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| Sanctum |
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| Painting on the wall |
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| Bhadra Rock in the temple premises |
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| Abhayanjaneya Swamy Temple |
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| Rama Madas |
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| Parnashala |
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| Bridge over Godavari at Bhadrachalam |
We went to Bhadrachalam from Rajahmundry by
taxi and the route goes through dense forests and winding curves. It is really
a scenic drive but one problem is that we do not have any communication and contact
with any person. The way is so isolated and completely cut off from the routine
society. On the way we saw a huge lorry
blocking our way as it tumbled sidewards . Luckily some way is made for our
small car to move forward. All other buses and trucks came to a stand still
waiting for the lorry to be removed from the main road.
According to the legend Bhadra, the son of
Meru mountain, was given Ramataraka mantra divine sage, Narada. He
did penance when Rama was in search of Sita. Rama promised him to meet him
after he traced the missing Sita. But he forgot to fulfill his promise. Bhadra
continued his penance wishing that Rama should stay on his head. Later Vishnu
descended in the form of Rama to fulfill Bhadra’s wish. He came with four hands
bearing conch and discus in his upper arms and bow and arrow in his lower arms.
Sita was seated on his left thigh while Lakshman stood to his left. But in Utsava vigrahas , Lakshman and Sita are
seen on either side of the main deity. All three faced west towards the
Godavari River. Rama held the conch in his right upper hand in contrast to
Vishnu with the intention of giving salvation to Bhadra. So he is called
“Vaikuntha Rama” or “Rama Narayana”. The three deities signified the three
aspects of the sacred “OM” and so he earned the title “Omkara Rama”.
According to Brahma Purana the worship of
Bhadradri Rama gives spiritual knowledge. The idols were first discovered by a
tribal woman called Pokala Dhammakka of Bhadrareddypalem. In her dream Rama told her to take out the
idols and worship them. She found the idols under an ant hill. She built a
mandapam and worshipped the idols. Later Kancherla Gopanna, the Tahsildar of
that region, built the temple in 1674 when the local people promised him to pay
the amount after the construction of the temple. So he spent the amount (nearly
six lakh varahas) collected as revenue without informing the king. Ramadas
looked after the temple rituals which were conducted according to Pancharatra
Agama tradition as followed in Ranganatha’s temple in Srirangam. Ramadas invited
five Brahmin priest families who knew Pancharatra Agamas and with their help
implemented the system of worship modelled on the methods followed in
Srirangam. Ramadas also installed an icon of Ranganatha on a taller hill called
“Ranganayakula Gutta”. Here there is also a temple called “Ramalingeshwara”
dedicated to Shiva.. Opposite to
Ranganayaka temple there is a shrine for Lakshmi Tayar. After Ramadas, Tumu Narsimhadasu
with his associate Varada Ramadas continued the tradition. Narasimhadas
introduced Dasavidhotsavams (ten kinds of rituals) during his tenure. The icons
worshipped by Narasimhadas are housed in Amba Satram at the southern end of the
temple. Here food is served to pilgrims visiting the temple. Ramadas used
Bhadrachalam as a center of Bhajan (collective singing of devotional hymns)
tradition to spread awareness of Vaishnavite tradition. Many great saints like
Adi Shankara, Kabir and Thirumangai Alwar visited this place. Gopanna was given
the title “Ramadas” by Sant kabir. Gopanna’s
songs inspired Thyagaraja who composed many famous songs on Sri Rama.
Bhadrachalam
is a small town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. This place became famous
because of the three hundred year-old Rama temple built by Kancherla Gopanna
(popularly known as ‘Ramadas’) who was a staunch devotee of Rama and a composer
of many (nearly 200) devotional songs and Dasarathi satakam (collection of 104
poems in metrical verse) . He suffered imprisonment
for twelve years in a dungeon in Golconda as he had diverted a part of the
revenue (six lakh varahas) for construction of the temple without informing the
king, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (Tanishah). Rama and Lakshmna appeared in the dream
and asked the king to release Ramadas as they had cleared his debt and produced
a heap of golden coins. The king woke up and found to his surprise a heap of
gold coins called Rama Madas with inscribed images of Rama and Lakshmana on
them. The king was very moved by the devotion of Ramadas and immediately
released him and offered the whole sum of gold to him. But Ramadas declined the
amount except two coins as a token of god’s grace. These two coins are still
seen in the temple museum.
Tanishah granted the income derived from Palwoncha Paragana
(which amounts to nearly 20,000 and odd varahas) for the maintenance of the
temple. This was continued during Qutub Shahi’s reign. On the occasion of Sita
Rama Kalyanam day (Sri Rama Navami), they sent pearls as a gift to deities
through a special messenger on an elephant. This custom of sending pearls and
silk clothes is still continued by the present Telengana government. The Nizam
of Hyderabad (Mir Osman Ali Khan) donated Rs.50, 000/- to the temple. From 1958
the temple had been managed by the A.P. government. In 1960 repairs were done
to the temple. In 2016 the temple became a part of Bhadradri Kothagudem
district.
