Ancient Four-Faced Linga Found At Chaitanyapuri
Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad is known for its rare 1,600-year-old inscription mentioning a Hinayana Buddhist monastery called Govindaraja Vihara which is presently called as Phanigiri Kosagundla Narasimha Swami temple.
Hyderabad: An ancient Chaturmukha Nandeeshwara Lingam was found in the debris at the backyard of the Phanigiri Kosagundla Narasimha Swami Temple at Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, historian Dr Dyavanpalli Satyanarayana, who discovered the lingam, said: “On Sunday I identified a two feet square granite slab, four Nandis of eight inches each are carved in four cardinal points of the slab. In between the Nandis, there is a Shivalinga with Paanavattam to drain Abhishekha water,” said Dr.Satyanarayana.
Satyanarayana said this find is the rare and oldest of its kind in Telangana.
Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad is known for its rare 1,600-year-old inscription mentioning a Hinayana Buddhist monastery called Govindaraja Vihara which is presently called as Phanigiri Kosagundla Narasimha Swami temple.
Earlier, the monolithic Shivalingas from 2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE were found at Gudimallam in Andhra Pradesh and Rangapuram Ghumakonda in Telangana. However, they do not display the unique four-Nandi configuration.
Since the sculpture was found at a well-known Buddhist site constructed by early Vishnukundi ruler Govindaraja, it gives scope to presume that the subsequent rulers neglected the Buddhist site and promoted Shaiva cult. “The same trend was seen at Phanigiri in Suryapet district where a Buddhist slab is chiseled with Shivalinga,” he said.
With this, he said it can be noted that the later Vishnukundi rulers have replaced Buddhism with Shaivism in their kingdom, which includes the area that is now known as Hyderabad. The fact that later Vishnukundi rulers Indra Bhattaraka Varma and his son Vikramendra Varma of the 6th century CE had assumed the titles of Parama Maheshwara supports the theory of the Deccan dynasty encouraging Shaivism at the expense of Buddhism.
A similar Chaturmukha Nandeeshwara Linga is also seen at Mannanur village in Nagarkurnool district which was described by Palkuriki Somana in Panditaradhya Charitra. Sculpting four Nandis at four cardinal points was also adopted at Alampur, Srisailam and other temples.
