Sunday 28 October 2012

SRI RAMA DARSHAN - BHADRACHALAM PART-3

Rama Darshan The day begins at the temple with "Prabhadhotsavam" or awakening ceremony at 4.30 AM with specially composed songs of Tumu Narasimhadas, poems, Sannai Trupets Naubat etc. Abhishekam will be performed at 7.00 AM to Lord Rama on Sundays and all the remaining days abhishekams will be performed at Badruni Sannithi on the same time.

Note:
All saswatha pujas are for a period of 10 years only. For further information, please call Temple Superintendent at +91-08743-232465 or +91-8985-891-929.


Seva Details
Time
Seva description

6.00 AM to 7.00 A.M
Antaralaya Abhishekam (Mulavarulu on Sundays)
7.00 AM to 8.00 A.M
Abhishekam (at Bhadra Temple) Daily
8.30 A.M to 8.00 P.M
Kesavanaamaarchana
8.30 A.M to 9.30 A.M
Sahasranamarchana
8.30 A.M to 9.30 A.M
Suvarna Tulasi Astotharanamarchana (on every Saturday)
8.30 A.M to 9.30 A.M
Suvarna Pushpa Astothara Namarchana (on Every Sunday)
8.30 AM
Sakalbhishtaprada Sree Ramapuja (daily)
9.30 A.M to 11.00 A.M
Nitya Kalyana Ubhayam (Daily, except during Pavitrotsavams,Brahmotsavams and Vykunta Ekadasi)
From 6.30 PM
Rajata Ratha Seva
8.00 PM to 8.30 P.M
Alaya Chuttu Seva
8.00 PM to 8.30 P.M
Vahana Seva (Garuda, Hamsa, Hanumantha, Rajadhiraja)

SRI RAMA DARSHAN - BHADRACHALAM PART-2

Bhadrachalam

Bhardrachalam, the abode of Lord Sri Rama had derived the name from Bhadra - achalam (hill), where Sri Bhadra son of Meru and Menaka had done penance for having dharshan of Lord Sri Rama. Bhardrachalam, situated on the northern bank of holy river Godavari and is famous for the Vaikunta Rama temple and is on the top of a small hill is a pilgrim center. The place is in Andhra Pradesh in Khammam district. The nearest railway station is Kothagudem, Bhadrachalam-Road station, which is around 40 Kms from the pilgrim town. Public Transport is available from the railway station, apart from taxis.

BHADRACHALAM SRI VAIKUNTA RAMDASri Vaikunta Rama


Sri Rama here is in a very unique posture in many ways. The Lord reveals his full four-armed form in the temple, holding a bow and arrow in His lower hands and Sankhu and Chakram in His upper hands. Sri Rama is seen seated in yogic posture with Sri Sitadevi sitting on His left lap. Standing next to Him is Sri Lakshmana with bow and arrow, affectionately guarding them. All three have their right hands in abhaya mudra, but interestingly, both Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana hold an arrow also in the same mudra. Another interesting aspect of the Lord's form is that the Lord holds His Divine armaments Sankhu and Chakram in the reverse posture. Lord holds Sankhu in His right and Chakram in left hand, unlike in other places. It is believed that the Lord holds the Sankhu in His right hand in order to blow the Sankhu to announce His arrival to Saint Sri Bhadra who was on penance.

Temple of Vaikunta Rama

During seventeenth century Pokala Dhammakka, descendant of Bhaktha Sabari of Ramayana period was living in Bhadrireddypalem a place near to the present Bhadrachalam. She too is an ardent devotee of Sri Rama. The presence of Vaikunta Rama and other deities in the middle of the jungle was revealed to this pious and devoted woman in a dream. She then spotted the site as indicated in the dream, cleared the jungle and offered puja to the deities. With the help of local villagers she constructed a small temple for the deities. But the present temple at Bhadrachalam was constructed by Bhakta Ramdas and the construction of the temple premises is in itself a epic. This temple and its deities played an important role in the life of Ramadasa.

Bhakta Ramadasa

Sri Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasa or Bhadrachala Ramadasa was born in 1620 AD at Nelakondapalli village of Khammam in Andhra Pradesh and lived for 68 years on this earth.




