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| Badrachalam temple. en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Bhadrachalam_ Sita Ramachndra swamy temple The Godavari river in the back drop
Like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states, the erstwhile Andhra state has lots of well known Hindu temples in India; the most famous being the Tirumala Balaji temple near Tirupati in Chitoor district, one the richest temples in the world.
The town Bhadrachalam in Khammam District of newly carved state of Telangana, Southern India has a documented history of Lord Sri Sita Ramachandra temple constructed circa 17th Century CE by Kancherla Gopanna (nearly 370 years ago), a great saint. The name Bhadrachalam derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra - child of Meru and Menaka). Located near the famous river Godhavari, it is one of the most important pilgrim centers in India, in particular, for the devotees of Sri Rama. This historical temple, dedicated to Sri Rama in Bhadrachalam is being visited by thousands of people
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| Sita sighting golden deer,Dhandakarunya forest.omraam-words-of-light.org |
There are idols of Sri Lakshmana, Sri Sita and Hanuman. Centuries ago the present town was once part of a dense wooded area known as the Dandakaranya forest and is believed to have been visited by Sri Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Sri Lakshmana during their exile (Vanavasam) from their Khosala Desa ( Nadu).
It was near the present temple they built a hut - Parnashaala for their long stay 14 long years and unfortunately, in this place Rama's consort Sita sighted the illusory famous golden deer (a demon in the guise of golden deer to divert the attention of Sri Rama) and, later while Sri Rama was away from the hut, Sita was abducted by the Lanka king Raavana. So, the area played a vital role in the great epic of the Ramayana written by the venerated sage Valmiki.
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| Sri Rama won the battle against Raavana and his forces.www.quora.com |
The popularity of this temple is due to the fact here at the temple site, Sri Maha Vishnu took another avatar (incarnation) with a view to fulfilling his ardent devotee Bhadra's request which Sri Rama could not fulfill during Rama Avatara (incarnation as Lord Rama). His intention was to attend to his devotee Bhadra's request after finding Sita. Much time had been lost, looking for _Sita and battling with Raavana, the demon king to get safe release of Sita, thus punishing the wicked king and upholding "Dharma." However, king Bhadra, continued his intense tapas - penance to get the blessing of Sri Rama.
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| Bhadrachalam_ Sita Ramachndra swamy temple, en.wikipedia.org |
Then Sri Maha Vishnu manifested himself as "Vaikuntha Rama" and came to the present site as promised to his devotee Bhadra, the mountain king, signaling his arrival by blowing 'Shanku', (conch) accompanied by his consort Sita and brother Laxmana, resembling that of 'Gajendra Moksham ' - Thus, the idol of Sri Rama has four arms Shanku on the right, Chakra (wheel) at his left and Dhanurbhana (Bow and Arrow in the remaining two hands), Sita was on the left lap of Rama along with brother at Rama's left. And the hill place where the deities were seated on , was the head place of Bhadra - Achala(m) (hill), thus this shrine was transformed into Bhadrachalam, one of the revered religious sites in India for the Hindus.
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| Sita, Rama Lakshman Hanuman, Bhadrachalam temple.www.youtube. |
The idols of Vaikuntha Rama, Laxmana and Sita were accidentally found by a woman one Pokala Dhammakka, an ardent devotee of Sri Rama. She lived in the 17th century near this holy place. In her sleep on one serene night, Sri Rama appeared in her dream and said "the saints and sages are worshiping my embodied moorthy (idol), settled on Bhadragiri" and asked her to find it, perform pooja and attain salvation.
Her intense search after her strange dream at last bore fruits and she found the idols of Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana hidden in an ant-hill. She sincerely carried on the daily pooja, naivedyam' with fruits, etc. She built a small building with a thatched roof with the help of local villagers. Sri Rama told Dhammakka that days were not far off when one of his devotees would construct a Mandir at this site. Dhammakka waited patiently for the devotee. The devotee happened to be none other than Sri Bhakta Ramadas, a 17th-century saint composer Kancharla Gopanna who was the then Tahasildar of Bhadrachalam.
Sri Rama Navami day - wedding anniversary of Lord Rama and his consort Sita is celebrated on a grand scale with much fanfare and religious fervor.Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadrachalam_Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadrachalam
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