
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.