SRI BHADRACHALAM RAMDASAs per the last verse of his Dasarathi Satakam, his name was Gopanna the son of Linganna Mantri of Atreya Gotram. The Mantri surname is because of the fact that their ancestors were ministers of the then King. Born to pious couples Linganna Murthy and Kamamba, Gopanna was brought up as pious and devoted gentleman. He had developed good taste for music and was an ardent devotee of Lord Rama. As a good singer he devoted his talents in singing in praise of Lord Rama. Many of his cousins and nephews were working in the administration of the royal treasury. His nephew Akkanna who was in the court of then Sultan Taani Shah of Golconda (Abdul Hasan Tana Shah the Nawab of the Qutub Shahi dynasty) had appointed Goppanna as Tahsildar of present Bhadrachalam region.

Construction of Ram temple by Bhakta Ramadasa

As a Rama Bhakta Sri Goppanna while conducting his routines of collection of taxes for the royal treasury devoted time for spreading Ramanama also. During his course of duty he visited the temple of Lord Vaikunta Rama at Bhadrachalam. The Rama Bhaktha in him was overwhelmed at the sight of Lord Vaikunta Rama. The temple then was not in good shape and Goppanna thought that the temple requires renovation and reconstruction. He made an appeal to the people of the region, to raise funds to this effect. Basically an agriculture dependent society, they told him to use the tax collected with a promise to replenish the fund after the harvest. In the hope he will be able to replenish the amount in time, Goppanna spent the tax money towards the construction of the temple. 

After completion of the construction, his miseries started. Sultan Taani Shah of Golconda had come to know of what Goppanna had done in Bhadrachalam and he dismissed Goppanna from service for misappropriation of royal funds and sentenced him for twelve years of imprisonment. Goppanna was kept in prison in Golkonda and tortured by the Sultan. Twelve long years he was kept there and tortured. Goppanna sought refuge in singing to Lord Rama to get away from the miseries he had to undergo. The out pour from his anguished heart is now popularly known as ‘Dasaradhi Sathakam’. His songs are a reflection of the deeply felt bitter - sweet agonies and ecstasies of a devotee in distress in the form of ‘keertanas’.

Repayment of Goppanna’s debt by Lord Sri Rama.

On hearing His Baktha’s anguish, Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana went to the Sultan’s palace on that very night woke up Sultan and paid the money due to the royal treasury through Goppanna. Sultan was perplexed to see the divine looking young lads repaying the money due from Goppanna. The young lads got the release papers signed by the Sultan. Unaware about the repayment of the money, next morning Goppanna had found the release papers signed by Sultan in his bedside. To the astonishment of Sultan the release papers were presented from the prison next day morning. The mohars repaid by the Lord were brought in front of the Sultan in the morning. The mohars had the Pattabhishekam scene on one side and the picture of another Rama Bhaktha, Anjaneya on the other side.

Bhakta Ramadasa the role model

Sultan now realised that he had made a grave mistake by imprisoning Goppanna the Rama Baktha and the two young lads are non other than Lord Rama and Lakshmana. He gave all the mohars back to Goppanna and requested Sri Ramadasa to continue his work in Bhadrachalam. The golden coins paid by Sri Rama are known as Ram Tanka coins. They can be seen even today at Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Vaari Devasthanm at Bhadrachalam. Goppanna the Ramadasa spent the rest of his life and composed moving poems that inspired Saint Thyagaraja later.

|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||
|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||

SRI RAMA DARSHAN - BHADRACHALAM PART-1

Bhadrachalam a town where the presiding deity is Lord Rama, is an important site of pilgrimage for Hindus. It is situated on the banks of the river Godavari. The town has a documented history of temple constructed in the year 1674 CE (370 years ago), is a Municipality in Khammam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 312 kilometres (194 mi) east of state capital, Hyderabad. The town is connected to other major towns by rail and by road. Bhadrachalam is about 130 kilometres (approx. 82miles) from district headquarters Khammam and 320 kilometres from Hyderabad. The nearest railway station to Bhadrachalam is at a distance of 40 kilometres, in a town called Kothagudem. The railway station at Kothagudem was named as Bhadrachalam road due to its proximity to the important pilgrimage center.

