Kardalivan Yatra – The Journey…..
Located in Andhra Pradesh, Karnool District,Nandikotkur Taluka,Shrishailyam is one of 12 divine Jyoteerlingas. Here we have temples of Shri Mallikarjuna & Shri Bhramrambhadevi Devasthan.
80 kms of Shrishailyam is covered with dense forests, high mountains & valleys. Krishna, Bhima, Tungabhadra, Bhogavati, Shiva & Kumbha rivers flow in the north of this sacred place. The waters of these holy rivers is channelized in the form of 125 mtrs Nagarjuna Sagar dam built here. The Krishna river runs very deep & therefore is more popularly called “THE PATALGANGA”.
Hyderabad – Shrishailyam is 212 kms . It is a 6 hour journey by bus. We can reach Kardalivan from Shrishailyam by rickshaw up to the Patalganga shore.
Shri Dev Mallikarjuna to Patalganga ghat is approx 2 kms. We have to get down 650 steps. We can also go by ropeway. We will travel to Kardalivan by boat in the waters of The Patalganga.
Patalganga to Venkatesh Kinara:
We have to reach Venkatesh Kinara, which is 24 kms. It takes around 1 to 1.5 hours by boat. Group of minimum 20 passengers are needed to travel in the boat. On the way we have Akkamahadevi Mandir. It is a holy cave, 400 meters deep. A very narrow path deep inside, a powerful torch is a must. We will have to walk on knees as the roof of the cave is very low and only one individual can take darshan at a time while bending on the knees. There is a Swayambhu Shivlinga in the cave. Shri Ganesh Mandir is on the other side of the cave.
Venkateshkinara to Kardalivan:
We have to cover a distance of 9 kms by climbing up a very steep slope. We have to climb 6 mountains out of which the first one is a little tiring. Akkamahadevi to Shri Swami Samartha Prakatsthan is a distance of 5 to 6 kms covered with a little dense forest, narrow paths & small waterbodies.
The holy & divine “Prakatsthan is covered with Audumbar, Vaad, & Pimpal trees which stand together almost touching one another. Bilvavan is around 4 kms from here.
Precautions:
- Stay in groups always
- In case you have to go out late at night please ensure you are accompanied by at least 2 or 3 of your fellow pilgrims.
- Please take utmost care not to harm or ruin in any way any living being or plants & trees as Shri Swami Samartha dwells in each of the smallest living creature in this holy Kardalivan.
- Please bear in mind, we have come on a pilgrimage for spiritual enlightenment, hence kindly keep your mind free from all materialistic thinking.
- Avoid littering the surroundings with plastic & other waste material.
- Please note there are no modern amenities & facilities for wash rooms or toilets in the forest and no chances that we will have them in the near future.
- Kindly go through the enrollment forms for terms & conditions & precautions in detail.