हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Ramappa Temple (Rudreshwara), Palampet

A Kakatiya Shiva temple of 1213 that carries the name of its sculptor, Ramappa, rather than its king. A World Heritage Site since 2021.

Built: 1213 CE, Recharla Rudra, general of the Kakatiya king GanapatidevaWhere: TelanganaDeity: Bhagwan Shiva as Rudreshwara18.26° N, 79.94° E
  1. 1213 CE
  2. 2021
Photo: Khushi Shah 280 · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Named after the sculptor

The foundation inscription, dated Shaka 1135 (1213 CE), says Recharla Rudra, a general of Ganapatideva, raised this temple to Rudreshwara. Villagers forgot the general and remembered the master mason. It has been Ramappa’s temple for centuries. The temple stands on a high star-shaped platform beside the great Ramappa lake, which Kakatiya engineers built to water the fields, and the lake still does that work.

02Bracket maidens and light bricks

Twelve madanikas, dancing women carved in black dolerite, lean out as brackets from the outer pillars, polished so finely that they shine. The pillars inside carry dancers in the poses later set down in the Nritta Ratnavali by Jayapa Senani, another Kakatiya general, and Perini Shiva Tandavam dancers have reconstructed their dance from them. The base sits on a sandbox foundation that let the building ride out earthquakes, and the tower above is built of bricks so light and porous that they float in water. In July 2021 UNESCO listed the temple as the Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple.

The life of this place

  1. 1213 CERecharla Rudra consecrates the Rudreshwara temple under Ganapatideva.
  2. 2021Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Visiting

About 70 km from Warangal. Worship continues in the main shrine; the lake bund is a short walk away.

People

Rudrama DeviQueen
reigned c. 1262–1289 CE

Rudrama Devi

Kakatiya queen who ruled in her own name

Nearby

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Warangal Fort (Orugallu)

The Kakatiya capital Orugallu, ringed by three walls, which held out against Delhi in 1303 and 1310 and fell in 1323. Its four carved stone gateways stand among the ruins of a great Shiva temple.

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Bhadrakali Temple, Warangal

The Devi temple on a hill between Hanamkonda and Warangal, above the Bhadrakali lake. Tradition dates it to Pulakeshin II’s victory over Vengi; the Kakatiya kings worshipped here, and it was brought back to full worship in 1950.

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Kaleshwara Mukteswara Temple, Kaleshwaram

A Shiva temple at the meeting of the Godavari and the Pranhita, where two lingas share one base, Shiva and Yama together. With Srisailam and Draksharamam it gave the Telugu land its old name, Trilinga.