At Gunupudi in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, the Someswara temple is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras, holding a fragment of the great Shiva linga shattered by Kumara Swamy in the legend of Tarakasura. Here the fragment is said to have been enshrined through the worship of Chandra, the Moon (Soma), who absolved himself of his sins before it — and so the Lord is Someswara, and a sacred pond, the Chandra Kundam, lies before the temple.
The linga is revered for a living wonder: it is said to change colour with the phases of the moon, turning pale at the full moon and dark at the new moon. In a rare arrangement, the shrine of the Goddess Annapurna (Rajarajeswari) stands directly above the sanctum of Shiva.
Somarama is among the most distinctive of the five Aramas of Andhra, uniting the worship of Shiva, the Moon, and the Mother in a single sacred place.