In 1959 Bhadrachalam Revenue Division consisting of Bhadrachalam and Nuguru Venkatapuram Taluks of East Godavari district, which were on the other side of the river Godavari were merged into Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability.

Bhadrachalam's name has been derived from "Bhadragiri" (Mountain of Bhadra - a boon child of Meru and Menaka).Presently it is the biggest kshetra of Sri Rama after Ayodhya. It is the 17th century Shri Ram temple perches on a small hillock, encircled by the holy river Godavari flowing towards southern direction. Bhadrachalam attracts devotees from all over the world.

History

Bhadrachalam is situated in an area, which once formed part of the Dandakaranya forest, visited by Sri Rama,Sita and Lakshmana during their exile (vanavasam). The jungle in the vicinity of the temple was the actual site of Rama's retreat and it was at the parnasala (32 km from here) that he built a hut for himself and Sita and from where Sita was abducted by Ravana.
 
The history of this shrine stands for the significance of Ramayana Era, and vicinity of the temple had its incongruous add mixture of another story which depicts the exigency of " Sri Mahavishnu " to manifest himself as Rama long after Ramavatara was to fulfill his promise to his Bhakta Bhadra (a mountain king), a sage who had been continuing the frightened penance to get grace of Lord Rama.The name Bhadrachalam derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra - child of Meru and Menaka).

The temple at Bhadrachalam has the Archa Murthys of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and are considered to be Svayambhu Murthys (self-manifested ones).Srirama appeared in a dream to a woman called Pokala Dammakka and informed here about the existence of vigrahas on Bhadragiri hills. To her surprise she found the "Vigrahas" and put up a modest structure.Dhammakka, cleared jungle and offered puja to the deities.

Bhadrachalam Temple History

This shrine was built by a devotee of Lord Rama, Kancherla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu in the 17th century (1630 A. D.).

A sacred place that attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the world, it is the abode of Lord Rama (The seventh incarnation of SriMahavishnu). This hill place which is encircled by holy river Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the famous shrine Bhadrachalam-The name derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra-a boon child of Meru and Menaka). According to an Ithihasas, the significance of this shrine dates back to the Ramayana Era.

This coherent hill place existed in "Dandakaranya" Of Ramayana period where Rama with his consort Sita and brother Laxmana had spent their vanavasa- and Parnashaala(the place connected to the famous Golden Deer and the place from where Sita was abducted by Ravana.) is also in the vicinity of this temple site. It is at this Mandir site that, long after Ramavatara, Bhagawan Mahavishnu manifested Himself as Rama again to fulfil a promise He made to His Bhakta Bhadra, who continued his Tapas through Yugas, praying for the grace of the Bhagawan Sri Ramachandra murthy.

Exigency of Incarnation

The history depicts that the need emerged for the incarnation of Vykuntha Rama to fulfill a long desire of his ardent devotee Bhadra.Maharishi BhadraBhadra performed penance at the bank of river Godavari in this " Dandakaranya" to get grace of lord Rama and subsequently in the countenance of his beloved God-the exulted "Rishi" implored Rama to be seated on his head. But Rama who was in search of his consort Sita, gave promise to his Bhakta that his desire would be fulfilled on his way back, after finding Sita and accomplishing the process of punishing the wicked Ravana and establish 'Dharma'.

Thus the sage had been in continuation of the frightened penance as Rama could not accomplish the promise in Ramavatara. Then, Sri Mahavishnu manifested himself as Vykuntha Rama and rushed to his devotee Bhadra, signaling his arrival by blowing 'Shanku'(Conch), accompanied by his consort Sita and brother Laxmana, resembling that of 'Gajendra Moksham'-Thus, the moorthies of Rama (having four hands)-Shanku(Panchajanya-Conch)on the right, Sudarshana Chakra at his left and Dhanurbhana (Bow and Arrow in the rest two hands), Sita had condescended on the left lap of Rama and brother (at Rama's left) have existed. And the hill place where the Deities were seated on, was the head place of Bhadra -achalam (hill), thus this shrine was transformed into Bhadrachalam.

