#Mytravels: Ramappa Temple - the last & lasting synonym of Kakatiya Grandeur

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Ramappa Temple - the last & lasting synonym of Kakatiya Grandeur


The Temple

Kakatiya Bhumija style Vimana

Is there any site in Telangana that could potentially garner a UNESCO - World Heritage Site status (man-made)? Charminar is iconic but cramped, Qutub Shahi tombs seem to be always under renovation and Warangal (including the Kila Warangal and the Lord Shiva temple possessing the eponymous misnomer 'Thousand Pillar Temple') seems to be massively over-rated.And perhaps, the answer lays elsewhere in a small, simple yet elegant temple, located fittingly in a village called Palampeta of Mulugu Mandal in the newly carved Jaishankar Bhupalapally district, 77 Kms away from the city centre of Warangal.

The welcoming Warrior Woman

Ramalingeswara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva was built by Recharla Rudra, one of the finest but little known generals of Medieval India, on behalf of his patron - Kakatiya emperor Ganapathi Deva in c.1213 CE. Interestingly, the temple is also known as Ramappa temple in honor of it's chief sculptor, Ramappa. Although now under the maintenance of ASI, there is no entry fee to visit the monument and puja etc is still going on as per Hindu customs, without any damage to the temple. The red-sandstone temple is built on the basis of Kakatiya Bhumija/Kadamba architechture - a major shrine in the centre surrounded by two sub-shrines (one of which is damaged) along with a separate Nandi Mandapa to the south side of the temple.

Temple south entrance

The most beautiful feature of this temple is the carvings and sculptures of dancers in traditional dance poses (bhangimas) related to the dance art forms of Andhra Natyam and Perini Sivathandavam. Another famous Kakatiya general, Jayappa Senani wrote extensively on these dance poses in his work 'Nrittaratnavali'. The Nandi of the temple is adorned with beautiful ornamentation. There is also a famous 4-sided pillar inscription inside the temple. Inside the Antaralaya, there are pillar carvings of Gods and celestial beings too. Black slab and Basalt stones panels were arranged on all sides of the temple having sculptued images of Battle Elephants, Dancers, and other religious motifs.

Nandi

The temple survived the Delhi Sultanate's repeated onslaughts on Kakatiya empire. It's impressive list of admirers include the Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq and Venetian traveller Marco Polo. A kilometer away from the temple, there is an impressive lake which was dug by Kakatiya rulers to aid in irrigation and drinking water. c.1213 CE - those were the halcyon days of the Kakatiya Empire - all major rivals' (Cholas, Chalukyas, Yadavas) power waned, trade and agriculture prospered, new art forms emerged and people were happy under the 'Elephant conquering' Ganapathi Deva! - The temple thus stands as the last a& lasting synonym of Kakatiya Grandeur.