Sitarama Swami Temple

Legend has it that saint Bhadra, the son of mount Meru performed a penance for Vishnu on the bank of river Godavari. Vishnu appered before him and granted a wish to which Bhadra requested for the stay over him and blessing him with the grace of Lord’s foot touch. Vishnu obeyed his wish and promised to stay on him, to which in his incarnation as Rama during exile stayed at a near place named Parnashala where Sita was abducted by Ravana. Rama on his mission for searching Sita promised Bhadra that he will come back and stay after the accomplishment of finding Sita. Rama after the victory against Ravana took Sita and returned back to Ayodhya. Bhadra distressed by the act of Rama and again started penance. The Vishnu has ended his incarnation as Rama and returned back to Vaikunta, meanwhile Bhadra continued his frightening penance for years causing disorder in the universe. Vishnu on knowing about the situation, manifested him-self as Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana again on the Bhadra and promised to stay until the end of Kali-yuga. Hence the place is named after the saint Bhadra who turned Achalam meaning motionless as Bhadra-achalam and finally as Bhadrachalam.

The temple was constructed in the year 1674 CE by Kancharla Gopanna (Bhaktha Ramadasu), an officer under the Nizam of Golconda kingdom. The history of the temple goes back to the 17th century CE during which the idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were identified by a woman named Pokala Dhammakka, a resident of Bhadrireddypalem village, a mile away from temple town. Pokala Dhammakka was an ardent devotee of Rama and went in search for the idols based on the dream arrived in her sleep about the presence of idols in the forest. She started searching in the forest and found the idols in an ant hill and on pouring several pots of water from the Godavari, she dissolved the anthill around the idols. With support from the local villagers she made a small thatch structure over the idols and started performing pujas daily. This became a holy place for the locals and started celebrating annual fair at the place.

In time course, Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu born in Nelakondapalli village of Khammam district was a nephew of Akkana and Madhanna, the administrative heads in the court of Nawab Abhul Hussan Shah known by name Taneshah of Golconda. Gopanna proved his ability in the court of Taneshah and was appointed as the Tahsildar of Palvoncha division. While discharging his duties and collecting revenues from the villages, Gopanna came across the idols placed in small thatch structure in Bhadrachalam. He was mesmerized with the divinity of those idols and became an ardent devote of Rama. Gopanna started conducting bhajanas and Ramanama chanting’s and desired to build a temple by running a campaign to collect funds for the construction of the temple and started the construction of the temple and was titled as the Ramadasu meaning divine servant of Rama for his contributions to Rama. Due to insufficient funds he used the tax collected amount of 6 lakhs from the treasury without the permission of the Nawab.

Taneshah knowing about the utilization of the tax-money by Goppanna for construction of the temple without the permission from the court ordered to dismiss Gopanna from the post and was kept in jail for 12 long years in the Golconda. Unable to bear the torcher, Goppanna implored Rama to relive him by singing emotional and praising songs which got popular in later times as the Dasaradi Sathakam and Ramadas Keethanas.  On one late night two persons named Ramoji and Lakshmoji approached Tanishah exposing them self as the servants of Ramadasu and repaid the misused amount of 6 lakhs in gold mohur coins. In the next morning, Tanesha woke up and realized that it was a dream and got shocked by seeing the pile of gold coins in his room. On discussion with the ministers and spiritual advisors in the court assumed that the two persons in his dream were none other than the divine personalities of Rama and Lakshmana. Tanishah immediately ordered to release the Ramadasu and made arrangements for the possession of him to his village in respect to him for his spirit and devotional attachment to Rama and poured all the gold coins from the pile on before Ramadasu as a token of regret for his act, but Ramadasu refused to take them and took only two coins as a mark of divine significance which are now in display in the temple. 

Tanisha influenced by the devotion of Rama sanctioned the annual tax income of about 20,000 rupees collected from the Palvoncha division for the maintenance of the temple and offered pearls for the Kalyanostavam on Sri Ramanavami on an elephant from the Golconda as a token of respect to Rama on behalf of his government. This tradition was continued in later times under Nizam’s reign and was still continued to till date by the government of State government by offering holy clothes and pearls by the chief minister as a representation of the state.

