Someswara Swamy Temple (Somarama)
Bhimavaram (Gunupudi), West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Also known as: Gunupudi Someswara Temple · Somarama
- Deities
- Someswara (Shiva), Rajarajeshwari Devi
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Coordinates
- 16.5431, 81.5231
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult the temple's own trust/devasthanam for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- October to March for cooler weather; Maha Shivaratri is the temple's principal festival and busiest day.
- How to reach
- Bhimavaram, in West Godavari district, has its own railway station and bus terminus and is well connected by road to Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, and Visakhapatnam; the temple is in the Gunupudi locality of the town. Nearest airport is Rajahmundry.
- Festivals
- Maha Shivaratri (February/March)
Location
Open in Google MapsSomarama, the Someswara Swamy Temple in the Gunupudi locality of Bhimavaram (West Godavari district), is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, the group of Shiva temples that share a common origin legend centered on the demon Tarakasura. Tradition holds that Tarakasura’s invincible Atma-linga, a gift from Shiva, was broken apart by Kartikeya using the agneyastra on Vishnu’s counsel, and that its five fragments were consecrated at five separate sites. At Bhimavaram, local legend credits Chandra, the moon god (Soma), with installing and worshipping the fragment that fell here in order to absolve himself of a sin – the origin of the deity’s name, Someswara, “Lord of Soma.” Devotees also describe the lingam as visibly changing shade across the lunar cycle, darker near the new moon and lighter near the full moon, a piece of temple lore rather than a documented phenomenon. The temple’s consort goddess is worshipped as Sri Rajarajeshwari Ammavaru, and a sacred tank, Chandra Kundam, stands before the shrine.
The temple’s documented history is thinner in the sources available than for some of its sister Pancharama shrines: the earliest confirmed inscription dates to the reign of the Eastern Chalukya king Saktivarma I, roughly 1001-1011 CE, which anchors a general construction estimate in the 10th to early 11th century, with architectural evidence suggesting later renovation phases. Beyond that reign-linked inscription, no further dated epigraphy or detailed construction chronicle for the Someswara temple specifically was found in the sources consulted – a contrast with Amararama or Draksharamam, where a longer run of dated inscriptions survives. The town of Bhimavaram itself carries a separate popular tradition connecting its founding to the Eastern Chalukya king Bhima (reigned roughly 890-918 CE), but this is a claim about the town rather than a documented claim about the Someswara temple’s own construction. Today the temple functions as an active place of worship, with Maha Shivaratri drawing its largest crowds.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's 'Pancharama Kshetras' article (Somarama section) and the 'Bhimavaram' article: confirms Somarama/Someswara Swamy temple, in the Gunupudi area of Bhimavaram town, West Godavari district, is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras; confirms the earliest inscription found at the temple dates to the reign of the Eastern Chalukya king Saktivarma I (r. c. 1001-1011 CE), the basis for a general 10th/early-11th-century construction estimate, and notes the temple shows signs of later renovation; confirms the consort deity is worshipped as Sri Rajarajeshwari Ammavaru; confirms a sacred tank called Chandra Kundam stands in front of the temple. The dedicated Wikipedia article on Bhimavaram itself gives only minimal temple-specific detail (it separately notes the town's own founding is popularly linked to the Eastern Chalukya king Bhima, r. c. 890-918 CE, without directly attributing the Someswara temple's construction to him); most of the temple-specific history here is drawn from the Pancharama Kshetras group article rather than a dedicated temple article, and no on-site inscription count or specific dated years beyond Saktivarma I's reign were located.
- oral tradition: Somarama shares the Pancharama Kshetras' common legend: the demon Tarakasura's invincible Atma-linga, shattered by Kartikeya with the agneyastra on Vishnu's counsel, is said to have fragmented into five pieces consecrated at five sites. At Bhimavaram, tradition holds that Chandra (the moon god, Soma) installed and worshipped the piece that fell here to absolve himself of a sin, giving the deity the name Someswara (Lord of Soma/the Moon). Devotional tradition also holds that the lingam visibly changes shade with the lunar cycle -- described as darker at amavasya (new moon) and lighter at purnima (full moon) -- a claim recorded here as temple lore, not independently verified fact.
For review
- Wikipedia's dedicated 'Bhimavaram' article gives very little detail specific to the Someswara temple itself; the historical detail in this entry is drawn mainly from the Pancharama Kshetras group article's Somarama section. No specific inscription count or additional dated inscriptions beyond Saktivarma I's reign (c. 1001-1011 CE) were located in the sources consulted, so the temple's documented history here is thinner than for some of the other Pancharama sites (e.g. Amararama, Draksharamam).
- The claim that the lingam changes visible color between amavasya and purnima is devotional/traditional lore, not something this entry treats as independently verified.
- The town of Bhimavaram's own popular founding legend (linked to Eastern Chalukya king Bhima, r. c. 890-918 CE) is noted in the source as a claim about the town, not explicitly as a claim about the Someswara temple's own construction date; this entry does not conflate the two.