This temple is seen on a hillock called Bhadradri and one has to climb
fifty steps to reach the temple. The temple has four entrances. Lift facility
is provided for elderly people from the side entrance. The rajagopuram at the
northern entrance is called “Vaikuntha Dwaram”. Facing the Vaikuntha Dwaram,
there is a big hall called “Mithila Stadium” which was started by the Ex-Chief
Minister, Sri Jalagam Vengala Rao at a cost of 3.8 million rupees. The sikhara
(pinnacle) crowing the temple was carved from a single block of granite
weighing 36 tonnes. This is the biggest vimana in recent times. There are many
sub-shrines for gods like Venkateswara, Varaha, Hanuman Garuda, Vidya haygreeva
and Narasimha along with shrines of a
few Vaishnavite Alwars around the sanctum. After
entering the temple, you will come across the Rushya Mookham Exhibition Centre to the left and the counter selling prasadam on the right.
Those who buy
special tickets can enter the sanctum from the left side. For the rest of the
pilgrims, the queue (which is never very long) is along the front of the
sanctum. The deity in the inner sanctorum is Swayambhu (self-manifested)
with Sita seated in Rama’s lap. To their left, there is the idol of Laxmana in
a standing position. The statue of Rama has four hands (charturbhuja Rama).
Lord Vishnu’s divine conch and discus, which are generally in his left and
right hands respectively, are seen interchanged in this particular idol,
indicating the hurry in which he descended to grace Bhadra. His other two hands
hold a bow and arrow each. Opposite the main sanctum, there is a shrine of
Goddess Laxmi. Next to it, there is the Rishya Mookham Exhibition Centre with
nominal entry fee. The exhibition showcases Rama madas, jewellery that Ramdas
made for deities such as the famous chintaku patakamu, (a
necklace studded with rubies), Kiritas (crowns), plait
decorations, Mutyala haramu (pearl chain) and other such items.
There is also a shrine dedicated to Bhadra, behind the sanctorum of the temple.
On this rock structure the foot prints of Rama are seen and Thirunamam is
applied on it. This is regarded as the head of Bhadra on which the foot prints of Rama are seen. The hillock on which the temple is seen in this area.The visible part of the hillock contains what is supposedly Rama's foot prints. There is a Nitya Kalyana Mandapam (wedding
hall) in the outer ambulatory passage of the temple, where Sitarama Kalyanam (wedding
ceremony of Sita and Rama) is performed regularly. The temple opens at 4.00 a.m
when Suprabhatam is performed. The temple hours are from 4.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
and from 3.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. Abhishekam is done to Moola Virat every Sunday.
Special poojas and rituals are performed during annual Bramostavam, Sri Rama
Navami, Vaikunta Ekadashi and Vijaya Dashami. A meditation hall (Dhyana mandir)
was constructed here by Neelamraju Venkata Sheshayya, the then editor of Andhra
Prabha, in 1972 in memory of Ramadas. Since then Vaggeyakaramahotsavams(musical
concert) are organized during Mukkoti Ekadashi every yhear by inviting famous
musicians.
There is a hermitage (called Parnashala) at a
distance of 34kms from Bhadrachalam where Rama and his wife along with Lakshman
dwelt during their exile period. From here only Ravana in the guise of a hermit
came and abducted Sita to his kingdom
Sri Lanka. The way to the Parna Shala looks very scenic with fields, bamboo huts
and palm trees. Many tribal people are seen selling wild honey, liquor made
from wild flowers and other forest products. In the Parna Shala one can see a
model hut with many life like statues depicting the scenes from Ramayana such
as – Sita spotting the
golden deer and asking Rama for it, Laxman leaving Sita to go find Rama when
the latter doesn’t return, Ravana arriving in the form of a sanyasi (ascetic)
and asking Sita for alms and Ravana abducting Sita. Another model of a hut
adjacent to this describes various scenes of the Ramayana that follow Ravana’s
abduction of Sita. The statues are to be maintained in good condition and the
surrounding have to be clean and neat. Labels describing the scenes should be displayed
so that pilgrims may know something about Ramayana. Just one km from here there
is place called “Sethamma Vari Gattu” where Sita used to dry her clothes. One
can also see the foot prints of Rama there. The nearby temples are Sri
Abhayanjaneya Swamy temple, Dasanjaneya temple and Govindaraja temple etc. Rama
is worshipped as Atma Rama at Dommugudem where he killed 14,000 demons. In
Gundala five kms away hot water springs are seen Rama, Sita and Lakshman had
taken their bath during winter season.
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23rd February, 2020 Somaseshu Gutala
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23rd February, 2020 Somaseshu Gutala
