Kalahasti is a town in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. The presiding deity is Lord Siva as Kalahasteeswarar. The Siva Linga here is one of the five supreme Lingas representing the five elements (Panchabutha Lingams): water (appu), fire (tejas), air (vayu), ether (akash) and earth (prithivi). The Linga form in Kalahasti is believed to represent vayu.
A spider, a snake and an elephant is believed to have worshipped the Siva Linga here. It is rather astounding to learn that a spider worshipped the Lord by spinning a web over Him, the snake by planting a gem and the elephant by washing the Linga with water.
As a result of the dispute between Adisesha, the serpent God, and Vayu, the God of Air, three blocks separated themselves from Mount Meru and fell at three different places - one is Kalahasti, the other is Trichy (Malai Kottai), and another is Trincomalee in Sri Lanka.
The main Lingam in Kalahasti is in the shape of the trunk of an elephant with tusks on either side and the figure of the spider at the bottom. Sri is the name of the spider. Kala is the serpent and hasti is the elephant.