There are two pillars in the temple on which the inscriptions are engraved describing the performance of daily rituals that are conducted from the morning to the night listed in an order.

The historical records of the temple mention about the partial destruction of the temple in 1770 CE by a brigand named Jaffar Baig Khan who was termed as Dhamsa, the destroyer which resulted in the demolition of pillar inscription of Ramadasu and few sculptures in the temple. The priests managed to shift the Utsava idols to Polavaram and from there to Kamalapur in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh for safety. Later Varada Ramadasu and Thumu Lakshmi Narsimhadasu from Guntur area reached the Bhadrachalam and restored the temple affairs with the permission from the Nizam. They fetched the temple lands occupied by the invaders and also made sanction from the Nizam in the form of taxes collected from four villages nearby summing an amount of around 71,000 annually out of which the expenses of the temple are bared and a tax of 32,000 towards the tax. Narsimha dasu re-engraved two pillars with the same content as that of made by Ramadasu earlier. In 1832CE, Rajah Chandulal made an annual grant of 71,000 to the temple and after the death of Varada Ramadasu in 1850 CE an additional 18,500 was granted for the conduction of annual celebration.

The original temple constructed by the Ramadasu consist of a garbhagriha, an arthamandapa and a mukhamandapa enclosed in a high raised compound wall with a cloister on inner side. The compound wall consist of entrance gopuras on all four directions and east entrance is the main entry among them which has a five storied superstructure on its top decorated with stucco images depicting various scenes of the Ramayanam. The main shrine is situated in the center of the enclosure and there are smaller shrines and mandapas in the courtyard.

The garbhagriha contains the icons of deities depicted as Sita sitting on the lap of Rama and accompined by Lakshmana. Lord Rama cult is unique compared with the other images in the country, here Rama is seen with four arms than usual two arms projecting him as the Vykunta Rama depicted in sitting cross-legged pose and has his consort Sita on his left lap. Lord Rama is holding Sanka and Chakra in his upper arms and Bow and Arrow in his lower arms. Lakshmana is depicted in standing pose with two arms holding a bow and an arrow. The garbhagriha has a Vimana over its top belonging to the Dravidian order.   

The temple is renovated and modernized in recent times under the Endowment department of the State in 1960’s. The Raja gopuram, Kalyana mandapa and Chitrakuta mandapa were reconstructed and several decorative elements are added during the course of temple renovation.

The major festivals celebrated annually in the temple are the Srirama Navami and Vykuntha Ekadasi. 

The Srirama Navami celebrations in the temple is a popular event which attracts huge crowd to witness the grand and auspicious Kalyanostavam. The holly occasion usually falls in the last week of March or the first week of April on which grand arrangements are made for the congregating for the sight of the fete. On a day before Navami, the Chief minister of the state visit the temple to offer the holy clothes and pearls as a representation of State tradition which is being continued from the times of Nizam rule. On the day of Navami, the priests conduct the marriage event of Rama and Sita to the special metal icons of deities as per the Hindu rituals. The sacred Talambralu play in which pearls and sacred rice are showered on deities is the most attractive fete.

The Vykuntha Ekadasi celebrated in the month of December or January on the full moon day of Dhanur masa. It is a tradition festival celebrated in the temple right from the tenure of Ramadasu. The auspicious day of Vykuntha Ekadasi is preceded by a ten day Utsavams dedicated to the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The ten day celebrations are ended by the possession of the deities in a Hamsavahana, a boat decorated in shape of a swan in the waters of Godavari which attracts large crowds to witness the stupendous illuminations. On the day of Ekadasi, devotes are allowed for darshan from the northern entry as a traditional belief of attaining salvation for having Vykuntha Dwara darshan.

The Vaaggeyakara Mahostavam is celebrated on the day of Mukhoti Ekadasi every year to commemorate the great devout musician Bhakta Ramadasa.

5AM- 1PM, 3PM-9PM