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To southerners generally, a temple is sacred, if it had been visited by the Saiva Saints or Alvars; and Sri sailam has been visited by all the three Saints Appar, Sambhandar and Sundarar, and their separate Hymns appear in the Devara Collections; and the place is called Sri Paruppatam, Tamil reading of Sri Parvatam, and the hill is locally known by this name more than by the name of Sri Sailam or Mallikarjunam.

Now to describe briefly our journey to the place. From Madras, we reach Nandyal, by the M. and S. M. R. lines, and from Nandyal, we go by cart to Atmakur, a distance of 28 miles. The road is wretchedly bad for the greater part, and does not reflect much credit on the Board in charge of it. In fact, cart-men avoided the High Road for nearly 10 miles and preferred to go by the country roads. Atmakur is a small town and is the seat of the Deputy Tahsildar, Police Inspector and a Local Fund Hospital. From here to the foot of the Hill (Nagaluti) is a distance of 12 miles. This road, too, except for a few miles, is of the worst description. The situation of Nagaluti is very pleasant, surrounded by shady groves, in which there is a nice and cool spring, the water flowing into a small tub from the mouth of a bull. There is here a small Temple dedicated to Siva and Virabhadrasvami. From Nagaluti we commence the ascent, and it is a steep one for over 2 or 3 miles. The chief difficulty of the ascent is due to the flight of steps that have been constructed over this distance. After we go up two or three hills, the road is not bad and it is slightly up and down, and as we reach Pedda-cheruvu, we get into a big plateau, a valley surrounded on all sides by the hills.

Peddacheruvu is our halt for the day, and its distance is reported to be about 16 miles. There is a fine tank here and it is edged with tall growing bamboos, which give it a most picturesque appearance. In the tank itself, beautiful white lotuses, water lilies and tall cuscus, grasses grow and the water actually tastes sweet with the smell of the cuscus, grass. Early next morning we resumed our journey, and after some distance the way was rough but not difficult, having to go over several small hills; and rearing Bhimani Kollum, we descend into a deep ravine which cuts off Sri Parvata proper from the surrounding hills. And both the descent into this ravine and the ascent from it are both difficult, but not so bad as it was reported to be. The view from above into the ravine, and far below is very grand. The ravine cuts through these rocks to a considerable depth, and the cut sides look more like fort walls, so steep and straight and brown they are. The bed of the Ravine is one slaty bed, there are no loose stones or sand.

From the bottom of the Ravine at this spot, called Bhimani Kollum, commences the ascent of Sri Parvati, or Mount Kailas ; and as we go up, vista after vista of hills and ranges of hills present themselves before us, the distant peaks and the line of trees on them become silhouetted like our Temple Vimanas and the row of Kalasams on them. One view specially seemed a remarkable likeness of the Siva-Linga.with the pedestal. It stood between two ravines, the highest Peak and another small one forming Siva and Parvati, and the Pedestal was a table-like rock in front. Our artist has taken a view of this beautiful picture and has named it Siva-Parvati, and it is not unlikely that similar views had given rise to the symbol of the Siva-Linga itself. We ascend higfier and higher, our toil and trouble seem to burden us, untill, at last, we reach the Top, where is situated what is aptly called the Kailasa Vakkili, the "gate to Heaven". As the wearied traveller feels the refreshing breeze under the cool shade of this tower, the feeling of rest and pleasure one feels is simply 'thrilling. Indeed, in this world, at least half the pleasure we feel will be lost to us if it is not that, in seeking and securing this, it entails any amount of pain and trouble.

From the gate of Kailas, we travel over more or less level ground slightly falling, and rising till we reach the Temple, of which we catch a glimpse from some distance and which is situated in a dip of Mount Kailas. Mount Kailas is surrounded on all sides by deep ravines and by the Kistna, so that on any side it is steep and inaccessible, the ravine at Bhimani Kollum joining the Kistna below. Its situation is also central, and any way, you have to go 30 or 40 miles to reach the low country.

The temple proper is surrounded by castellated walls, longest sides being 1500 feet each, and the shortest being nearly 1000 feet each and the height is 21 feet and thickness 4 feet. Nearly the whole outer face of these walls (fancy such a dimension of 5000 x 21 feet) is fully sculptured with the figures of animals, men and Gods. There are hunting pictures of all kinds, there are horses and elephants in every pose, Puranic representations of episodes, Rishis doing tapas in all kinds of postures; and there are animals and reptiles in every grotesque form, athletes wrestling with each other, &c* These pictures show that the race of men who cut them were a warlike and manly race. There are three towers, one of which is the highest, and will compare favourably with the highest in Southern India.

Passing within, the whole space is intersected into 3 squares, one below the other and the sides are filled with innumerable mantapams and shrines, the shrines mostly without any images and in the worst of repairs. There are large number of wells with small towers or domes above, the only source of supply to all the pilgrims who resort to the place. Some one or two of the tanks altogether dry and filled up more or less.

The central shrine is that of Mallikesvara and is the most costly structure. The principal Vimanam is covered from top to bottom with plated gold, unlike any other Temple in Southern India, and all the images of Nandis and Dakshanamurti placed over the terrace in the mantapam fronting the Vimana are also similarly covered with gold. It is reported that of old these images contained inside untold wealth, and the Rohillas who once plundered the whole Temple have left their marks in the mutilated condition of most of these images. The style of the principal structures is quite dissimilar to those in Southern India, the Chola and Pandiyan styles, but there is a remarkable resemblance between these and the shore temple at Mahamalaipuram (corrupted into