Bhadrachalam Temple

History of temple

A sacred place that attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the world, it is the abode of Lord Rama (The seventh incarnation of SriMahavishnu). This hill place which is encircled by holy river Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the famous shrine Bhadrachalam-The name derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra-a boon child of Meru and Menaka). According to a Ithihasas, the significance of this shrine dates back to the Ramayana Era. This coherent hill place existed in "Dandakaranya" Of Ramayana period where Rama with his consort Sita and brother Laxmana had spent their vanavasa- and Parnashaala(the place connected to the famous Golden Deer and the place from where Sita was abducted by Ravana.) is also in the vicinity of this temple site. It is at this Mandir site that, long after Ramavatara, Bhagawan Mahavishnu manifested Himself as Rama again to fulfil a promise He made to His Bhakta Bhadra, who continued his Tapas through Yugas, praying for the grace of the Bhagawan Sri Ramachandra murthy.

Exigency of Incarnation  The history depicts that the need emerged the incarnation of Vykuntha Rama was that to fulfill a long desire of his ardent devotee Bhadra.Maharshi Bhadra  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 Rama could not accomplish the promise in Ramavatara . Then Sri Mahavishnu manifested himself as Vykuntha Rama and rushed to his devotee Bhadra , signaling hisarrival 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 .

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.

Bhakta Ramadas and construction of templeBhadrachalarama temple was constructed by Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadas in the year 1674 A.D.

Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as "Bhakta Ramdas", a fervent devotee of Rama, was born to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk in 17th century (1620 AD). He was nephew of Akkannna, the administrative head in the court of Nawab Abul Hussan shah known as 'Taneshah' of Golkonda (he was the last ruler of Golconda before Aurangazeb captured it in 1687A.D.) and was appointed by him as Tahsildar of 'Palvoncha Paragana'. Thus he was discharging his official duties earnestly and collecting revenues due to the Nawabs in continuation of daily preaches -Chanting of 'Ramanama' and the feeding the poor at his house. Ramadasa, who heard the news that the villagers of palvoncha paragana were proceeding to witness a Jatara at Bhadrachalam , became curios and he too visited Bhadrachalam. He found the deities in an amazing appearance. Ramadas, then asked the villagers to contribute liberally for the construction of the temple. After the contributions were found to be insufficient, the villagers appealed him to spend the revenue collections for the construction of the temple with a promise to repay the amount after harvesting the crops. Accordingly, Ramadas constructed the temple with an amount of Rs 6 Lakhs collected from the land revenues with out the permission of the Nizam Nawab.

  When the temple reached to the nearing completion, he had a problem of fixing 'Sudarshana Chakra' at the crest of the main temple. He was deeply distressed and fell into sleep. On the same night, Rama in his dream asked him to have a holy dip in river Godavari where he will find that-accordingly. On the next day morning Gopanna did so and found holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river with out much difficulty. He presumed that Sudarshana Chakra itself was shaped up with the divine power of his beloved God Rama. Soon after the construction, his miseries started. He was dismissed from service for mis-utilisation of revenue for constructing the temple and was kept in jail for 12 long years in Golkonda Fort and was tortured. Unable to withstand the miseries, Ramadas implored Rama to relieve him by singing many praising and emotional songs which got popularized from the stanzas of 'Dasaradhi Sathakam' and 'Keertanas' of Bhakta Ramadasa.

The Nizam Nawab Tanishah, the then ruler of Nizam's territory became a devotee of Rama who realised the devotion spirit of Ramadas after his imprisonment and took over the charge of temple administration. This resembles the communal harmony amongst the Hindus and Muslims. The Nizam Nawab realised Ramadas'devotional spirit and dedication towards Rama, when Rama and Laxmana repaid 6 lakh Mohurs exposing themselves as Ramoji and Laxmoji, the servants of Bhakta Ramadas to get release of their devotee from the imprisonment. Thanisha gave voucher to these divine looking persons who approached him at his house during late night. Then they kept the voucher under the pillow of Gopanna where he was jailed. Tanishah who woke up on the very next day morning realised that those divine looking persons were none other than Rama and Laxmana and made arrangements to get release of Gopanna and prayed to forgive him by placing all the Gold Mohurs received last night at the feet of Gopanna. But, he refused to take back those mohurs except two as a mark of divine significance. (Those two can still be seen kept in Bhadrachala Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy vaari Devasthanam).

