| Lord
Siva granted these requests and the bodies of Sibi and his followers were transformed into
Lingas. A temple was erected over Sibi's Linga under the name 'Kapotheswara' since he gave
up his life in support of a Kapotha bird. In support of the legend, it is still pointed
out that the white marble Linga has two large holes on the top and small sword marks on
the sides. The place Chezerla is full of Sivalingas and these are said to represent the
Lingakara. Sareeras of Lord Sibi's escort. The main
shrine of the Lord is a long Apsidal building with a barrel roof. The floor is below the
level of the courtyard. There is only one small entrance in front, which faces the cast.
The end of the building takes the form of an apse. In the centre of the apse is the
'murty' of the Lord, with the two holes on its crown. There is no hole on the north wall
of the temple, which normally exists in every Saivite temple as an exit for the Abhisheka
Tirtha.
Here the two holes of the Linga them serve the purpose and the
Abhisheka Tirtha is drained off to an unknown place. There are a number of halls attached
to the front of the main shrine and one of these contains a large 'Nandi' facing the
entrance. There are any numbers of small shrines round the main temple, which contain
lingas. On the northeast side of the temple, there is an excellent specimen of the'Sahasra
linga,’ and on the other side of the temple, is a carved stone image representing the
'Saptha Matrikas' or the Seven Mothers. |
