 The legendary city of Warangal ,157 km from
Hyderabad, the ancient capital city of the Kakatiya kingdom
is an enthralling place. Warangal means "history".
It was the Capital of the Kakatiya kingdom. Its massive fortress
withstood continuous attacks from the Delhi Sultans in the
13th and 14th centuries. In the 19th century it was the hunting
ground of the nobles. This city finds its importance in the
Marco Polo's travel Diary. It is noted for its beautiful lakes,
magnificent temples and wildlife sancutaries too. Warangal
today is an important tourist destination. Characterized by
Chalukyan style of temple architecture and decoration, the
other main attractions of Warangal include the mud-brick forts,
and well built artificial lakes. The interesting main historic
remnants include the Thousand Pillar Temple, the Warangal
Fort, the Ramappa Temple, the Bhadra Kali Temple, etc. Some
of them are mention here:
Ramappa Temple
Ramappa Temple, is an archaeological wonder. Situated 50 km
from Warangal is the glorious Ramappa shrine at Palampet.
The Ramalingeswara temple, popularly known as Ramappa Temple.
This probably is the only temple in India known by the name
of the sculptor who built it. The head sculptor was Ramappa,
after whom the temple is known today, rather than after the
presiding deity, Ramalingeswara, as is the general norm. The
temple of Ramappa was built on behalf of the king, Kakati
Ganapathi Deva by his chief commander Rudra Samani at a place
called Ranakude in Atukuru province. This breathtakingly beautiful
temple has been rightfully described as the "brightest
star in the galaxy of medieval temples in the Deccan".
Rich, intricate carvings adorn the walls, pillars and ceilings
of this marvellous edifice.The temple is a Shivalaya and stands
majestically on a 6 ft high star-shaped platform. The hall
in front of the sanctum has numerous beautifully carved pillars
that have been positioned to create an effect that combines
light and space wonderfully and the exquisitely chiselled
walls and ceiling make a visit to Ramappa Temple an unforgettable
experience. The Ramappa temple is a superb example of their
love for art, music and dance. The temple is situated in a
valley and is built with bricks so light that they can float
on water. Yet the temple is so strong that it is still intact
after numerous wars, invasions and natural calamities. There
was a major earthquake during the 17th century which shook
the Ramappa temple and the other nearby temples. In the Ramappa
temple many of the smaller structures were neglected and are
in ruins. There were even instances of people carrying away
the bricks, to be proudly exhibited that they can float on
water, before the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) took
charge of it. The main entrance gate in the outer wall of
the temple is ruined, so one can enter only through a small
west gate.
 Thousand pillar temple
A fine specimen of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture. It
was built by Rudra Deva in 1163 AD in the style of Chalukyan
temples, star shaped and triple shrined. One thousand as the
name implies has many pillars and richly carved pillars, perforated
screens, exquisite icons, rock cut elephants and the monolithic
black basalt Nandi will take you back down the ages andhas
a lovely polished finish. The temple is a fine specimen of
architecture and sculpture with richly carved pillars, perforated
screens, exquisite icons, rock-cut elephants, etc.
Warangal Fort
Warangal fort is 12-km from Hanamakonda, built by King Ganapathi
in 13th century and completed by his daughter Rudrama, Warangal
Fort showcases the pride and power of the famous Telugu dynasty,
the Kakatiyas,in 1261 A.D., the fort has two walls, with the
traces of the third. The fort has 45 towers and pillars spread
over a radius of 19 km, and a temple of Mother Earth called
'Swayambhudevi Alayam' in the middle.The Warangal Fort was
a huge construction with three distinct circular strongholds
surrounded by a moat. Four paths with decorative gateways,
set according to the cardinal points, lead to the center where
a huge Shiva Temple once existed. The gateway is still obviuous
but much of the temple is in ruins. Places of interest in
the fort are a temple, and four thoranas or gateways, similar
to those of Sanchi and several exquisite pieces of sculpture
can be seen.
BhadaraKali Temple
Situated on a hill top between Hanamkonda and Warangal , it
is noted for its stone image of the Goddess Kali, here shown
in a sitting posture. The 2.7 metre tall stone image of the
deity is the main attraction. This temple too is built in
the Chalukyan style of temple architecture. She is depicted
with eight arms and carries a weapon in each hand. The head
of the idol is adorned by a crown.
History
Prola Raja of the Kakatiya dynasty founded the place in the
12th century AD, but some identify it with Worakalli, the
capital of the Adeva Rajas of Tuluva Andhra or Telengana in
the 8th century AD. Warangal or Varankal is believed to be
the Korun Kula of Ptolemy, while another name is Akshalinagar,
evidently Yeksilanagar mentioned by Raghunath Bhaskar in his
Aravachan Kosh. The ancient name of Warangal was known to
be Orugallu or Omtikonda on account of huge boulder like hillock
situated near the swayambhu Siva Temple and is also called
"EKASILANAGARAM". In course of time, it was called
as "Orugallu", and finally known as Warangal . Some
of his exquisite images pertain to the Thousand Pillar Temple
of Hanamkonda, built in 1162 by the Chalukya Kings. Built
from blocks of granite, this ancient Dravidian temple is adorned
by intricately carved pillars of various dimensions, perfect
in symmetry and style. Even more impressive is the Ramappa
temple at Palampet on the banks of a lake. The pillars and
ceilings depict scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Places To see
Musical Garden, Padmakshi Temple, Ghanpur temples and Eturnagaram
Sanctuary.
Pakhal
50km from Warangal , is situated amidst undulating forest-
clad hills and dales Pakhal Lake, is one of the best picnic
spots in the state, was completed around 1213 AD by the Kakatiya
dynasty. The lake was constructed from the waters of one of
the tributaries of the Krishna River. Pakhal wildlife Sanctuary
covering an area of 90 acresaround the lake. Its dense forest
shelter tiger, leopard animals and a wide of birds. The best
season to visit Pakhal is October- March.
Eturnagaram Sanctuary
This large sanctuary covers 812 sq. km. of dry deciduous mixed
forests and is home to the tiger, leopard, sloth bear, nilgai,
chousingha (four horned antelope), chinkara (mountain gazelle),
black buck and many birds species. The area is mostly plain
with some hilly terrain at altitude ranging from 200-450 metres
with many streams and springs. It has teak and other trees
of good quality standing 60 feet and above.
Sri Veeranarayana Temple
The temple is constructed in the Chalukyan style around 1104
AD. The appearance of the temple indicates that it was originally
a Jain temple converted into a Vaishnava shrine.
Yadagirigutta
Yadagirigutta 88km from Warangal and 69km. from Hyderabad,
is known for the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. |
