Sita Ramachandraswamy temple, Bhadrachalam

The Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Rama, a prominent avatar of the god Vishnu. It is located on the banks of the Godavari River in the town of Bhadrachalam in east Telangana, India. Often simply referred to as Bhadrachalam or Bhadradri, the temple is considered one of the ''Divya Kshetrams'' of Godavari and is also revered as Dakshina Ayodhya.

The central icon, believed to be self-manifested, features the four-armed Vaikuntha Rama, the form Vishnu appeared in to answer Bhadra'a prayers. Rama's consort Sita and brother Lakshmana form part of the central icon. By some accounts the Bhadrachalam temple was built, and other accounts repaired by the legendary Bhakti saint Kancherla Gopanna – also known as Bhadrachala Ramadasu – in the 17th century. Gopana was the revenue officer of Bhadrachalam under the reign of the last Sultan of Golconda, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (Tana Shah). Gopana was accused and arrested of using funds meant for the Sultanate treasury to build the Sita Ramachandraswamy temple. He spent 12 years in jail, where he composed bhakti songs still sung at this temple. Before Golconda Sultanate collapsed during Aurangzeb's expansion of the Mughal control of the Deccan region, Gopana was released by Sultan Tana Shah when Lord Rama himself appeared with Lakshmana to pay the gold coins Sultan demanded for Gopana's release. Gopana then continued to compose poems dedicated to Rama in this temple.

After Gopanna, Tumu Lakshmi Narasimha Dasu and Varada Ramadasu looked after the temple's rituals. Bhadrachalam follows the Vaishnavite Pancharatra in Srirangam. The temple has four entrances; the Rajagopuram is located at the northern entrance, which is called the Vaikuntha Dwaram. The temple houses a number of sub-shrines and a few mandapams.

Bhadrachalam is notable for its principal deity Rama. Gopanna used Bhadrachalam as a centre of the Bhajan tradition to spread awareness of the Vaishnavite tradition. The annual Brahmotsavam is the biggest festival celebrated in Bhadrachalam; the key event is the ''Sri Sitarama Thirukalyana Mahotsavam'', or the marriage of Rama and Sita on the eve of Rama Navami. Other important festivals celebrated in Bhadrachalam are Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Vasanthotsavam, and Vijayadashami.

Legends

The temple is one of several in India linked to the epic ''Ramayana'' legend about Bhadra. According to this legend, in the ''Treta Yuga'', Rama (avatar of the god Vishnu), along with his consort Sita and brother Lakshmana, stayed in the Dandaka forest as a part of their fourteen-year exile. Due to Rama's grace, a stone turned into a human called Bhadra, who was considered the son of Mount Meru. Devoted to Rama, Bhadra later met the sage Narada, who initiated an '' upadesam'' (instruction) of the ''Rama Taraka mantra''. Bhadra mediated and chanted the mantra on the banks of the Godavari River for several years. Pleased, Rama promised to return to meet Bhadra when he had found Sita, who had been abducted by the demon king Ravana. However, Rama failed to fulfill his promise in his lifetime.

Later, Vishnu was pleased with Bhadra's devotion. To fulfill the promise his Rama avatar had made, he appeared before Bhadra in the form of Rama. In a hurry, Vishnu forgot that Rama was a mortal with two arms and appeared with his four celestial arms. Rama in upper arms held a shankha (conch) and the Sudarshana Chakra (discus) and a bow and an arrow in his lower hands. Sita was seated on his left thigh and Lakshmana stood to his left. 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. This Bhadra legend is the mythology behind Bhadrachalam as well as other Bhadra-prefixed locations and temples in India.

Some attribute the sanctum's statue with Rama with Sita seated in his lap and brother Lakshmana standing next to him to another local legend. This legend states that a tribal woman living in Bhadrareddypalem named Pokala Dhammakka found the central icon of Rama in an anthill. Pokala Dhammakka is also believed to be a descendant of Sabari. The story goes that deity was present in the jungle, and this was revealed to the pious Dhammakka in a dream. She went to the jungle location, dissolved the anthill using the water from the Godavari River and did puja to the deities. With the help of the villagers, Dhammakka constructed a mandapam (hall) and offered prayers to the deities.

