Kotipalli

Chandra lost his glow, the story goes, and was told to install a Shiva Linga here alongside Rajarajeswari to win it back — which is why the lingam in the inner sanctum is called Chaya Someswara. The temple and its pond, the Soma Pushkarini, were built by the Eastern Chalukya kings of Vengi, who ruled this stretch from the seventh century to the twelfth. It sits on the Gautami-Godavari branch of the river, fifteen kilometres from Amalapuram, and is quiet on an ordinary day; Maha Sivaratri and the Ksheerabdi Dwadasi Teppotsavam are when the village fills. The Siddhi Janardana shrine stands just beside the main one.