Gopanna Bhakta Archives

25/Aug/2022

Location:

This popular and world-famous temple of Shri Ram, established on Bhadra Giri mountain, established in the Khammam district of South India and famous in the name of Lord Sree Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple, Bhadrachalam. It 120 from Khammam, 200 from Vijayawada, and 312 km from Hyderabad, it also called Dandakarana forest in Andhra Pradesh.

Legend:

Lord Rama along with Lakshmana and Sita stayed at this place for a long time in Tretayuga. At this place, Lord Rama very much under the delusion of golden deer and Ravana had gone away and Ravana had kidnapped Sita. Maharishi Bhadra did penance of Lord Rama at this place.

The idols of Sri Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita, found while cleaning the forest by Pokaldhamakka, a devotee of Rama. Bhavat Pokaldhamkka used to worship these idols daily. He belonged to the Shabari caste. One day when he was sleeping, Lord Rama told him in a dream that one day a devotee would come and establish the temple and install these idols there. According to the dream, Pokaldhamakka cleared the forest there, made a small hut, and started worshiping by installing idols. Pokaldhamkka kept waiting for that devotee continuously. One day Bhakta Ramdas came there and the Bhadrachalam temple was built by Bhakta Ramdas in 1674.

Chronological History of building the Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple:

Bhakta Ramdas was an exclusive devotee of Lord Rama. They were Golconda Brahmins. Ramdas was born in Nalkonda Palli in 1630. He was the Peshkar (clerk) in the coat of arms of Nawab Abdul Hasan Shah. Ramdas was a great scholar of the Telugu and Sanskrit languages. He had studied all the Puranas thoroughly. He also had good knowledge of Persian Urdu. Due to the government’s good work, he appointed to the post of Tehsildar. He always became famous in the public by the name of Tehsildar.

Ramadas was popularly known as Gopanna Bhakta in Telugu. With permission from the Nawab, he started the construction of the temple of Lord Rama with government funds. He used to get the temple constructed under his supervision. A new penny was not allowed to be spent unnecessarily. He spent 6 lakh rupees on the construction of the temple without the permission of the Nawab. Because of this, the Nawab put him in jail. He remained in prison from 1620- 1680 AD and spent 12 years in jail. While in jail, he wrote songs and poems on Lord Rama.

Those hymns and songs of Lord Rama came out of jail and started resonating on every person’s tongue. The Nawab realized his mistake due to the influence of the songs. The Nawab released Ramdas after paying the money from him. Coming out of jail, Ramdas got engrossed in the service of the Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple.

Gradually the temple assumed the form of an awakened and powerful temple.

Until 1687, Golconda ruled by Nawab Abdul Hasan, who called ‘Tanisha’. Madanna was the chief minister of the Nawab and Akanna was the army chief. Did this Both were devotees of Rama and Shiva. Both of them gave full protection to the temple and made the temple glorious.

In 1690, Golconda acquired by Aurangzeb. Ghaziuddin appointed as the Subedar of the South. Now to Bhadrachalam. The temple started running under the supervision of the army. Zafar Baig Khan vandalized the temple and caused heavy damage to the Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple.

In 1769 due to the fear of the Mughals the idols removed from Bhadrachalam and installed at Polavaram.

The idols of Lord Rama again installed in Bhadrachalam in 1775.

In 1776 the idols hidden at Kamalapuram in Bastar.

The idol again brought to Bhadrachalam and the festival celebrated in the temple by Ashwarao in 1785.

In 1789, Hyderabad Nizam II approved 40 thousand rupees per annum for the expenses of the temple.

The tireless efforts of the devotees ordered the court to operate the temple as before in 1831. The entire land of the temple returned to the temple. Varad Ramdas started looking after the temple.

In 1835, Raja Chandu Lal again accepted the government grant in the name of God.

The Nizam government gave necessary orders for the management of the temple and approved the grant in 1870.

In 1918, after examining the expenses of the temple, the Hyderabad government approved the grant again.

In 1966, the sanctum sanctorum extensively renovated. This work completed in 1968. Idols of Lord Vishnu and Garuda also installed in the temple.

Between 1960-64, Shilpacharya Ganapati Satpathy got the Kalyan Mandap constructed. It inaugurated by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. In 1962 Vice President Radhakrishnan and 1971 the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh gave their support and protection to this temple. India’s Home Minister K. Brahma Reddy built the Dhyan Mandap. In 1967, Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai inaugurated many works of the temple.

The architecture of Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple:

The architecture of the temple is of the highest order. The entire temple carved out of black and dark stones. The temple has four gates. The Gopuras simple and not very large and wide; the pillars and walls of the temple decorated with images of gods and goddesses. Devotee Ramdas made this temple simple by not making it too artistic. The temple on a hill 60 feet high from the ground floor so that the Godavari can be seen from above. One reaches the temple by climbing 75-80 steps from the ground floor. The gate and the sanctum decorated with silver.

About the Temple:

Lord Rama seated in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Of all the temples in the world, standing statues of Lord Rama are the only temple where Lord Rama seated. His complexion is black. Mother Sita is sitting on his left thigh, she is also a black form. His bai and Lakshman Ji are standing. God has four hands. There is a conch shell in the left hand, a chakra in the right hand, and a bow and arrow in the remaining two hands. Rama is called Vaikuntha Rama, Bhoga Rama, and Narayana Avatar.

Festivals at Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple:

Ramnavami, Radhotsav, Lakshmi festival, holy festival, Baikunth Dwadashi, Dussehra, Deepawali, Holi, Hanuman Jayanti, etc. all festivals celebrated by the temple committee. There are five types of worship of God every day. Abhishek, Archana, Durbar service, Kalyanam and Shyam festival, etc. On every Sunday the Lord is anointed with 10 liters of milk.

Devotees and Priests:

On normal days, 8-10 thousand devotees visit every day, 12-15 thousand on Saturday, and Sunday, 30-40 thousand daily on various festivals, and 40-45 lakh devotees in the whole year. The area of the temple is 5 acres. The temple has 18 priests and 160 employees. There are about 150 shops of fruits, flowers, and prasad around the temple. Hotels, guest houses, and dharamshalas are sufficient for accommodation in Bhadrachalam.

Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple Timings:

The temple opens at 4.30 am and closes at 9 pm. Closes at 1 pm and opens at 3 pm.

How to Reach the Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple:

Khammam to Bhadrachalam 125, Vijayawada 250, Hyderabad 320, Rajahmundry 120, Badi 20, Delhi 2,800, Lucknow 2.930 km is far. The nearest railway station is Khammam and the airport is Hyderabad.

Specific Information about Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple:

In this temple, there is a sitting idol of Lord Rama in black color. There is no other idol in the temple.
Sita Ji is seated on the left thigh of Lord Rama. This idol is also amazing, which is not in any other temple in the world.
Temple builder Bhakta Ramdas built the temple and spent more than 6 lakhs without government permission. He was imprisoned for 12 years for this. This did not happen in any other temple.
This temple was built by the Nawab’s Tehsildar Bhakta Ramdas with government funds.

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