On my Visit to Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple, Rayachoti (Annamyya Dist) A.P.

                     

Temple View

                                                                         
                            

Sculptures on the temple tower

                                 

56-foot monolithic lamp- pillar

                                                              

Stone Inscription

Stone Well in the temple premises

                                         

Veerabhadra idol in the sanctum

                                               

Goddess Bhadra Kali

                                                

Lord kalabhairava

                               

Wall Painting

                                          

Sculpture of a saint

 This one- thousand-year old temple is regarded as the most sacred place by Veera Shaivas, who mostly come from Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh.This place is regarded as sacred “Dakshina Kashi”. Rayachoti is the district headquarters of the Annamayya District which was formed in 2022. The original name of Rayachoti is “Rachaveedu” as many Vijayanagara Kings like Venkatapati Raya used to visit this place. Krishnadevaraya used to visit this holy place whenever he went to Tirupati. Krishnadevaraya presented a royal sword to Lord Veerabhadra transforming the name of this place to “Rayachoti.”

According to the legend, Lord Veerabhadra a fierce form of Shiva emerged from the locks of Shiva when Shiva’s spouse, Sati Devi immolated herself in the sacrificial fire after being insulted by her father Daksha Prajapati. Veerabhadra destroyed the Yagna Kundam and attacked the gods who attended Daksha’s Yagna and beheaded Daksha with his sword. To pacify the enraged Veerabhadra, Goddess Ambika appeared as Bhadra Kali. Sage Mandavya doing penance there requested both of them to stay at this sacred spot near the banks of the Mandavya River. The original temple dates back to 10^th to 12^th century during Chola and Kakatiya periods. The Tamil inscription dated 1233 A.D. mentions the royal grant made by the Chola King, Nissanka  Prataparaya. This temple was renovated by the Chola King Rajaraja in the ninth century and later by the Kakatiya King Ganapati Deva in the 12^th century. During the Vijayanagara period of rule, Proudadevaraya II (1426-1446) undertook a complete renovation of this temple. In 1520 the Vijayanagara King Krishnadevaraya visited this temple and donated land. In 1546 the King Sadasivaraya re-built the sanctum sanctorum of this temple. In 1570 Venkatapati Raya, King of Chandragiri, served the Lord several times. The temple architecture shows the classic Vijayanagara style with multi-tiered Rajagopurams and stone-carvings.

The temple has three main Gopurams in the East, North and South directions. The East-facing gopuram has three-tier Rajagopuram with five Kalasas and sculptures of various deities. A single 56-foot-tall rock-cut Deepa Sthambham is seen followed by the Nandi statue after entering the main gopuram.

In this temple one can see a unique 56-foot monolithic lamp-pillar (Deepa Sthambham) in the East on which a giant -lamp is lit during Kartik Purnima. In the Sanctum one can see a life-size 5ft.6 inches black granite statue of Veerabhadra with four hands, holding a bow and an arrow in two upper hands and a sword and a shield in the two lower hands. The Lord is seen mounted on a horse.  The Lord Looks majestic with a mustache and a royal look.  The sword of Veerabhadra symbolizes the sword of knowledge which removes ignorance and sins. 

Generally, in other temples Lord Veerabhadra is shown in standing posture. But here the lord is shown seated on a horse. Two Nandis are seen in front of the sanctum. They are called “Veera Nandi” and “Shiva Nandi”. On the right side of the main deity, a sacred Bana Shiva Linga worshipped by the Sage Mandavya is seen. The idol of Daksha is seen with folded hands showing obeisance to Lord Veerabhadra. Every year in late March the sun’s rays fall on the feet of the Lord at 6.00 a.m. for five consecutive days. Special poojas are performed on Mahashivaratri and during 11-day Brahmostavam festival. On the 8^th day or the final day three hundred measures of cooked rice mixed with pumpkin and other roots is placed in a heap, and the priests using the sword of Veerabhadra violently scatter the rice in all directions symbolizing the destruction of Daksha’s Yagnashala or sacrificial arena. Both Hindus and Muslims participate during the Brahmostavam celebrations indicating communal harmony. 

Every Monday the Utsava Vigrahas (processional deities) of Lord Veerabhadra and Bhadra Kali are taken out in a palanquin in procession. Every morning Abhishekam for Veerabhadra is done from 5.30 a.m. to 6.30 a.m.; for Bhadra Kali, from 5.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m.; for Kala Bhairava, from 5.30 a.m. to 7.00 a.m.; and for Aghora Lingam, from 9.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. respectively.

In the entrance to sanctum, one can see the idols of Lord Dakshina Murty, Tatpurusha Linga and Lord Varasiddhi Vinayaka. There is an idol of saint bearing a sacred staff. Some say that it is the idol of the saint Madhvacharya, the preceptor of Dwaita cult. Near the sanctum on the other side, one can see the idol of Renuka (Yellamma).  Beside the main shrine the idol of Mother Bhadra Kali is seen.  In front of the shrine, one can see another idol of Nandi. In other sub-shrines one can see the idols of Lord Kala Bhairava, Subramanya Swamy, Lord Shaneeswara and Aghora Linga. The timings of this temple are from 5.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in the morning, and from 4.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. in the evening.  The nearby temples are Sri Gangamma Devata temple, Ananthapuram Village (12kms), Sri Reddamma Devata temple, Gurram Konda, Sri Gandi Veeranjaneya Swamy temple, Gandi (48.5 kms), Sri Lakshmi Narasimha swamy temple, Tarikonda (57kms), Devuni Kadapa(55kms), Sri Chennakesavs Swamy and Sri Siddeshwara swamy temples, Tallapaka(64kms). 

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 21st September 2026                    Somaseshu Gutala