Sree Seetha Ramachandraswamy Vari Devasthanam - Bhadrachalam — Attraction in Telangana

🙏🏼🚩🛕Sri SitaRamachandra Swamy Temple* in Bhadrachalam, one of the most revered Rama temples in India.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple is located in Bhadrachalam, Telangana. It is one of the most famous temples dedicated to Lord Rama in South India. Situated on the banks of the sacred Godavari River, it attracts millions of devotees yearly. The temple is also known as Dakshina Ayodhya (Southern Ayodhya). It has deep connections with the Ramayana, especially the exile years of Rama. The temple town is named Bhadrachalam, which means “the Hill of Bhadragiri”. The temple is built on a hillock called Bhadragiri. The region is closely linked with episodes from Rama’s life in the Dandakaranya forest. It is believed that Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana spent part of their 14-year exile here. The temple is unique as it blends mythology, devotion, folk tales, and history.

II. LEGEND OF BHADRACHALA RAMA

The temple’s origin is rooted in the legend of Bhakta Bhadra, a tribal devotee. Bhadragiri, the hill, is named after this devotee called Bhadra. Bhadra was the son of Meru and Menaka, and a great devotee of Lord Rama. He performed penance on the banks of the Godavari for several thousand years. His only wish was to see Lord Rama in his Pattabhisheka (coronation) form. The Ramayana era passed, and Bhadra’s penance continued. Rama, bound by time, promised to fulfill his wish in the future. Finally, at the end of the Treta Yuga, Lord Rama appeared before Bhadra. He was accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana. The divine trio appeared on Bhadragiri and blessed Bhadra with darshan.

III. APPEARANCE OF THE DEITIES

After granting darshan to Bhadra, Lord Rama turned into stone. The deities of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana appeared in Swayambhu form (self-manifested). These idols are believed to be the original murti in the sanctum today. Lord Rama is seen in his coronation form, seated with Sita on his left and Lakshmana standing by. This divine vision fulfilled Bhadra’s longing. He continued to worship the Lord on Bhadragiri until he merged into the hill. Over centuries, the knowledge of this divine site faded. The forest reclaimed the region and the idols remained hidden.

IV. DISCOVERY BY KANCHERLA GOPANNA (BHADRACHALA RAMADASU)

In the 17th century, a major event revived Bhadrachalam’s glory. A devotee named Kancherla Gopanna, later known as Ramadasu, rediscovered the deities. Gopanna was born in Nelakondapalli, a village near Khammam. He was a deeply religious scholar, poet, and Rama devotee. He was appointed as the Tehsildar (revenue officer) of Bhadrachalam by the Golconda ruler. During his service, he noticed the spiritual atmosphere around Bhadragiri. Locals spoke of strange stories and spiritual phenomena on the hill. Gopanna explored the hill and found the ancient idols of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. Overcome by devotion, he decided to build a grand temple for the deities. He began collecting funds for the temple construction.

V. CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE

Gopanna used both public donations and government revenue funds. He built a magnificent temple on Bhadragiri, suitable for the Lord. The temple was designed in traditional Dravidian style with gopurams and inner shrines. The sanctum was carefully constructed to house the Swayambhu idols. Gopanna personally supervised every detail of the temple. His love for Rama inspired a generation of devotees. He composed many devotional songs in Telugu praising Rama. These songs became the famed Ramadasu Keertanalu. Upon completion, he organized elaborate rituals and inaugurated the temple. The town began to grow around the temple.

VI. ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT OF RAMADASU

When the Sultan of Golconda, Tanisha, learned of the misused funds, he was furious. Gopanna was arrested for...

The Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy temple is a South Indian Hindu temple dedicated to Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu.

According to Hindu 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 and 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.

Rama turned Bhadra into a hillock; the images of the deities in the same postures manifested at its summit. The hillock was referred to as Bhadrachalam or Bhadradri ("Bhadra's hill"). The central icon of Rama is referred by various epithets. Since Rama descended from Vaikuntha (Vishnu's abode) and manifested there, he was called "Vaikuntha Rama". As the deity is four-armed like Vishnu (Narayana), he was named "Rama Narayana". The trio of deities together signified the aspects of the sacred sound Om, which earned Rama the sobriquet of "Om-kara Rama".

The self-manifested moolavar was discovered in the 17th century by Pokala Dhammakka, a tribal woman living in Bhadrareddypalem. After she built a mandapam for the idols, Bhadrachalam's tehsildar Kancherla Gopanna constructed this temple.

