Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple located in Bhadrachalam is an ancient old temple in Bhadrachalam in Khammam District of Telangana. The presiding deity in this temple is Sri Lord Rama and His consort Sita Devi along with His brother Lakshmana who accompanied him into the forests during His 14-year exile.
Bhadrachalam attracts hundreds and thousands of devotees from all over the world. This hill place that is encircled by Holy River Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the famous shrine Bhadrachalam. The temple in Bhadrachalam is closely connected with the life of the saint-poet composer Kancharla Gopanna who later came to be known as Bhakta Ramadas.
Legend of the TempleBhadrachalam is a place where Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana had sojourned here during their 14-year exile in forests. They stayed in a makeshift parnashala 35 km away from Bhadrachalam. This is the place where Mareecha, the demon appeared as Golden Deer to Sita and from here Ravana abducted Sita Devi in the absence of Rama and Lakshmana.
Once Maharshi Bhadra, a mountain king and the son of Mount Meru and Menaka performed penance to Lord Rama on the banks of river Godavari in this dense forest called Dandakaranya to appear before him and grant HIS Divyadarshan. Sage Bhadra requested 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 punishing Ravana.
As Rama could not fulfill His promise during His present incarnation, sage Bhadra continued his penance more vigorously. Long after Ramavatar ended, Maharshi Bhadra continued his penance through Yugas praying for the graceful Darshan of Lord Sri Ramachandra Murthy. Lord Rama remembering His promise appeared before Sage Bhadra on this mountain as Vaikunta Rama and blew the conch. Rama appeared with four hands accompanied by His consort Sita and brother Lakshmana. His divyadarshan to sage Bhadra resembled to that of His Darshan in ‘Gajendra Moksham’. Thus the Idols of Rama having four hands and holding Shanku in the right, while Chakra in the left and Dhanurbhana (bow and arrow in the other two hands); Sita is seen seated on the left lap of Lord Rama and brother Lakshmana standing to Rama’s left. And the hill place where Deities were seated on was the head of Bhadra. Ever since, this shrine has come to be known as Bhadrachalam.
Pokkala Dhammakka who took care of these sacred IdolsThese sacred idols of Vaikunta Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were found by Pokkala Dhammakka, a devotee of Lord Rama, who lived in the 17th century in a village called Bhadrireddypalem, a mile away from this holy place. One fine night Lord Rama appeared in her dream and asked her to locate these idols on Bhadragiri and perform pooja.
The very next day she started searching for the idols and found them hidden in an anthill. She drenched the anthill by pouring water continuously drawn out of river Godavari until the anthill dissolved and sacred Idols surfaced. Ever since, she has been performing pooja and offering Naivedyam of fruits continually. She built a makeshift mandapam with the help from local villagers. Again Rama visited this devotee Dhammakka in her dreams and assured that one of His devotees would construct a temple at this site. Dhammakka waited patiently for the devotee. At last, the devotee has come out to be Bhakta Ramadas.
The Promised devotee has arrivedGopanna (1620-1680) was the Tahsildar (the Revenue officer) in the kingdom of Abul Hassan Tana Shah of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty. He was the nephew of Madanna of the Madanna and Akkanna brothers who were ministers at the court of Tana Shah of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty in Golconda. Kancharla Gopanna was appointed as revenue officer of Palvancha Taluka by Tana Shah.
Kancharla Gopanna was born to parents Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk in 1620 AD. He was the nephew of Akkannna, the administrative head in the kingdom of Nawab Abul Hussan Shah known as ‘Taneshah’ of Golkonda. Abul Hussan Shah was the last ruler of Golconda before Aurangazeb captured it in 1687AD. Abul Hussan Shah, at the behest of his minister Akkanna, appointed Gopanna as Tahsildar of Palvancha Paragana. He discharged his official duties quite honestly collecting revenues and maintaining revenue records. An ardent devotee of Lord Rama, he never forgot to chant the name of Rama and poor-feeding at his house. One fine day, Gopanna learnt that all the villagers of Palvancha were going to witness a Jatara, a sort of a fete in honor of the Lord, at Bhadrachalam. Curious, Gopanna too went with them to Bhadrachalam. That was the turning point in his life.
