Parasurameswara Temple, Gudimallam

About Parasurameswara Temple, Gudimallam

Located in Yerpedu mandal of Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, the Parasurameswara Temple is renowned for preserving the oldest surviving figural Shiva linga in the historical record. The linga shaft, approximately 1.5 metres tall and carved from polished dark stone, features a distinctive relief depicting Shiva holding a ram, an axe, and a water-vessel, with a yaksha figure beneath his feet—an early iconographic representation predating standardized later forms. Scholarly dating places the linga between the 3rd century BCE and 2nd century CE, with recent analyses supporting the 2nd century CE date. The temple structure surrounding the linga is considerably later, with principal walls and gopuram constructed during the Chola, Pallava, and Vijayanagara periods. According to temple tradition, the linga was consecrated by the sage Parasurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, after his cycle of warrior penance, lending the deity its name Parasurameswara.

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