The deities of Vykuntha Rama, Laxmana and Sita were found by Pokala Dhammakka. Pokala Dhammakka, an ardent devotee of Rama lived in the 17th century and was an inhabitant of Bhadrireddypalem, a mile away from this holy place. On one fine night, she had darshan of Rama in her dream who said "the saints and sages are worshiping my embodied moorthy settled on Bhadragiri" and asked her to trace them, perform pooja and attain salvation. On the very next day morning she started searching for the idols-peeped into an ant-hill and found the idols hidden in it.

She poured hundreds of pots of Godavari water on the ant-hill which tardily dissolved and gave way for the appearance of the hidden Deities. Since then, she used to perform pooja daily and offer 'naivedyam' with fruits fallen from near palmyra tree and constructed a mandapam of thatch hut with the help of local villagers. Bhagawan Rama told Dhammakka that at a later date, one of his devotees would construct a Mandir at this site. Dhammakka waited patiently for the devotee. The devotee turned out to be Bhakta Ramadas.

Bhakta Ramadas and construction of temple

Bhadrachalarama temple was constructed by Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadas in the year 1674 A.D. Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as "Bhakta Ramdas", a fervent devotee of Rama, was born to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk in 17th century (1620 AD).

He was nephew of Akkannna, the administrative head in the court of Qutub shahi king Abul Hussan shah known as 'Taneshah' of Golkonda (he was the last ruler of Golconda before Aurangazeb captured it in 1687A.D.) and was appointed by him as Tahsildar of 'Palvoncha Paragana'. Thus he was discharging his official duties earnestly and collecting revenues due to the Qutub Shahi kings in continuation of daily preaches -Chanting of 'Ramanama' and the feeding the poor at his house. Ramadasa, who heard the news that the villagers of Palvoncha paragana were proceeding to witness a Jatara at Bhadrachalam, became curious and he too visited Bhadrachalam. He found the deities in an amazing appearance. Ramadas, then asked the villagers to contribute liberally for the construction of the temple.

After the contributions were found to be insufficient, the villagers appealed him to spend the revenue collections for the construction of the temple with a promise to repay the amount after harvesting the crops. Accordingly, Ramadas constructed the temple with an amount of Rs 6 Lakhs collected from the land revenues without the permission of the Qutub Shahi king Taneshah.

When the temple reached to the nearing completion, he had a problem of fixing 'Sudarshana Chakra' at the crest of the main temple. He was deeply distressed and fell into sleep. On the same night, Rama in his dream asked him to have a holy dip in river Godavari where he will find that-accordingly. On the next day morning Gopanna did so and found holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river without much difficulty. He presumed that Sudarshana Chakra itself was shaped up with the divine power of his beloved God Rama.

Soon after the construction, his miseries started. He was dismissed from service for mis-utilisation of revenue for constructing the temple and was kept in jail for 12 long years in Golkonda Fort and was tortured. Unable to withstand the miseries, Ramadas implored Rama to relieve him by singing many praising and emotional songs which got popularized from the stanzas of 'Dasaradhi Sathakam' and 'Keertanas' of Bhakta Ramadasa.

The Qutub shahi king Taneshah, the then ruler of Golkonda became a devotee of Rama who realised the devotional spirit of Ramadas after his imprisonment and took over the charge of temple administration. This resembles the communal harmony amongst the Hindus and Muslims. The Qutub shahi king realised Ramada's devotional spirit and dedication towards Rama, when Rama and Laxmana repaid 6 lakh Mohurs exposing themselves as Ramoji and Laxmoji, the servants of Bhakta Ramadas to get release of their devotee from the imprisonment. 

Thanisha gave voucher to these divine looking persons who approached him at his house during late night. Then they kept the voucher under the pillow of Gopanna where he was jailed. Tanishah who woke up on the very next day morning realised that those divine looking persons were none other than Rama and Laxmana and made arrangements to get release of Gopanna and prayed to forgive him by placing all the Gold Mohurs received last night at the feet of Gopanna. But, he refused to take back those mohurs except two as a mark of divine significance. (Those two gold coins can still be seen in Bhadrachala Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy devasthanam).

