Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple

Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple is one of the few temples patronized by one of the great dynasties of India. Every year Maha Shivaratri is celebrated and a large number of devotees from all over Andhra Pradesh visit. Shiva, Parvati and Nandi are the main deities in this temple.This temple is 14 km away from Banaganipalli in kurnool dt. The saint lord Veerabrahmendra swami stayed here for some time and wrote Kalagnanam. Yaganti is located in Yerramala hills that offer immense natural beauty and unique setting to the locality. There are a several natural caves in the hills around the temple which were home for several saints throughout the ages, including that of Great Telugu saint and astrologer Potuluri Veera Brahmam Garu.
An amazing feature of this temple is its Pushkarini with very pure water. No one knows how the water flows into Pushkarini in all the seasons. Devotees consider that a bath in the holy Pushkarini before visiting Shiva is highly beneficial.
As per legend, crows do not fly in Yaganti. When Sage Agastya was meditating here, Kakasura, king of crows disturbed him from his meditation so, he cursed the crows not to enter the premises. Thus, Shani also can’t enter this place as crow is the vehicle of Shani.

The presiding deity of Sri Uma Maheswara temple is Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in a single stone.There is a cave called Agastya cave where saint Agastya said to have performed penance towards Lord Shiva.The idol of Lord Vishnu which was said to be damaged was also found in one of the cave of the temple called Venkateswara cave.The Nandi (Lord Nandeeswarar), the mount of Lord Shiva, present in this temple is believed to be increasing in its size. The researchers says that the rock out of which Nandi made has a growing nature.And it was calculated that the idol Nandi grows about 10 mm per eight years.The special feature about this temple is its Pushkarini (temple tank). Water flows from the bottom of the hill through the mouth of Nandi and fills the Pushkarini. The specialty is that the water flows throughout the year.Legend says that when saint Agastya was performing penance towards Lord Shiva at Yaganti, crows around the temple disturbed his penance. Irritated by crows, the sage Agastya cursed the crows that it cannot enter the place.And even today, we cannot find crows in the temple premises of Sri Uma Maheswara temple.