{"id":119262,"date":"2026-08-14T13:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=119262"},"modified":"2026-08-14T13:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:51:11","slug":"srikalahasti-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/srikalahasti-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Srikalahasti Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Srikalahasti Temple Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Temple authorities have submitted a Rs 114.06 crore proposal to the Centre under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme to improve pilgrim and tourist amenities at the famous Srikalahasteeswara Temple. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Srikalahasti Temple<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Srikalahasti Temple, also known as Srikalahasteeswara Temple, is a Hindu temple located in the town of Srikalahasti in the Tirupati district of <\/span><b>Andhra Pradesh.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is one of the most <\/span><b>ancient and historical Saivet temples <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is <\/span><b>built adjoining a hill<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and on the <\/span><b>banks of the river Swarnamukhi.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 At some points, the hill serves as the wall of the temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also called as <\/span><b>\u201cDakshina Kailasam\u201d <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meaning the Southern abode of Shiva.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>History<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>origin <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the Srikalahasti Temple dates back to the <\/span><b>5th century <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when the<\/span><b> inner temple <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was constructed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>outer temple and its main structure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were built in the<\/span><b> 11<\/b><b>th<\/b><b> century<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the <\/span><b>Chola emperor, Rajendra Chola I.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The magnificent <\/span><b>Gopurams <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at the entrance were constructed by <\/span><b>Kulottunga Chola I <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during the<\/span><b> 11<\/b><b>th<\/b><b> century.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Significant renovations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were made throughout the rule of the <\/span><b>Chola dynasty, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with engravings of the various Chola emperors noticeable within the temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/vijayanagara-empire\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b> Vijayanagara Empire<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also made contributions to the <\/span><b>renovations <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><b>16th century<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the empire constructed the majestic<\/span><b> 120 m high main gopuram,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> known as the Rajagopuram.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temple showcases the <\/span><b>Dravidian architectural style<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with its heavy carvings and sculptures.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Facts about PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) Scheme<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was launched by the<\/span><b> Ministry of Tourism <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as a <\/span><b>Central Sector Scheme<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the objective of integrated <\/span><b>development of identified pilgrimage destinations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The primary objective of the scheme is to<\/span><b> develop tourism infrastructure at pilgrimage and heritage sites,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ensuring a more enriching experience for pilgrims and heritage enthusiasts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In view of the decision taken by the government for closure of the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme of the ministry of housing and urban development and for inclusion of projects for development of heritage destinations in PRASAD, the scheme guidelines have been modified and the nomenclature of the scheme has also been <\/span><b>changed from PRASAD to \u2018National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive\u2019 (PRASHAD) in October 2017.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the scheme, the ministry provides <\/span><b>financial assistance to state governments and Union Territory administration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s for the<\/span><b> development of tourism infrastructure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at these sites.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scheme aims<\/span><b> infrastructure development such as entry points<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (road, rail, and water transport); <\/span><b>last mile connectivity, basic tourism facilities <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like information\/interpretation centers, ATM\/money exchange, eco-friendly modes of transport, area lighting and illumination with renewable sources of energy, parking, drinking water, toilets, cloak room, waiting rooms, <\/span><b>first aid centers, craft bazars\/haats\/souvenir shops\/cafeteria, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rain shelters, telecom facilities, internet connectivity, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>News: <\/b><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newindianexpress.com\/amp\/story\/states\/andhra-pradesh\/2026\/Aug\/14\/rs-114-crore-srikalahasti-temple-upgrade-plan-awaits-centres-nod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NIE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Srikalahasti Temple is a Hindu temple located in the town of Srikalahasti in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. Read more about Srikalahasti Temple, Location, Architecture, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":119251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9548],"class_list":["post-119262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","tag-srikalahasti-temple","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119262"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119292,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119262\/revisions\/119292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}