Influenced by the Majesty of Lord Rama, the Golkonda Ruler Taneshah earmarked the income derived from the said Palvoncha paragana which was around to Rs 20,000 for the maintenance of the temple which was continued during later Asaf Jahi's( Nizam's)period also.The custom of offering Pearls (Mutyala Talambralu) on the occasion of Kalyana Mahotsavam( Marriage ceremony of Lord Rama and Sita - a temple ritual- performed on the auspicious Rama Navami day) to the deities sent on an elephant through a specially sent messenger was also started by the Qutub shahi king Taneshah which the later Asaf jahi's also followed.

That procedure of sending pearls to the Deities is still followed by present state Government and the state Government continues to offer Pearls during Sri Rama Navami Festival (Kalyana mahotsavam). Tumu Narsimha Dasa,Tahasildar of Palwoncha paragana,along with his associate Varada Ramadasa came here from Guntur and took over the charge of Bhadrachalarama temple after Ramadas made inscribed the performance of Nitya Poojas and sevas right from early morning "Suprabhata Seva" till night "Pavalimpu Seva" before closure of the temple as "Silaasaasanaalu" on these two pillars. This inscription gives details of daily dictum and daily rituals also.

Bhadrachalam Temple Details

Sri Lakshmana Sametha Seeta Ramachandra Swamy, Bhadrachalam. The speciality of this temple is the main Deity faces westside towards river Godavari. The temple at Bhadrachalam is located on a small hillock. The idol of Sri Rama (moolavar) has distinctive features. The deity is in the padmasana pose with four hands, (Chaturbuja Rama) holding the bow and arrow in the front two hands, and Sankha and Chakra in the rear hands. The Sankha is held in the right hand and the Chakra in the left, indicating that having completed the destruction of the "rakshasas" with the Chakra, the Lord is assuring the world of peace and protection as represented by Sankha. To the left of Sri Rama is Sita and Lakshmana is on her left. But in the utsava vigrahas, Sita and Lakshmana are on either side of Rama, he is also known as "Vaikuntha Rama".

The faces of the four pillars in the muhamandapa contain exquisite image of Ashtalakshmi, 18 forms of Lord Siva, Dasavatar, 12 Azhwars, etc. The ceiling of this mandapa contains the figures of a three-petal lotus, made out of a single piece of granite stone. Apsara women adorn the inner portion of the muhamandapa and the sanctum.The octagonal-vimana (tower) over the sanctum is a three-storey construction with granite stones. The other face of the Vimana contains beautiful stone images depicting the 48 forms of Lord Vishnu, Garuda, Simha, Somaskanda and Dakshinamurthy. The sanctum is that the sikhara (dome) crowning the vimana is carved from a single block of granite, weighing about 36 tonnes.This is the biggest in the recent centuries.
 
The Sikhara is crowned with Sudarsana Chakra, which Ramadas got from the Godavari. The eight-faced Chakra with thousand corners contains Sudarsana Murthi, engraved in the centre.Nearby in the temple complex stands three pillars — "Ramakoti Kratu Sthamba" among the 108 such pillars installed in various pilgrim centres in this country by Sri Ramanujar.On the sides of the pillars are carved inscriptions of "Samkshipta Ramayana" in Sanskrit in Devanagari script. One of the pillars contains the verses from "Dasarathi Sataka" written by Ramadas with a white marble stone of his image in front.

Another Unique feature of this Temple town is there are two Kshetra Palakas for the main temple. Those are:
  1. Sri Yogananda Jwala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy (Lord Narasimha)
  2. Sri Annapurna Kasi Vishweswara Swamy (Lord Shiva)
In the above two temples also the main Deities face westside towards river Godavari. These two temples are sub temples to Seeta Ramachandra Swamy Temple and are equally important with the main temple. Both these sub temples are also located on small hillocks as Sri Rama temple, but Lord Shivas' temple is located in the higher ground along with Nava Gragahs and Vignadipathi Vinayakudu (Lord Ganesh). These temples are also equally significant along with the main temple of Lord Sri Rama.

