Architectural excellence of 1000 pillar temple at Hanamkonda in Warangal

As mentioned in my previous post, we had been to Hanamkonda on a recent official trip. On Srirama Navami day, we had the darshan of Goddess Bhadrakali in the ancient Bhadrakali temple. From here we made our way to the famous World Heritage Site i.e the thousand pillar temple which is not far off from Bhadrakali temple.

1000 pillar temple is known as 'Veyyistambhala Gudi' in Telugu language. This is an ancient temple with historical importance that dates back to the Chalukya period. 1000 pillar temple is one of the topmost tourist attractions of Telangana. The temple is in the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites along with other two sites of the place i.e Warangal Fort and Ramappa Temple, which are of historical importance.

Let's have a peep into the history of the famous ancient temple. The temple stands as an architectural excellence of the Kakatiya rule. It is the masterpiece of architectural skills of the Kakatiya period and depicts the Chalukyan style of architecture. The temple was constructed in the 12th century C.E (Current Era) by King Rudra Deva.

There are three shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Surya Deva, inside the temple. However, the main deity of the temple is Sri Rudreswara Swamy which is one of the names of Lord Shiva. There is a huge monolithic statue of Nandi - the Divine Bull which is made of black basalt rock. This is the 'vahanam' i.e the divine vehicle of Lord Shiva. This is one of the main attractions of the temple where tourists take clicks.

The temple stands on a one metre high platform and is built in a star shape. The temple is supported by finely carved stone pillars. Hence the name 1000 pillar temple. You will awed to see the architectural expertise of the period. There are even finely carved sculptures on the temple walls.

We were astonished at the architectural wonder as inspite of the scorching heat outside, it's literally too cool inside the temple. You don't need ACs or air coolers inside to keep you cool. Hats off to the engineering excellence of the craftsmen of the ancient times and the techniques adopted those days to keep you cool with no ACs and air coolers.

This really gave me a thought. How nice it would be, if only those age old engineering techniques could be adopted in the present days construction works, so that there could be much of energy saving and less of environmental pollution.

In addition to the architectural marvel, the ancient star shaped temple stands a testimony of time. The temple is easily reachable as it is located in the heart of the city. It remains open for the tourists from 5 a.m to 9 p.m on all the 7 days of the week. The govt of Telangana along with the Tourism Dept and taking all necessary steps to preserve the ancient architecture excellence of the Kakatiya period.

Of course, there is much of shopping around the temple where you can get antique collections and divine materials. Though a hectic visit, yet it was a great trip as we got an opportunity to peep into the history and our rich cultural heritage. Great experience.