Bhadrachalam Temple

History and construction of Bhadrachalam Temple

The most sacred place and most loved place of Lord Hanuman is Bhadrachalam Temple, a must-visit temple.

Bhadrachalam Temple is a hallowed place that attracts devotees in huge numbers from all over the world, it is the home of Lord Sri Rama, The seventh avatar of Sri Mahavishnu.

It is located in a hill place which is surrounded by Holy River Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the memorial Bhadrachalam Temple.

The name Bhadrachalam is derived from Bhadragiri. According to tales, the significance of this temple accompanies back to the great Ramayana Era.

This comprehensible hill place existed in “Dandakaranyam” of the Ramayana period where Lord Rama with his wife Goddess Sita and brother Laxmana had spent their vanavasanam and Parnashaala, the place related to the famous “Golden Deer” and the place from where Goddess Sita was kidnapped by demon Ravana, is also in the locality of this temple site.

The history of the famous Bhadrachalam Temple depicts that long after Sri Ramavatara, Lord Mahavishnu displayed himself as Lord Rama again to fulfill a promise which he made to His great devotee Bhadra, who continued to do his Tapas and prayers through Yugas, praying for the grace of the Lord Sri Ramachandra Murthy.

In the 17th century Pokala Dhammakka, Sabari from the famous mythological story Ramayana was living near the present Bhadrachalam hilly area. She was a devotee of Lord Rama.

The presence of Vaikunta Ramachandra and other deities like Sita, Hanuman and Lakshmana in the middle of the jungle was shown to this spiritual woman in a dream. She then spotted the place shown in the dream, and then she cleared the jungle and offered puja and rituals to the deities. With the help of local villagers, she constructed a small temple for the deities to worship.

Let us know about the story of Sri Ramadasu, the keen devotee of Lord Rama.

Bhakta Ramadasa popularly known as Sri Kancharla Gopanna was born in 1620 AD in the village of Nelakondapalli.

According to the Dasarathi Satakam, he was named Gopanna the son of Linganna Mantri, belonging to Atrey Gotram.

Kancharla Gopanna was brought up as a religious and devoted gentleman by his parents. He had developed a good taste for music and was a loyal devotee of Lord Sri Rama. Being a good singer, he devoted his talents to singing in praise of Lord Ramachandra. Many of his relatives were working in the administration of the royal treasury at that time.

One of his nephews “Akkanna” who was in the court of Sultan Taani Shah of Golconda fort had appointed “Goppanna” as the Tahsildar of Bhadrachalam village.

Sri Goppanna led the collection of taxes for the royal treasury while also devoting time to spread the tales of Lord Sri Rama Nama.

Gopanna performed his duties and his love and devotion for Lord Rama increased day by day. One day on his visit to Bhadrachalam, He was surprised at the sight of Lord Vaikunta Ramachandra.

Gopanna began to raise funds for the construction of the temple. When he found himself short of funds at the last stage of restoration, he decided to complete it by paying the deficit from the land revenue that he had collected for the King of Bhadrachalam.

Sultan Taani Shah of Golconda came to know of what Goppanna had done in Bhadrachalam, and he removed Goppanna from service for misappropriation of royal funds. And also, the Sultan sentenced him to twelve years in custody.

Finally, after much suffering and struggling of twelve years, it is assumed Lord Si Rama and Lakshmana themselves appeared and returned the money to the King and named Gopanna as Ramadasu for the devotion he showed to Lord Rama.

He later attained salvation, but his remarkable songs and kirtans are famous even to this day. King Tanishahi recognized the prominence of Ramadasu and reassured him in his piety and devotion.

Shri Ramadasu developed the temple, constructed Gopuras and Mandapas and made arrangements for conducting LordSri Rama’s festivals in a grand manner which continues to this day. Sri Rama Navami is celebrated grandly in Bhadrachalam and is a treat to watch for devotees with all devotion.

In this article, we have discussed the history of the greatest pilgrims Bhadrachalm Temple dedicated to Lord Rama. Hope that you all visit this temple and get the blessings of Lord Rama.