One more place, well known and famous, and it is called "Gnanamandiram" which is located in top hill. from here we can see the curve of Godavari River and the complete view of Bhadrachalam. inside the Gnamandiram we can see and read the "Ramayanam" on stone plates.

Festivals at Bhadrachalam

Two festivals are most important here at Bhadrachalam -
  • Annual Kalyanotsavam on the eve of Sri Rama navami, during Sri Rama Navami(march-April) there is a huge influx of pilgrims not only from Andhra districts, but also from other distant places to attend the wedding of Lord Rama with Sita.
  • Vaikunta Ekadasi (Mukkoti). Sree Seetaramachandra swamy will give darshan through the Vaikuntha dwaram on the eve of Mukkoti(December–January).

Geography

Bhadrachalam is located at 17.67°N 80.88°E. It has an average elevation of 50 metres (164 feet).

Location

Bhadrachalam is located in Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh at a distance of over 309 km slightly northeast of Hyderabad. Situated on the banks of Godavari River, Bhadrachalam is 161 kilometres from Rajahmundry and 201-km from Vijayawada. It is home to a famous pilgrimage shrine and is considered to be the abode of Lord Rama, situated on the banks of holy river Godavari.

In 1959 Bhadrachalam Revenue Division consisting of Bhadrachalam and Nuguru Venkatapuram Taluks of East Godavari district, which were on the other side of the river Godavari were merged into Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability.

How to reach Temple Town Bhadrachalam

By bus

From Khammam, It is better to go catch a Bus for Bhadrachalam. Direct rail connectivity from khammam doesn't exists. 2.5 Hours journey from Khammam to Bhadrachalam by bus.

By train

Khammam to Badhrachalam_Road a passenger train does its service(Train No. 57254). From Badhrachalam_Road every 15 min a bus service available to Badhrachalam town.

Mode Distance Time Fare
Bus only 120 km 2.5 to 3 hours Rs. 80
Train+Bus 77+40 km 3 to 4 hours 13+30

Other Important Temples in Bhadrachalam

Besides Sri Seeta Ramachandra Swamy Temple the other Important Temples in the Town are as follows:
  1. Sri Annapurna Kasi Visweswara Swamy Temple
  2. Sri Yogananda Jwala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
  3. Sri Govinda Raja Swamy Temple (Tatagudi)
  4. Sri Sai Baba Temple
  5. Sri Abhayanjaneya Swamy Temple
  6. Sri Raja Rajeshwari Temple
  7. Sri Ayyappa Swamy Temple
  8. Sri Harnath Baba Mandir
  9. Sri Amba Satram Temple
There are also some more temples. There are many places to visit around Bhadrachalam surroundings. Some of the other important temples in Bhadrachalam are as follows:
  1. Sri Venkateshwara swamy temple (near Ambedkar centre, Busstand, BCM)
  2. Sri Krishna Temple (on the way to Raamalayam)
  3. Sri Durga Devi Temple (near ITDA)
  4. Sri Kodanda Rama Temple (near police station, BCM)
  5. Sri Kodanda Rama Temple Morampalli banjar
  6. sri Uma Rama liageswar alyam near Ambedkar centre v.colony BCM
Besides the above temples other significant temple in Bhadrachalam is Lord Shiva temple near to main temple and Kalyana mandapam is "Sadhuvula Matham". There is a belief that an underground way is present from this temple. This temple has been recently renovated.

Visiting places in and around Bhadrachalam

Parnasala

This is supposed to be the exact spot where Rama, during his vanavasa in Dandakaranya, constructed a hermitage and spent his exile with his consort Sita and brother Laxmana. Agastya had selected this spot for Rama and is about 35 km from Bhadrachalam.

The picturesque display of some scenes of vanavasa could be seen at Parnashala. One can see the foot prints of Sita devi, Mosaic of Maarecha in the guise of golden deer and Ravana in the guise of Sanyasi for Bhikshatana. 

Also found in the vicinity are Sita Vaagu-where she had bathed and collected the turmeric and Kunkum from nearby stones and the marks of her saree on the rock near Sita Vaagu. These are all the visiting places for the pilgrims. As Ravana kidnapped Sita, the deity at Parnashala is called Sokarama. The tracks of the chariot of Ravana while kidnapping Sita can be seen on the mountain on the other side of the river bank at Parnashala temple.

