Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/l9F_TFkPNBQ
Location: "Sree Seetha Ramachandraswamy Vari Devasthanam - Bhadrachalam, Bhadrachalam, Telangana 507111"
Reference: https://www.bhadrachalarama.org/templehistory.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadrachala_Ramadasu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadrachalam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita_Ramachandraswamy_Temple,_Bhadrachalam
In this
part, which is the last one of this Episode, I will walk you all through the
temple town of Bhadrachalam.
The town is
located around 312 KMs from Hyderabad, and has a documented history of Rama
temple constructed in the 17th century by Kancheria Gopanna, popularly known as
Bhadradri Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu, a devotee of Shri Rama and composer
of Carnatic music. The town of Bhadrachalam is a busy town with every facility available.
Because of the pilgrimage nature, all kinds of lodges, residencies, hotels and
any living accommodation required is available here. The town and the temple
remains illuminated throughout 24 hours. Government Haritha Hotel is available
very near to Indira chowk. Apart from that good hotels are situated at a
distance on the other side of Godavari, while cheap accommodations are
available near the temple.
Talking a bit about the
history of the town, Bhadrachalam town is part of Bhadradri Kothagudem district
of Telengana, is a Hindu pilgrimage town where the famous Seeta
Ramachandraswamy temple is situated, on the banks of Godavari river. His
devotional lyrics to Rama are famous in South Indian classical music as
Ramadaasu Keertanalu, and have made Bhadrachalam a place of religious
importance for Hindus. 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. There are contradictory stories as it is also said that
Gopana’s release year was 1680, closely associated with the beginning of the
fall of the Golconda empire. Every story lack evidence though.
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).
Our stay:
At Bhadrachalam, we stayed
at Ashoka Lodge which was very near to Indira Chowk. Although it’s a lodge,
just looking from outide I thought of having a quick look inside it and
surprisingly found it really good and at a very descent rate too.
We stayed there for 3
nights. My daughter too had a very good time there enjoying with the lodge
staff and housekeeping staff too.
The temple:
The Bhadrachalam area also
has several Hindu temples associated with the epic Ramayana. It is referred as
"Dakshina Saketa Puri" in one of the South Indian movies.
Sri Seeta Ramachandraswamy
temple is dedicated Shri Rama, and is located in the banks of Godavari river.
The temple is also referred to as Bhadragiri or Bhadradri, and is one of the
Divya Kshetrams of Godavari often revered as Dakshina Ayodhya too.
The central icon 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.
After
Gopanna, Tumu Lakshmi Narasimha Dasu from Guntur and Varada Ramadasu from
Kancheepuram looked after the temple's rituals offering
prayers daily at Bhadrachalam and spent their life there. Bhadrachalam follows the
Vaishnavite Pancharatra Agama tradition, and its
system of worship is modelled on that of the Ranganathaswamy temple 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.
After Varada Ramadasu's
death, Narasimha Dasu carried his corpse into the Godavari and died by
drowning.
There are a
lot of lodges and residences situated very near to the temple, specially for
the pilgrims who would visit the temple. Anyone visiting the town can consider
staying in these accomodations
Legend
Amongst the
many temples linked to Ramayana, it is said that during Treta yuga,
Maharshi
Bhadra performed penance at the bank of river Godavari in this "
Dandakaranya " to get grace of lord Rama and in countenance of his beloved
God - The exulted "Rishi" implored Rama to be seated on his head ,but
Rama who was in search of his consort Sita gave promise to his Bhakta that his
desire would be fulfilled on his way back , after finding Sita and
accomplishing the process of punishing the wicked Ravana and establish 'Dharma'
. Thus the sage had been in continuation of the frightened penance as Shri Rama
could not accomplish the promise in Ramavatara. Later, Shri Mahavishnu, pleased
with Bhadra's devotion. To fulfill the promise his Rama avatar had made, he
appeared before Bhadra in the form of Vaikuntha Rama and rushed to his devotee Bhadra ,
signaling his arrival by blowing 'Shanku', accompanied by his consort Sita and
brother Laxmana , resembling that of 'Gajendra Moksham ' - Thus , the moorthies
of Rama ( having four hands ) - Shanku on the right , Chakra at his left and
Dhanurbhana ( Bow and Arrow in the rest two hands ) , Sita had condescended on
the left lap of Rama and brother ( at Rama's left ) are existed . And the hill
place where the Deities were seated on , was the head place of Bhadra - achalam
( hill ) ,thus this shrine was transformed into Bhadrachalam .
According to
a local legend, the idols of Vykuntha Rama, Laxmana and Sita were found by
Pokala Dhammakka. Pokala Dhammakka, an ardent devotee of Rama lived in the 17th
century and was an inhabitant of Bhadrireddypalem, a mile away from this holy
place. On one fine night, she had darshan of Rama in her dream who said
"the saints and sages are worshiping my embodied moorthy settled on
Bhadragiri" and asked her to trace them, perform pooja and attain
salvation. On the very next day morning she started searching for the
idols-peeped into an ant-hill and found the idols hidden in it. She poured
hundreds of pots of Godavari water on the ant-hill which tardily dissolved and
gave way for the appearance of the hidden Deities. Since then, she used to
perform pooja daily and offer 'naivedyam' with fruits fallen from near palmyra
tree and constructed a mandapam of thatch hut with the help of local villagers.
Bhagawan Rama told Dhammakka that at a later date, one of his devotees would
construct a Mandir at this site. Dhammakka waited patiently for the devotee.
The devotee turned out to be Bhakta Ramadas.
Parking and photography
There is a
huge dedicated parking encircling the temple but it’s very difficult to get
parking, as there is always huge rush of devotees. Prefer walking down to the
temple if you are staying nearby.
Cameras are
not allowed inside. Only photography from outside is allowed. Drones can be
used from the side of the Godavari front, which is very nicely maintained.
How to Reach:
By Rail: Kothagudem is the nearest railway
station around 40 KMs from Bhadrachalam
By Air: Nearest Airport if Rajamahendravaram
or Rajahmundry around 117 KMs
By Road: Bhadrachalam is connected by road to
all major cities like Khammam and Hyderabad and regular buses ply in these
routes. Telangana Tourism organizes tour packages from Hyderabad city
(approximately 320 KMs away)
Timings:
All Days of
the Week
4:30 AM - 1:00 PM
3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
(Closed from 5.30 AM - 7 PM, 11.30 AM - Noon and 6 PM - 6.30 PM)
Stay option:
Haritha
Hotel Bhadrachalam, operated by Telangana Tourism is an ideal accommodation
option for travelers. This hotel is a place where one can relax, stay and
refresh for a darshan of the famous temple here. Apart from that there are
numerous lodges, residencies and hotels near the temple as well as within 2-3
KMs of distance. We stayed at Ashoka Lodge at Indira chowk around 2.5 KMs and
is really good for stay.
Emergency:
Government Hospital
Nehru Nagar, Khammam, Telangana 507002
095020 75422
Mamata General Hospital
Manikya Nagar Basti, Khammam, Telangana 507002
087422 30862