Influenced by the majesty of Lord Rama, Golkonda Ruler Tanishah earmarked the income derived from the said Palwoncha paragana which came to Rs 20,000 and odd for the maintenance of the temple which was continued during Nizam's reign and offering Pearls (Mutyala Talambralu) on the occasion of kalyana mahotsavam (Sri Rama Navami) to Deities on an elephant through a specially sent messenger. That procedure of sending pearls to the Deities is still followed by present state Government and continues to offer during Sri Rama Navami Festival (Kalyana mahotsavam). Tumu Narsimha Dasa,Tahasildar of Palwoncha paragana,along with his associate Varada Ramadasa came here from Guntur and took over the charge of Bhadrachalarama temple after Ramadas made inscripted the performance of Nitya Poojas and sevas right from early morning "Suprabhata Seva" till night "Pavalimpu Seva" before closure of the temple as "Silaasaasanaalu" on these two pillars. This inscription gives details of daily dictum and daily rituals also.

Nature and its Beauty
The scenic beauty of "Paapikondalu" and "Perantalapalli" a village in the vicinity of "Paapikondalu" cannot be explained by mere words and better be visited. The mighty river Godavari narrows down and passes through a stretch of hills (Paapikondalu) and the resultant picturesque is a visitor's delight.

Location and Route:
This hill place is located on Bhadrachalam-Rajahamandry waterway at a stretch of nearly 3 Kilometers all along the pleasure trip on either side of the holy river Godavari. One needs to reach Kunavaram(the location where river Sabari merges into Godavari) by road from Bhadrachalam town which is about 50 KMs and then take a Motor Launch to Rajahmandry on the river Godavari. The traveling distance by motor launch from Kunavaram is about 4 and half hours.

Visiting Places:
Sri Rama Giri in VR Puram mandal is situated on the bank in the down stream of the river Godavari (about 55 Kms from Bhadrachalam). The deity Yogarama temple is on a hill place and the place is named after Sri Rama Giri.

Brief History: According to mythological story, an ardant devotee, Sabari, gave shelter to Sri Sita Rama Laxmanulu while they were on the way in Dhandakaranya during Vanavaasa period and offered fruits to Rama after tasting them out of affection towards Rama. Bhakta Sabari who had spent her old age by chanting Rama nama in Dhandakaranya attained salvation after having Darshan of Rama whom she loved fervently and later dissolved as a rivulet which merged into the holy river Godavari near Kunavaram.

Perantalapalli :
(A Tourism Spot) is a remote tribal village in Velerupadu mandal of Khammam District. This village is located on Kunavaram-Rajahmundry water way. A "Sri Krishna Munivaatam" was constructed at this village by Balananda Swamiji in the year 1927.Now this Munivatam is being maintained by a tribal sect Konda Reddys and daily pooja are being performed by them. Beautiful sceneries of Papi Hills and waterfalls at Munivaatam and the peaceful atmosphere at this tribal village will definitely give pleasant look and peace to the visitors. The idol of Shiva under serpent shade was installed in Munivaatam.

Brief History:
The history depicts that on one day Balananda Swamy (during 1926) had reached Perantalapalli village while traveling from Rajahmundry to Bhadrachalam on river Godavari in a motor launch and stayed that night .He was enraptured with the pleasant atmosphere and the sceneries at and around the place where he stayed on moon lit night and he came out of the launch to the sand bed on the bank. Then a lady appeared to him and asked him to follow her and disappeared after reaching a place on the river bank covered with shrubs and stream flows. He spent that night there and astonished after seeing Shiva idol under serpent shade in the early morning and decided to construct a mantapam there. That mantapam is named as Sri Krishna Munivaatam. No priests would perform pooja there. The devotees themselves pray the God and perform pooja after having holy dip in river Godavari. Using of non-vegetarian and hunting of animals are strictly prohibited there. All the devotees must maintain silence while spending time there and also performing pooja in this munivaatam. Balananda Swamy after seeing the backwardness of the tribal sect Konda Koyas (Hill Reddys) decided to reform them and took up a project in the line by bringing them to cultured society. Later in 1969, one David Adam, a youngster and a resident of England became a disciple of swamiji and spent in this munivaatam till recently. Now this munivatam is being maintained by the tribals themselves.