Jattayu Paaka (Yetapaka)

This Place is situated from 2 km away from Bhadrachalam. According to Itihasas, the bird Jatayuvu, a devotee of Rama had obstructed Ravana while he was proceeding on the chariot after kidnapping Sita. After the fearful battle between Ravana and Jataayuvu, the heavily injured bird had waited at this place in search of Rama. A wing of this bird fell at Rekkapalli, about 55 km from here, in V.R. Puram Mandal.

Dummugudem

Here Rama is called the Atmarama. The story reveals that Rama killed 14000 demons headed by the brothers Khara and Dushana. As the village was said to be built upon the ashes of these demons, the place is named after as Dummugudem.

Gundala

It is a place 5 km away from the sacred town Bhadrachalam, where springs of hot water could be traced on the river bank when we dig a pit at any place in this area. It is believed that the divine trios (Brahma Vishnu Maheswara) had their dips in winter season according to Brahma Purana.

Sree Rama Giri

This place is situated on the bank in the down stream of river Godavari, about 55 km from here. The deity of Yoga Rama Temple is on a hill and is named as Ramagiri.

Venkatareddipeta

This place is situated 12 km away from bhadrachalam, where lord venkateswara swami kalyan will celebrate every year.

Gannavaram

This place is situated 25 km away from bhadrachalam, where BOTLAMMA will receive prayers from the devotees.


Saturday 27 October 2012

SRI RAMA DARSHAN - NEDUNGUNAM

Nedungunam is to the West of Vandavasi; to the East of Polur; to the North of Gingee; to the South of Arani and to the North-East of Thiruvannamalai. The temple is located on the Vandavasi-Chetput main road itself.
 
Distance: 

From Vandavasi: Chennai (Adayar) to Vandavasi (via Uthiramerur/Thennangur) – 108 km Vandavasi to Nedungunam – 27 km (4 km before Chetput).
From Arani: Arani to Chetput – 24 km Chetput to Nedungunam – 4 km
 
Bus route:

No 148: Chennai – Polur No 208: Chennai – Thiruvannamalai via Chetput, Avalurpet (Most of the Chennai – Thiruvannamalai buses are flying in the other route via Tindivanam/ Gingee) The temple is on the main road itself and so you can get down right at the temple entrance.


Moolavar:
 

Yoga Ramar with Seetha devi Urchavar: 
Vijaya Raghava Perumal Thayar: 
Sengamalavalli Agamam: 
Vaikanasam Other Shrines: 
Azhwar, Sri Krishna, Sudharsanar, 
Lord Venkateswara, Vaikanasar Theertham: 
Sukhar Theertham (also called Surya Theertham)

Significances:

1. One of the biggest temples for Lord Rama
2. The biggest Vaishnav temple of Vellore and Thiruvannamalai districts
3. Lord Rama is seen in a rare posture as Yoga Ramar in a sitting meditative posture without his usual Kothandam
 
Legend:

This is the place where Sukha Brahma Rishi, a saint with a Parrot face, was in tapas towards Ramar. While Lord Rama was on His way to Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana and completing the Pattabisheham for Vibishanan, He noticed the tapas of Sukha Brahmar on the banks of Kaliyar. The Lord then alighted from His chariot and surprised the Sage by just appearing before him. We could imagine what could be the reaction and feelings of the saint. Ramar stayed here for a day at the request of Sukha Brahmar. Although He was in a hurry to go to Ayodhya to save Bharata, Rama honoured the prayers of His devotee. The most noble qualities of Lord Rama – Sowlabya (simplicity) and Sowseelya (the ability to treat everyone alike) without any discrimination – are conveyed just by this act. The name Nedungunam conveys the noble quality of Rama – Nedum meaning High/ Noble and Gunam meaning Quality/ Personality.



The Kaliyar river starts from here through the waters of the nearby Dheerkachala hill and ends at the Maduranthaham lake near Chenglepat which was protected by Eri Katha Ramar. So both the temples are connected by legend.

