User:AndhraKesari/Bhadhrachalam

Bhadrachalam  (భద్రాచలము), is a Pilgrimage town of importance and a Municipality in Khammam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 312 km east of state capital, Hyderabad. It is situated on the banks of the river Godavari, is an important site of pilgrimage for Hindus.The town is famous for it's temple where the presiding deity is Lord Rama.

History
Paleolithic man probably roamed around the areas of lower Godavari valley and the surroundings of Bhadrachalam. Coming to the recent days, Bhadrachalam town has a documented history of Lord Sri Rama temple constructed in the year 17th Century CE (nearly 370 years ago) The present town is situated in an area, which once formed part of the Dandakaranya forest,said to be 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 Swayambhu (self-manifested ones).Lord Sri Rama 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 "Vigraha's" and put up a modest structure. Dhammakka, cleared jungle and offered puja to the deities.

Bhakta Ramadas and construction of temple
Kancherla Gopanna (c 1620 - 1680 CE), popularly known as Bhadradri Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu, was a 17th-century Indian devotee of Sri Rama and a composer of Carnatic music. He lived in the village of Nelakondapalli near Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh during the 17th century and is renowned for constructing a famous temple for Lord Sri Rama at Bhadrachalam.

Ramadasu under the guidance of Pokala Dammakka built the temple at Bhadrachalam. His devotional lyrics to Sri Rama are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu. He also wrote Dasarathi Shatakamu (దాశరధి శతకము) with a 'makuTamu' (మకుటము) 'Dasaradhee Karuna payonidhi' (దాశరధీ కరుణా పయోనిధీ!), a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to the son of Dasaratha (Lord Sri Rama).

Bhadrachalam Temple details
Bhadrachalam is considered as a sacred place and the second famous Lord Rama Kshetra after Ayodhya in India Sri Lakshmana Sametha Seeta Ramachandra Swamy, Bhadrachalam.It is the best pilgrim centre in Andhra Pradesh after Tirupati. 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 main Deity (moolaviraat) of Lord Rama has distinctive features here. He is in the Padmasana pose with four hands, holding the bow and arrow in the front two hands, and Conch(Shankam) and Wheel(Chakram) in the rear hands. The Sankha is held in the right hand and the Chakra in the left. To the left of Sri Rama is Sita and Lakshmana is on her left, he is also known as "Vaikuntha Rama".There are many sightseeing places in and around Bhadrachalam.

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:


 * Sri Yogananda Jwala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy (Lord Narasimha)
 * Sri Annapurna Kasi Vishweswara Swamy (Lord Shiva)

In the above two temples also the main Deities are also West Faced 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.

Ramadasu Dhyanamandiram, a Meditation Hall, which is located in top hill. It provides a Panoramic view of the curve's of River Godavari and the complete view of Bhadrachalam town,one can see and read the Ramayanam inscribed on stone plates at this hall.

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°W. It has an average elevation of 50 metres (164 feet).

Demographics
India census, Bhadrachalam had a population of 55,352. As of 2001, Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Bhadrachalam has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Location
Bhadrachalam is located in 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.

Bhadrachalam is about 130 kilometres (approx. 82miles) from district headquarters Khammam. The nearest railway station to Bhadrachalam is at a distance of 40 kilometers, in a town called Kothagudem. The railway station was named as Bhadrachalam Road due to its proximity to the important pilgrimage center.

In 1959 Bhadrachalam Revenue Division consisting Nuguru Venkatapuram Taluk of East Godavari district, which was on the other side of the river Godavari was merged into Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability. This along with Munagala(added from Krishna district in 1959) and Aswaraopeta (Added from West Godavari District in 1959) would revert back to the residual state of Andhra Pradesh after the proposed Telangana formation.

Bus
The state bus service, APSRTC operates a bus station in bhadrachalam connecting the town to various places like kothagudem, hyderabad, khammam and vijayawada.

Train
The nearest Railway station, Bhadrachalam Road (Kothagudem) is 45 km from the town

River
Launch trips are running from Rajahmundry to Bhadrachalam on the river Godavari which is very scenic and pleasant journey.

Other temples
Besides Sri Seeta Ramachandra Swamy Temple the other important temples in the town are as follows:


 * Sri Annapurna Kasi Visweswara Swamy Temple
 * Sri Yogananda Jwala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
 * Sri Sai Baba Temple
 * Sri Abhayanjaneya Swamy Temple
 * Sri Raja Rajeshwari Temple
 * Sri Ayyappa Swamy Temple
 * Sri Harnath Baba Mandir
 * Sri Amba Satram Temple
 * Sri Govinda Raja Swamy Temple (Tatagudi)

Sri Govinda Raja Swamy Temple (Tatagudi) This is one of the most ancient temples of Bhadrachalam and holds significance as this temple is dedicated to Sri Govinda Raja Swamy. It is located in one of the main centres of the town known as Tatagudi Centre. Once neglected, this temple now gains its original glory by the efforts of Repaka Rupavathi and her colleagues who have restored it. A perfect place for ones to be lost in devotion to the deity and enjoy the serene greenary.

Temples in surrounding areas
There are many places to visit around Bhadrachalam surroundings. Some of the other important temples in Bhadrachalam are as follows:


 * Sri Venkateshwara Swamy Temple (near Ambedkar centre, Busstand, BCM)
 * Sri Krishna Temple (on the way to Raamalayam)
 * Sri Durga Devi Temple (near ITDA)
 * Sri Kodanda Rama Temple (near police station, BCM)
 * Sri Kodanda Rama Temple Morampalli banjar
 * Sri Uma Rama Liageswar Alyam near Ambedkar Centre V. Colony BCM
 * Sri Abhayanjaneya Swamy Temple, Near Bridge Centre

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.

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 Lakshmana. 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 14,000 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. There is temple of lord shiva on the opposite bank of Gundala in a village named raigudem on the hill where lord shiva and all jyothir lingas replica are kept.

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.

Education institutions

 * Government Degree College
 * Govt Jr. College
 * Nannapaneni Mohan Govt High School (Korrajulagutta School)
 * Government Girls High School
 * A.P.R.J.C Girls College
 * Chinna High School
 * Mythili Mahila Jr. College
 * Little Flowers High School
 * Little Flowers Jr. College
 * Divya Convent
 * Bharthi Vidya NiKetan
 * Gowtham Model School
 * Mythili Public School
 * Jyothi Educational Society & Jyothi Convent
 * Bhadrachalam Public School & Jr. College
 * St.Paul's High School
 * St Ann's Public School
 * Dr. Paul Raj Engineering College.
 * Dr. Paul Raj Engineering College, Yetapaka (V), Bhadrachalam
 * Mother Theressa Degree College
 * PSR Degree College
 * Rams Degree College
 * Komala Vidyanikethan
 * Roopa Educational Society
 * Samatha Public School
 * Siddhartha Public School
 * Sri Sai Jr. College
 * Sri Sai Degree College
 * Saadhana Public School (Formerly Sri Seeta Rama Public School)
 * New Schalor Convent Morampalli Banjar