Bhadrachalam is notable for its principal deity Vaikuntha Rama, a form of Rama not found anywhere else in the country. According to the Brahma Purana, the temple's deity is capable of imparting knowledge to those who worship him.

During the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (1672-1686), Kancherla Gopanna served as the tehsildar (revenue officer) of Bhadrachalam. Gopanna was given the title of Ramadas (Rama's servant) by Kabirdas, a Muslim saint who was impressed with his charity. Following the Shah's orders, Gopanna enforced the Jaziya tax, a penalty designed to force Hindus to adopt Islam. Observing the dilapidated state of the temple, Gopanna decided to build a temple for the deity by raising donations. In the initial attempt, 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 collected to build the temple and face the consequences.

The temple was completed 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, 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. He gave Gopanna a pension for life and donated the area around Bhadrachalam as an endowment to the temple. Some scholars dismissed the idea of Rama paying the money, saying that the Shah had held a fair and impartial inquiry, found Gopanna innocent, and exonerated him...

This temple in Bhadrachalam is closely connected with the life of the 17th-century saint composer Kancharla Gopanna who was known as Bhakta Ramadas. Gopanna was the Tahasildar of Bhadrachalam, and as per popular legend, is said to have used money from the government treasury to build this temple. He was subsequently imprisoned in a dungeon at Golconda. Lord Rama is said to have miraculously given the Sultan the money spent by Gopanna, after which he was released. Gopanna then became Bhadrachala Ramadasa and went on to compose innumerable number of songs in Telugu in praise of Lord Rama.

The annual Brahmotsavam festival and the Sri Sitarama Thirukalyana Mahotsavam, celebrated on the eve of Rama Navami are the major festivals celebrated in the Bhadrachalam temple. Other important festivals celebrated here include Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Vijayadashami and Vasanthotsavam.

There are several legends associated with the Bhadrachalam temple, one of them suggests that the significance of this temple dates back to the Ramayana Era. It is believed that Lord Rama with his consort Sita and brother Lakshama spent some time at Parnasala, a village near Bhadrachalam temple during their 14 years of exile. This is also the same place where Sita was abducted by Ravana. A Rishi named Bhadra who used to live there was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Overwhelmed with his devotion, Lord Rama promised him moksha but never managed to make good on his promise during the Ramavataram. But Bhadra continued his penance on the banks of the Godavari River which pleased Lord Vishnu and he appeared before Bhadra in the form of Rama. Lord Vishnu came with the intention of giving him moksha. He appeared with his four celestial arms. He was holding Shankha and Sudarshan chakra in upper arms and a bow and an arrow in the lower hands. While Sita was sitting on his left thigh, his brother Lakshmana was standing to his left. Rama granted him salvation and turned him into a hillock which is now referred to as Bhadradri. This form of Rama came to be known as Vaikuntha Rama and Rama Narayana (the union of Rama and Vishnu).

The Bhadrachalam temple has the idols of the Vaikuntha Rama with a bow and a conch, depicting both Lord Vishnu and Lord Rama at the same time. The idol of Sita sitting on the lap of Lord Rama is a rare sight.

Another myth related to the Bhadrachalam temple is about Pokala Dhammaka, a tribal woman who was a passionate devotee of Lord Rama. According to folklore, one night Lord Rama appeared in her dream and told her about the idols that existed on the Bhadragiri hills. The next day, she went there and found the idols inside an anthill. She poured countless number of pots of Godavari water over the anthill to uncover the idols. She started worshipping the deities there and one day Lord Rama told her that a temple will be constructed at this very site by one of his devotees. That devotee was Bhakta Ramadas who constructed the Bhadrachalam temple in the year 1674 A.D.

The magnificent architecture of the Bhadrachalam temple will leave you enchanted. The temple has four entrances and the temple complex is divided into three parts. The first part is a temple dedicated to the head of Bhadra. Inside this temple, there is a rock structure of Bhadra’s head. This structure has a footprint on it which is believed to be that of Lord Rama’s. The second part is a shrine where the presiding deity of the temple resides and the third is the main tower or rajagopuram located at Bhadra’s feet.

On the top of the shrine or the sanctum, a Sudarshana Chakra is engraved. Gopanna found this eight-faced chakra with thousand corners in the Godavari river. The idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are seated to the right of the sanctum. These idols are worshipped every day. A gold plated flag post or dwajasthambam can be seen right opposite the sanctum. Made up of panchaloha, the flag contains images of Garuda, the vehicle of...