Lord Ram with four arms, a devotee’s sacrifice and a dream: Why this Telangana temple is called ‘Dakshina Ayodhya’

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, responding to a journalist’s question on whether he would go to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony, said though he intended to visit the temple later, he would like to visit it and Bhadrachalam. There doesn’t seem to be any difference. Temple in Telangana.

Reddy said he is a regular visitor to the Sita Ramachandraswami temple, which is located on the banks of the Godavari river at Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. It is also called South Ayodhya.

As devotees in the country rejoice over the new temple in Uttar Pradesh, the mention of the temple in Bhadradri is an interesting one as it is one of the few temples in which the main deity has four hands.

The icon worshiped there is Vaikuntha Rama, the form Lord Vishnu took to fulfill a promise made to a devotee. It is said that in his hurry to appear as Rama, Lord Vishnu forgot that Rama was a mortal and retained his four arms. In the idol, wife Sita is sitting in Ram’s lap and brother Lakshman is standing near her.

Story behind the temple

Bhadrachalam temple is unique not only because of the four-armed deity but also because of the stories associated with it.

It is said that by the grace of Lord Rama, a stone became a human being named Bhadra. He was the son of Mount Meru and Menaka. To express his gratitude towards his Lord, Bhadra started meditating on the banks of Godavari. Around the same time, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were living in the Dandaka forest after being sent on 14 years of exile. After years of penance, Bhadra managed to find his Lord, but Rama could not stay to meet him as he was searching for Sita who had been kidnapped by Ravana. However, he promised that he would come later and bless Bhadra. Since he was engaged in an epic battle with Ravana, Rama was unable to honor the promise he made to his devotee.

Years later, Lord Vishnu remembered his promise and appeared before Bhadra. He also brought Sita and Lakshman with him. Bhadra’s happiness knew no bounds after seeing the unique incarnation of Lord Ram. He had a conch in one hand, Sudarshan Chakra in the other and a bow and arrow in his lower hands. Therefore, the place where the Lord appeared was named Bhadrachalam or Bhadradri.

According to another story, Pokala Dhammakka, a devotee of Lord Rama, had a dream that an idol of the Lord was hidden in the forest. After a thorough search, they found this idol of Lord Rama buried in an ant heap. Then he installed it as a deity with the help of the villagers.

Bhadrachal Ramdasu

This temple was built in the 17th century through the efforts of devotee Ramadasu. He is a well-known figure in the Telugu speaking states and several films have been made on his life. His real name was Kancherla Gopanna and he was a tehsildar during the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, the last Sultan of Golconda.

He was known for his devotion to Rama and is one of the most famous ‘Vaggeyakaras’ in Telugu. As part of his job, he had to collect taxes from the villagers. When he had a vision of Lord Rama at Bhadrachalam, he expressed his desire to build a temple there. He asked for contributions from the villagers, and when money ran short, he used the revenue collected for the government. Although the temple was built, he was sent to jail for 12 years on charges of fraud. Even in prison he composed hymns in praise of Lord Rama.

It is said that two young men, who were Rama and Lakshmana in disguise, gave gold coins to the Sultan to get Ramadasu released.

politics on temple

When Andhra Pradesh was divided, Telangana and the rest of Andhra Pradesh fought to include the temple in their territories. Former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao was repeatedly criticized for not personally offering Pattu Vastralu (silk clothes) and Mutyala Talambaralu (pearls) at the temple during the divine marriage of Lord Rama and Sita.

It is an age-old tradition that has been followed since the 17th century in which the ruling ruler brings these offerings for the wedding. During his election speech in the last assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that if BJP came to power, the Chief Minister would restart this tradition.