Sukha Brahma Rishi is a devotee of Lord Shiva as well. Sukhar is an expert in changing forms and once he changed into a parrot. He flew to Kailayam where he saw Lord Shiva was preaching Shiva secrets to Parvathi devi and Sukhar wanted to know the secret. So he was flying around between Lord Shiva and Parvathi Devi.

Parvathi Devi got angry and cursed him to be in the Parrot form itself. Sukhar then pleaded pardon and Shiva gave some relief to be in human form but with Parrot face. Sukhar penanced at a place called Thiru Idaiyaru near Sidhalingamadam near Thirukoyilur and got blessed by Shiva. Sukhar has a separate shrine in this temple. Thus Sukha Brahma Rishi is a devotee of Lord Shiva as well as Lord Rama.

There is a Dheerkachaleswar (the nearby hill is called Dheerkachalam) temple at the Esanya corner near the Ramar temple at Nedungunam.
Temple:

This ancient and attractive Pallava period temple is quite big with tall temple walls. The five-tier magnificent Rajagopuram welcomes everyone and on entering the temple, another one of nearly the same size surprises us.

In the sanctum sanctorum, we are stunned at the entrance itself by the two huge and beautiful Dwarabalahas, sculptured with artistic excellence. They set the mood for us and covey what is in store inside. They were shining with new clothes since the Bramostava festival was going on. In the sanctum sanctorum, Lord Rama is present with Lakshman and Seetha devi. Lakshman is seen with Kothandam but Ramar is uniquely seen as Yoga Ramar sitting in a meditative posture with chin mudhra without His usual Kothandam, a rare posture indeed. Hanumar is sitting in front of Ramar, visible only when you step inside the inner most of the sanctorum. Hanumar is seen reading out the Dharma Shastras to Sukha Brahma Rishi and Ramar is in a pose of listening and giving explanations.

The inner most praharam around the moolavar is about 10 feet under ground and one has to bend and enter/ exit very carefully signifying that we have to be very humble in the place of the Lord.

There are two sets of utsava murtis and the reason being that one set of idols was stolen some times back and just when the second set was installed, the first one was got in perfect shape. The Urchava moorthy is called Vijaya Raghava Perumal signifying the Victory of Rama over Ravana. He is seen holding chakra and conch in their upper hands with the lower right hand showing the abhaya mudra. There is a small stone idol of Vijaya Raghava Perumal within the sanctum sanctorum as well.

There is a separate shrine for Thayar Sengamalavalli and She is connected with the Urchava moorthy Vijaya Raghava Perumal. Like the Dwarabalahas of the Ramar shrine, the Dwarabalahis of the Thayar shrine are also stunningly beautiful.

There are separate shrines for Azhwar, Sri Krishna, Sudharsana along with Yoga Narasimhar as an integral part on its back side. There is also a shrine exclusively for Lord Venkateswara. In a separate shrine, Vaikanasa the preceptor of Vaikanasa agama is seen with four disciples in a corner. There are two idols of Anjaneya one of which was found in a nearby hill.

In spite of the temple being connected mainly to Sukha Brahma Rishi, to my surprise, the idol of Sukha Brahma Rishi was not seen anywhere. I was informed that it is so because he is standing as a big hill called Dheerkachala Hill near the temple,
visible in a radius of about 5 km. Bhattachar informed that the hill appears exactly as a human with a Parrot face at a particular angle while coming from Chetput to Nedungunam. On top of the hill, the feet of Ramar is present in stone in open without any shrine and can be worshipped at any time of the day.

Note: There are totally 3 temples in this region with Ramar in yoga posture. This being the main temple and apart from this there is a small temple at Raghunatha Samudhram, 5 kms from here and a TVS group maintained temple at Padavedu near here.


Festivals

10day Brahmotsavam in Panguni/Chitrai starting on Rama Navami 
Garuda Sevai on Vaikasi Visakam
Aadi Pavitrotsavam
Chariot Festival on the 7th day of Brahmotsavam.
 
On the Kaanum Pongal day in Thai, Lord Rama goes on a procession to around 20villages around Nedungunam.