Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple Kothakonda

Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple- Kothakonda

Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple (an incarnation of Lord Shiva) is located at
Kothakonda Village in Bheemadevarpalle mandal of Karimnagar district-Telangana. Though the temple of Veerabhadra Swamy is at the foot of the hill, Kothakonda is surrounded by picturesque hills with five ponds on top of the hill.

The temple dedicated to the fierce-looking deity of Lord Veerabhadra Swamy along with Kethamma and Medalamma on both sides of the deity.

The tradition reveals that Kora-Meesala Veerabhadra Swamy i.e. the Lord with moustache is known to have been installed by Kedara Pandita during the period of the Kakatiyas.

Veerabhadra Swamy is believed to be Shiva himself in a ferocious form and is also held as a Shiva Gana, the commander of Shiva. Generally, a valiant hero is referred to as ‘Veera,’ while ‘Bhadra’ means a friend. Shiva is said to have taken this fearful form to destroy the fire sacrifice of Daksha Prajapati and quell his arrogance.He is also the principal deity of Veerashaiva movement and still worshiped by bhaktas especially in the Karnataka, Andhra and Tamilnadu.

The three-day Kothakonda Jatara celebrated in January every year attracts thousands of pilgrims all over the Telangana region.