History of the TempleHe found the deities of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and was wonderstruck. He decided to construct a temple and asked all the villagers to contribute liberally for the construction of the temple. Yet they fell short of funds. All the villagers asked Gopanna to spend the revenues collected for the construction of the temple. And they promised Gopanna that they will sell their crops and repay the revenues thus spent for the temple. Based on their assurances, Gopanna spent an amount of Rs.6 lakhs from the revenues collected without informing the higher authorities and the king.
The construction of the temple was almost complete. But he had a problem of fixing ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ at the top of the main temple. He was deeply distressed and fell asleep. On the same night Lord Rama appeared in his dream and asked him to take a holy dip in river Godavari where he will find the much needed Sudarshana Chakra. Next day Gopanna took a holy dip in the river and found the Holy Sudarshana Chakra and thought that it was the gift from Lord Rama Himself. The temple was completed at last. But his miseries began. It was indeed a testing time for his devotion to Lord Rama which he withstood the test successfully bearing all the torture. Gopanna was hence known as Bhakta Ramadas, meaning, the devout servant of Lord Ram.
Bhadrachalam Temple was built. Troubles began for GopannaSoon after completion of the temple his miseries started. The promised repayment from the villagers has not come forth. He was dismissed from service for misusing funds and was jailed for 12 years in a Golkonda Fort. He was tortured day-in and day-out. Unable to withstand the torture, Ramadas pleaded with Rama to save him from his troubles and torture. He composed and sang several hymns in praise of Rama and His consort Sita. Ramadas even accused Rama in one of his hymns and again asked forgiveness saying that he accused Rama as he was unable to bear the torture in jail. He has also written a ‘Dasaradhi Sathakam’ in 100 poetic stanzas in Telugu which he eulogized Lord Rama.
Finally Lord Rama came to his rescue. Rama along with his brother Lakshmana disguised themselves as normal human beings appeared in Tanashah’s dream and introduced themselves as Ramoji and Lakshmoji, the servants of Bhakta Ramadas and then repaid the entire Rs. 6 lakhs. They also obtained the receipt from Tanashah and went straight to the jail where Ramadas was lodged and kept the receipt under his pillow. When Tanashah woke up early in the morning he found Rs. 6 Lakh mohurs at his bedside.
At last realizing the devotion of Ramadas, Tanashah freed him from the prison and begged his forgiveness for torturing all these years and placed all the 6 Lakh Gold mohurs at his feet. Ramadas refused to take all Gold Mohurs and took only 2 mohurs for himself since they are given by Lord Ram. These two mohurs are still seen in Bhadrachala Sri Sita Ramachandra Swami Vaari Devasthanam.
After Lord Rama appeared in his dream, Tanashah with utmost devotion took over the administration of this Rama Temple. Tanashah earmarked the revenues collected in Palvancha Paragana to be spent on this Temple for its maintenance and its upkeep annually. Ever since, this practice of spending moneys from the government treasury to this Bhadrachalam Temple has been in practice for years. Offering precious pearls called Mutyala Talambralu on the occasion of Kalyana Mahotsavam during Sri Rama Navami to the main deities has been in continuance to this day. Our present Chief Minister of the State carries these precious pearls on his head to this Temple during Sri Rama Navami Festival.
Devout Ramadas has determined the nitya poojas and sevas to be performed in this temple and at appropriate timings. Beginning with “Suprabhata Seva” in the morning to “Pavalimpu Seva” till late night before closure of the temple is ordained by Ramadas and decreed them as “Silaa Shaasanaalu” (writing on the stone) which is to this day is seen on two pillars in the temple premises. This inscription gives details of daily dictum and daily rituals also.
Special Poojas and FestivalsTwo major festivals are celebrated every year which Bhakta Ramadas introduced. They are “Vaikunta Ekadashi”, a day that comes once a year during Dhanur Masam, the intervening months of December and January and on the day of either Pushya or Margashira Shuddha Ekadashi. On Vaikunta Ekadashi day, it is considered auspicious to enter the temple’s sanctum from the northern doors for devotees. This is called Vaikunta Dwaara Darshanam for it gives one a Moksha or Salvation. This Vaikunta Ekadashi celebration precedes the ten-day festival called Dashaavatara Mahotsavams (the 10 incarnations of Sri Maha Vishnu). On this day, lakhs of devotees visit every Vaishnava Temple as well as Shiva Temples and other Temples of Gods too.
It's an amazing post and got addicted to the story of Badrachalam temple. Loved the post much.
ReplyDelete