Chenna Kesava Temple

The Chenna Kesava Temple, a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, which is situated on the bank of the River Penna (or Pennar) is the main attraction of Pushpagiri. It is said that four small rivers- Papaghani, Mandavi, Kumudhvati and Valkal join the Penna River at this place. To reach this temple one has to cross the shallow pool of water, that reflects the temple gopuram, formed near the hill. Few steps descend you to the sands of the dry river with some water here and there. After crossing the river, a flight of angular steps on the hill take you to the Chenna Kesava Temple. The entrance of temple complex is marked by a beautiful five storied gopura gateway in the west overlooking the river.

The sculptures and the carvings of the temple are amazingly beautiful and one of its kinds. Some of them like the various forms of Lord Vishnu, the dancing Ganapati, Lord Shiva in His "Nataraja" avatar (the dancing form), Lord Shiva standing on a demon with "Trishula" in His hand (trying to kill the demon), Lord Krishna preaching Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna and many more still retain the workmanship of the bygone era. Some other sculptures like that of Rama, Sita, few episodes from Ramayana and Goddess Mahishasuramardini also depicts the marvellous pieces of art. You can see rows of carving of animals like elephants, lions and horses, showing some scenes from Mahabharata, all along the walls of the temple.

There are also temples of Sakshi Malleswara (dating back to 10th century) and Uma Maheshwara, both dedicated to Lord Siva. The former along with the Chenna Kesava temple stand parallel to each other while the latter lies to the north of the Mandapa. To the south of the gopura gateway, next to the west Prakara (compound) wall is a small temple of Lord Hanuman.

Location : Pattikonda, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh
Famous For : Superb Architecture
Architecture : Vesara Style