons. It has inscriptions and had a mound near it which has been excavated between 1960 and 2015 in stages. These efforts have yield marble and green stone Buddhist and Hindu pillars, so assigned as they depict Jataka tales and Hindu Puranic legends respectively. There is no sign of Buddhist or Hindu artwork being converted into other, rather there is sign of co-existence of a Buddhist and a Hindu monastery next to the Bhimeswara temple. Furthermore, Vishnu images have been discovered here that inscription and style confirm was brought from Kanchannagar-Burdwan now in West Bengal. Thus, Chebrolu must have been a hub in historic times and a melting pot of ideas arriving from different parts of India. The Bhimesvara temple has a square plan, a mandapa within which is the garbhagriya. Its shikara has been partly restored after the 1950s, while the temple complex itself has been cleaned up in recent years. A visit here is best combined with other four major historic temples nearby. You can admire the architecture and artwork from 6th to 10th century here. If you have time, you can also admire other post-10th century temples and museum here and in nearby Guntur.