A thousand-year-old temple has revealed itself following the reduction in the water level of the Udaya Samudram balancing reservoir at Panagal near Nalgonda town.
The ‘kala shilpam’ of the Shambhu Lingeshwara Swamy indicates that it was constructed by the Kundur Chola kings during 1040-1290.
The temple went under the Udaya Samudram reservoir five years ago during a flood. No initiative was taken then to shift the temple idols to high ground.
The people of Chandanapally village told Express that the temple was built at the same time as the Chaya Someshwara temple and Pacchala Someshwara temple at Panagal village.
The temple is consecrated to Lord Shiva and Nandi, his vehicle, sentinel and acolyte. The Shila Shasanam inscription is engraved on the temple floor and local people feel that if the inscriptions can be decoded, the historicity of the temple can be ascertained.
The villagers urged the endowments and archaeology departments to take up an initiative to rebuild the temple elsewhere in the village, as it likely to go under water again when the gates of the upstream Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project (AMRP) are lifted to meet the drinking water needs of people.