New Chaturmukha Nandeeshwara Lingam Found in Hyderabad

Chaitanyapuri: A rare Chaturmukha Nandeeshwara Lingam has been identified in the backyard debris of Phanigiri Kosagundla Narasima Swami Temple at Chaitanyapuri, Hyderabad. The site is already known for a 1600-year-old inscription mentioning a Hinayana Buddhist monastery called Govindaraja Vihara. The newly spotted sculpture is carved on a two-foot granite slab with four Nandis of eight inches each facing the four cardinal directions. At the center lies a Shivalinga with paanavattam to drain abhisheka water.

Historical Significance
According to historian Dyavanapalli Satyanarayana, the sculpture is estimated to be about 1500 years old and is among the oldest of its kind in Telangana and India. Unlike earlier monolithic Shivalingas found at Gudimallam in Chittoor, Rangapuram and Ghumakonda in Gadwal district, this structure is unique for its placement of four Nandis. The find suggests a transition from Buddhist to Shaiva traditions during the reign of Vishnukundi rulers in the 5th–6th centuries CE. Inscriptions and later examples at Phanigiri, Mannanur, Alampur and Srisailam point to the growing prominence of Shaivism during that era.

The historian urged the temple authorities and government to preserve the Chaturmukha Nandeeshwara Lingam, noting its rarity and importance in the evolution of Shaiva temple architecture.