Parasurameswara Temple, Gudimallam

The Parasurameswara Temple stands in Gudimallam, a village in Yerpedu mandal of Tirupati district, about 24 km south-east of Tirupati. Its sanctum holds the Gudimallam Lingam, a linga of hard dark brown local stone just over 5 ft tall, with a full-length figure of Shiva in high relief on its front. Proposed dates run from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD, and it is perhaps the second-oldest Shiva linga yet discovered. Scholars note that nothing even remotely similar has turned up for hundreds of miles around.

Shiva appears as a vigorous hunter standing on the shoulders of the dwarf Apasmara, holding a ram or antelope and a water pot, with a battle axe on his left shoulder. The temple building is far later, usually placed in the later Chola and Vijayanagara periods, and its sanctum is unusual in being apsidal, curving round behind the linga. It remains in worship and has been under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India since 1954.