Places around Bhadrachalam Temple

Parnashala
This is supposed to be the exact spot where Rama, during his vanavasa in Dandakaranya, constructed a hermitage and spent his exile with his concert Sita and brother Laxmana. Agastya had selected this spot for Rama and is about 35KMs from Bhadrachalam.

The picturesque display of some scenes of vanavasa could be seen at Parnashala. One can see the foot prints of Sita devi, Mosaic of Maarecha in the guise of golden deer and Ravana in the guise of Sanyasi for Bhikshatana. Also found in the vicinity are Sita Vaagu-where she had bathed and collected the turmeric and Kunkum from near by stones and the marks of her saree on the rock near Sita Vaagu. These are all the visiting places for the piligrims. As Ravana kidnapped Sita, the deity at Parnashala is called Sokarama. The tracks of the chariot of Ravana while kidnapping sita can be seen on the mountain on the other side of the river bank at Parnashala temple.

Jattayu Paaka (Yetapaka)

  This Place is situated from 2Kms away from Bhadrachalam. According to Itihasas, the bird Jatayuvu, a devotee of Rama had obstructed Ravana while he was proceeding on the chariot after kidnapping Sita. After the fearful battle between Ravana and Jataayuvu, the heavily injured bird had waited at this place in search of Rama. A wing of this bird fell at Rekkapalli, about 55 Kms from here, in V.R. Puram Mandal.

Dummugudem

   Here Rama is called the Atmarama. The story reveals that Rama killed 14000 demons headed by Kharadeoshana. As the village was said to be built upon the ashes of these demons, the place is named after as Dummugudem.

Gundala

It is a place 5 Kms away from the sacred town Bhadrachalam, where springs of hot water could be traced on the river bank when we dig a pit at any place in this area. It is believed that the divine trios (Brahma Vishnu Maheswara) had their dips in winter season according to Brahma Purana.

Sree Rama Giri

This place is situated on the bank in the down stream of river Godavari, about 55 Kms from here. The deity of Yoga Rama Temple is on a hill and is named as Ramagiri.

Bhadrachalam Temple 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)

Where to eat
Haritha Hotel Bhadrachalam, offer delicious fare for visitors of this temple town. There are other eateries, fast food joints and restaurants, located close to the temple, catering to the tourist flow.

Shopping
At the temple town of Bhadrachalam, you can buy images and idols of Hindu gods, religious books, and other divine literature and puja articles. Tourists can also buy pre-printed books in ready format for ‘Rama Koti’.

Where to stay
Haritha Hotel Bhadrachalam, operated by Telangana Tourism is an ideal accommodation option for travellers. This hotel is a place where one can relax, stay and refresh for a darshan of the famous temple here.

Contact
Phone number
08743-232428


Travel-RTC timingsBhadrachalam is reachable from all major cities in Andhra Pradesh, and other states. Via with (Khammam, Vijayawada, Hyderabad,Hanumakonda, Rajahmundry) regular buses plying in that route.

Transport information:
Departure from	Timings	Distance in KMS	Fare in Rupees (INR)
Tirupathi	14.45	606	242.00
Basara	08.30	472	189.00
Vemulavada	04.15	324	130.00
Srisailam	04.30	472	189.00
Hanumakonda	04.00 onwards every 1 hr. Last bus-22.30	220	088.00
Hyderabad	03.15, 05.00, 06.30, 08.00, 09.00, 10.45, 09.30, 21.00, 22.30, {21.00 from NZB}	316	165.00 for Hitech 126.00 for Express 139.00 for Luxury
Vijayawada	04.00 onwards every 1 hr. Last bus-22.30	184	075.00
Rajahmundry	06.30, 07.30, 08.30, 14.45, 17.45, 20.00	239, 190 (via Kukkunoor)	096.00, 067.00 (via Kukkunoor)
Vishakapatnam (Via Seleru)	05.30, 18.30	370	148.00
Vijayanagaram	08.30, 05.30	422	169.00
Amalapuram	20.00	309	124.00
Rajolu	07.00	327	131.00
Eluru	07.30, 15.00, 22.00	190	086.00