Bhadrachalam Sri Ramar temple

Bhadrachalam or Bhadradri, the temple is considered one of the Divya Kshetrams of Godavari and is also revered as Dakshina Ayodhya. According to the legend , Lord Vishnu appeared (Mount) Meru’s son Bhadra as Rama to answer the latter’s prayers.

We travelled from Vedadri to Bhadrachalam and reached by night .We stayed in Bharathi theertha Nivas . It was near the temple by early morning we took an auto to the temple and we paid Rs.10 per person .

We went in the early morning and did Thirumanjanam for this they charge Rs.150 per couple . We were allowed inside the main sanctum sat in front of the main deity .The main deity is Lord Ramar with his consort Goddess Seetha on His thigh and besides Him is Lakshmana . The main diety here is Swayambu (self manifested).

Legends speak of a severe penance Bhadra, the son of Meru, did in this sacred place to have darshan of Lord Vishnu. The Lord appeared before him and promised to stay at this place during Rama Avataar. Hence the place is known as Bhadragiri or Bhadrachalam.

When Sri Rama left Ayodhya on a 14-year vanvaas (exile), he along with Sita and Lakshmana crossed the Ganges and reached this area, then known as Dhandakaaranya. They preferred to stay in a place called Parnashala (32 km away) for its serene atmosphere. References are found to these events in the epic Ramayana.

The Lord is believed to have informed a woman by name Dhammakka in her dream that certain idols are lying at a particular spot on the hill. The devotee promptly picked up the idols (of Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana) and installed them in a place which is the site of the present shrine.

In later years, Ramadas, an ardent Rama devotee who was Gopanna by birth, renovated the temple. There is an interesting incident associated with this development. Gopanna was serving the then Sultan Tanashah as his Tahasildar. Being a Rama bhakta, he utilised revenue collections, to the tune of Rs 6 lakh, to renovate the temple. The Sultan came to know of this and got Gopanna arrested. He was languishing in jail for many years, spending his time singing the glory of Sri Rama. The Lord decided to show mercy on His staunch devotee. Rama and Lakshmana one day appeared in the guise of merchants in the Sultans court and returned to the treasury all the money in gold coins. The Sultan, realising the greatness of Gopanna, released him from jail. He also offered him and the temple valuable gifts.

Even today, tourists and pilgrims visiting the famous Golconda Fort can see the cell where Gopanna was kept under arrest.

The temple is also associated with Saint Kabirdas. Kabir was the foster son of a Muslim family and a staunch devotee of Sri Rama. Once he came to the shrine to worship the Lord. But the priest prevented him from entering the shrine. To the shock of the priest, the images in the sanctum disappeared. Ramadas happened to be in the temple at that time. He intervened and convinced the priest to let Kabir into the shrine. As Kabir came into the temple, the images miraculously reappeared in the sanctum and Kabir had darshan of Lord Rama. This devotee later came to be known as Kabirdas.

Adi Shankaracharya had visited Bhadrachalam and named the mula-vigraha as Sri Vaikuntha Rama.

Sri Vaikuntha Rama is in padmasana and is having four hands. The shankha and chakra in the upper two hands are interchanged. Shankha in the right hand signifies the importance of blessing the devotees more.

In mula-vigraha, Srimati Sitadevi is sitting on the left side of the Lord and Lakshmana is also standing on the same side. However in the utsava-vigrahas, Sitadevi and Lakshmana are on the either side.

Dhammakka to whom Lord Rama appeared in the dream to reveal the location of the Deities, was the descendent of Sabari.

Panchamrita abhisheka is performed every Sunday in the morning. It is only during the abhisheka that one can have darshana of Lord’s lotus feet.

The total cost of the temple and the jewelry of the Deities was 6,00,000 INR which was paid by Lord Rama Himself in the form of gold coins. Those coins belonged to Treta-yuga, the era of Lord Rama. Till date two coins are preserved in the temple museum.

The pancha-patra which is used in the worship of Deities is made of 1.5 kg of gold.

The shikhara crowing the temple is carved from a single block of granite weighing 36 tonnes.

Mobiles are not allowed inside the temple. There are photographers to take instant photos.

The main deity
From outside
At the entrance

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