Sunday, February 23, 2020

My Visit to Bhadrachalam



 

                        


















Sanctum

Painting on the wall

Bhadra Rock in the temple premises
                         
Abhayanjaneya Swamy Temple

Rama Madas


Parnashala

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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