I belong to one of the youngest state of India i.e “Telangana”. Whatever I may say, not only reveal about the temple & it's history but may also cover lesser known facts of Art, Architecture, Culture & Heritage of my whole state. Though this temple may fall under “Medival” category but whatever it represents is ancient in every aspect. The Temple is “Ramappa” or “Ramalingeshwara Temple”, architectural marvel of golden Kakatiya dynasty. It is not just a temple with stones & myths but can be considered as cultural specimen of Telangana & Telugus at broad.
Ramappa temple is at Mulugu district (Old Warangal district) constructed around 1200 A.D during the rule of Kakatiya dynasty in the North-East Deccan region i.e Telangana & A.P. and is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
What interesting facts does it actually have?
- Everywhere we can see that temple is mostly named after diety or sometimes after the ruler who patronage it but Ramappa temple is named after the Sthapathi(Architect of temple) though it is actually built by “Recherla Rudra”, General of Kakatiya ruler Ganapathi Deva Maharaja.
- This temple is a classical example of architectural innovation of Deccan rulers. It actually continued the tradition of Vesara style of past rulers i.e Chalukyas(drawing from both Nagara & Dravida architectures) but embedded with many unique innovative techniques, thus marking its name in the temple architecture as “Kakatiya architecture”. It represents a sort of transformative architecture between Nagara & Dravida.
- Continuing the tradition of “Thoranas” in Deccan region which dates back to Buddhist era i.e Sanchi stupa. Kakatiyas promoted Thorana tradition instead of “Gopuram” tradition of Deep South. Infact Kakatiya kala thoranam is the state emblem of Telangana. Anna pakshi present on top of Thorana is a mythical white bird that resides in Devalok and is the symbol of purity and honesty. It has the ability to separate milk from water when given mixed together.
- Temple can be comparable to Kajhuraho group of monuments(M.P) & Hemakuta group of Hampi(K.A) for its imposing Jagati (raised platform) & Kakshasnas( table like arrangement inside temple, implies pointing towards temples being restplace or encouraging performing arts)
Jagati of Ramappa temple
Kakshasana(Seat)
- Developed over three centuries before the Vijayanagara period, the Kakatiya architectural traits and the experimentation on hard granite were indeed proto type of the Vijayanagara art style.
Hemakuta temples at Hampi
- Kakatiya architecture depicts the balance between sculpture & architecture. Infact The 12 bracket figures of the Madanikas or Salabhanjikas in the Ramappa temple bring out the best in the Kakatiyan sculptural art, reflecting the skilled artistry of that period that could use chisels on black basalt and carve out exquisite figures in graceful rhythmic poses. These graceful madanikas along with other female figures inside the temple in varying dance poses became the inspiration for a dance treatise known as Nrityaratnavali that was written by Jayapa Senani. The sculptures also depicted three dimensional(3D) view.
- Ramappa sculptures even helped shri “Nataraja Ramakrishna” to revive a lost dance-drama form “Perini Shivathandavam”(Dance of Warriors), that originated during the Kakatiya period, by studying the grace, the expressions, the perfect postures and mudras, elements considered very important in Indian classical dance.
- The figures of Ramappa are also pointing towards the prevalence of “Dandiya/Kolatam” culture in Deccan region i.e “Bathukamma” festival celebrated during Navaratri in Telangana similar to Garba in Gujarat & Bhondla in Maharashtra. Further research may serve for tracing the roots of these similiar concept festivals meant for worshiping Mother Goddess(Durga).
Bathukamma festival during Navaratri
- We all heard about floating stones used in building “Ramasethu” from the epic of “Ramayana” but despite Telangana being a landlocked state with no such traceable rocks in vicinity, Ramappa temple Shikara is built using feather lite spongy bricks that float on water, a man made technological ingenuity of the 13th century.
- Another innovation seen in these temples is the use of Sand-box technology, where the foundation pit was topped with sand that would act as a support or cushion during earthquakes, thus protecting the structures. Both “Floating brick” and “Sand box” technology prove the technological advancement of India then.
- Ramappa temple is a Trikuta style temple with main temple Ramalingeshwara temple(Ramappa) along with Kateshwara temple & Kameshwara temple constructed on diamond structured platform. Individually Ramappa temple stands on a star shaped platform.
- Intricate pillar, roof carvings and Jali work.
Jali work with Anna Pakshi
- There are many such temples built during kakatiya dynasty but unfortunately some faced destruction during the invasions of Tughlaq dynasty, Khilji dynasty & other faced harshness of nature. It is during the time of Allauddin Khilji’s invasions world famous “Kohi-i-noor” diamond of Kakatiya dynasty reached Delhi sultanate.
Ruins of Warangal fort and Swayambhu temple.
The temple that assumed special & divine place during Kakatiyas is “Swayambhu Shambulingeshwara temple” in Warangal (According to many sources the one which is in ruins is actual temple with 4 thoranas on 4 sides as it's entrance. We can estimate how grand it was then compared to Ramappa, considering the fact that it was built in the pattern of “Sri Chakra” & located at the centre of Kakatiya’s capital city i.e Warangal). According to the local belief the then emperor, Ganapati Deva, was passing by this locality when the wheel of his chariot was struck by a rock. Soon, it turned into gold.Upon digging further, they found a glistening Siva Linga.The emperor got it removed and built a temple. It proved to be a good omen for the Kakatiya kings, who ruled the area for 300 years.
Some sources suggest this as Swayambu temple (but most probably it can be a old temple of kakatiya era but not the divine temple described)
According to G Yazdani, a scholar in Deccan history, Ramappa is “the brightest star in the galaxy of Deccan temples”. It is a classical example to say that Indian temples are not just places of worship but more of educational centres with various subjects such as Art, Architecture, Scientific technology etc. As Ramappa temple is on the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites 2019 “The Glorious Kakatiya Temples and Gateways”, if everything goes fine it would be the first UNESCO world heritage site from both the Telugu states!!
Source :
- Google Images