History

The history of the temple is closely linked to the history of Kancherla Gopanna. He was born in Nelakondapalli village of Telangana. His maternal uncle worked for Golconda Sultanate. As a famine swept through the region, the uncle appealed to the Sultan to give his nephew a job. Gopana was appointed as the tehsildar (revenue officer) of Bhadrachalam. During the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah – the last Sultan of Golconda (1672-1686) – under his orders, Gopanna enforced the Jaziya religious tax, a penalty designed to force Hindus to adopt Islam. Gopanna received harsh criticism from the local Hindus for enforcing the tax. Dejected by numerous rebuffs, Gopanna decided to use a portion of the tax for the temple and face the consequences. According to one version, Gopana built the temple using the taxes he collected. In another version, observing the dilapidated state of the temple, Gopanna repaired the temple for Rama with those taxes, and tried to offset the spent taxes by raising donations.

The temple was completed in second half of the 17th century at a cost of nearly six lakh ''varahas''.

After learning the truth, the Shah was enraged, and Gopanna was summoned to the court. Gopanna explained that he never intended to misuse the treasury funds and planned to reimburse using donations he expected to receive in the future. The Shah ordered his soldiers to hang Gopanna if the sum was not repaid within twelve years, and imprisoned him. On the last day of the twelfth year, According to one version of events at the end of the 12 year term, Rama and Lakshmana appeared in Shah's dream and repaid the entire sum in ''Rama madas'' (gold coins with Rama's inscriptions on them). When the Shah woke up, he saw real gold coins and released Gopanna. According to another version, the Shah also gave Gopanna a pension for life and donated the area around Bhadrachalam as an endowment to the temple. According to ''The Hindu'', an Indian newspaper, some scholars dismissed the idea of Rama paying the money, saying that "Gopanna was imprisoned by his jealous enemies", and the Shah freed Gopanna after a fair inquiry, then sent him back to Bhadrachalam with due honors. All these stories lack historical evidence, because Gopanna's 12-year confinement in Golconda prison by the Shah lasted till mid 1680s, closely coinciding with the Shah's rule of 14 years and the fall of Golconda Sultanate. The last known Golconda documents from the Shah's era are from 1686, and over 1686–87, the forces of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb attacked Golconda over 8 months, fought with Shah's forces, then dismissed the Shah and imprisoned him in Aurangabad, as Aurangzeb sought to expand his control of the Deccan region.

According to another myth published in Indian newspapers and local publications, the 15th century Kabirdas – a Muslim saint – toured Telangana singing bhakti songs of Rama. The dedication and charity of the 17th-century Gopanna so impressed Kabir, that he gave him the title of Ramadas (Rama's servant).

According to the temple's history, after Gopana's death Tumu Lakshmi Narasimha Dasu of Guntur and his friend Varada Ramadasu of Kanchipuram offered prayers daily at Bhadrachalam and spent their life there. After Varada Ramadasu's death, Narasimha Dasu carried his corpse into the Godavari and died by drowning.

Modern era

The temple was a part of the Godavari district until the end of the Visalandhra movement, after which the town was merged into Khammam district in 1956. The temple's maintenance and administration were undertaken by the endowment ministry of the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1958. Repairs were made to the temple in 1960 under the supervision of the then-endowments minister Kalluri Chandramouli.

In August 1986 the temple faced a severe threat from flash floods in the Godavari River. The main streets and several structures, including cottages, were submerged in water for nearly five days. Many local people took shelter in the halls of the temple. The kalyana mandapam (marriage hall) was completely inundated except for its gopuram (temple tower). P.Seshacharyulu and other priests stayed in the temple and performed all the daily rituals without any interruption during the floods.

