01Rama without Hanuman
In the sanctum Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are carved together from a single stone, and Hanuman is absent from the sanctum, for the temple’s tradition places the murti before Rama met him; Hanuman has his own shrine outside. Vontimitta has been called the Ekasila Nagaram, the town of the single stone. The temple is a fine example of late Vijayanagara building, with a tall gopuram and a ranga mandapa of carved pillars. The French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described it in the 17th century as one of the grandest pagodas he had seen.
02Potana and the moonlit wedding
Telugu tradition holds that Bammera Potana, the 15th-century poet who rendered the Bhagavata Purana into Telugu, wrote it in devotion to Kodandarama of Vontimitta and dedicated it to Rama rather than to any king. Unlike other Rama temples, the Sita Rama Kalyanam here is performed at night, under the full moon of Chaitra. After the division of the state in 2014, Andhra Pradesh adopted Vontimitta for its official Sri Rama Navami, and the temple was handed to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in 2015.
The life of this place
- 16th centuryThe present temple is built in the Vijayanagara period.
- 17th centuryTavernier visits and describes the temple.
- 2015The temple is handed to TTD and hosts the state’s Sri Rama Navami.
About 25 km from Kadapa on the Rajampet road. The night Kalyanam falls on Chaitra Purnima, a few days after Rama Navami.
