Srikalahasti

Srikalahasti is a temple town. It's about 38 km from Tirupati, The ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (as Sri Kalahastheeswara) and his consort Parvathi (as Gnanaprasunambika) is one of the Panchabootha Sthalams meaning the temple celebrates Lord Shiva as the embodiment of the primary elements (Fire, Space, Water, Earth, Air), Air being the element here. The temple is also associated with Rahu and Ketu. According to the legend, Lord Brahma was asked by the Lord to create the beautiful and enticing hills of Kailasa. As Brahma was struggling with the task, a piece fell on earth and in the south, and thus was called Dakshina Kailasam. The other four Pancha Bhoota Stalams are: *Tiruvannamalai (Fire) *Chidambaram (Space) *Thiruvanaikaval (Water) *Kanchipuram (Earth) The temple dates back to over 2000 years ago. The structure of the temple was built by the Cholas and improvements were made by other Chola kings and rulers of the Vijayanagara kings.