During the Telangana movement, both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh claimed that the Bhadrachalam temple belongs to their respective regions. Telangana politicians and activists stood firm on their stance and stated that they would not let Bhadrachalam be separated from the state. Bhadrachalam was retained in Telangana, and after reorganisation of districts in October 2016, the temple became a part of Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

The temple

The temple is divided into three parts. The first is believed to be the head of Bhadra, where a shrine is dedicated to him. Inside, on a rock structure, the supposed footprints of Rama can be seen. Thirunamam(a white clay) is applied to the rock so that the visitors can recognise it as Bhadra's head. The second part of the temple is the sanctum where the central icon resides on a place considered equivalent to Bhadra's heart. The third part is the Rajagopuram (main tower), which is located at Bhadra's feet.

The temple has four entrances; there are 50 steps to be climbed to reach the main entrance. In 1974, a huge door named the ''Vaikuntha Dwaram'' was built to ensure proper management of the visiting devotees. Directly opposite to the sanctum is a gold-plated dwajasthambam (flag post). It is made of panchaloha (a five-metal alloy), on which are carved images of Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu. On the top of the vimana of the sanctum is an eight-faced Sudarshana Chakra with a thousand corners, that was engraved by Gopanna, who found it lying in the waters of the Godavari River. On the vimana, a miniature of the temple's deity can be seen. The entrance for devotees, who have purchased a special visit ticket, is towards the left of the sanctum. The regular visitors have to wait in a queue that leads straight into the sanctum. Housed in an area to the right of the sanctum are the festival icons of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, which are worshipped daily.

The central icon housed in the sanctum is considered '' Swayambhu'' (self-manifested). Rama is seated in a padmasana posture, with Sita seated on his lap. Rama's four hands hold the conch, disc, bow, and arrow. Lakshmana stands to his left.

On a taller hill, Gopanna installed and consecrated the icon of Ranganatha, a reclining form of Vishnu, which faces the south. The place is popularly known as ''Ranganayakula Gutta'' (hillock of Ranganatha). Opposite the Ranganatha sanctum is a temple dedicated to his consort Lakshmi Thayar. These two temples were included by Gopanna to follow the tradition of Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. The temple houses a number of other shrines. Hanuman has two shrines in the temple: the Abhayanjaneya temple at the river bank and the Dasanjaneya temple in the ''Thiruveedhi'' (divine passage) of Bhadrachalam. In the ''Rajaveedhi'' (royal passage) of the temple, a shrine of Govindaraja Swamy (a form of Vishnu) can be found where the festival icons of Bhadrachalam spend some time during the ''Thiruveedhi utsavam'' festival procession. On the way to the main temple from the river bank, a shrine is dedicated to Yogananda-Narasimha. The icon is believed to be ''Swayambhu'' and very powerful.

Next to the Lakshmi Thayar temple is the Rushya Mookham Exhibition centre. In the centre, the ''Rama mada'' coins given to the Shah, jewellery made by Gopanna for the deities, and other important items are housed. The jewellery includes the ''chintaku patakam'' (a necklace studded with rubies), ''kirithas'' (crowns), plaited decorations, and a ''mutyala haramu'' (chain of pearls). In the outer ambulatory passage of the temple, there is a hall called the ''Nithyakalyana mandapam'' or ''kalyana mandapam'', intended for conducting the marriage festival of Rama and Sita. On the Ranganayakula Gutta is a temple dedicated to the god Shiva, who is worshipped as ''Ramalingeswaraswamy''. Near the ''kalyana mandapam'', there is a hermitage named Govindaswamy matham where many saints stayed in the past. A huge hall named Mithila Stadium was built facing the Vaikuntha Dwaram. Its construction was initiated by Jalagam Vengala Rao and was completed at a cost of 3.8 million. The icons worshipped by Narasimha Dasu are housed in the Ambasatram, which is located at the southern end of the temple. Here, food is served to the devotees visiting the temple.

Religious practices

According to ''Ramayana'' and other sacred texts, Ranganatha was the '' Kuladevata'' (tutelary deity) of Rama's clan, the Ikshvaku dynasty. Hence, Gopanna wanted this temple to implement all the traditions and guidelines of the Srirangam temple dedicated to Ranganatha. For the same reason, he invited five families from Srirangam who knew the ''Pancharatra

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