The Stream (Poem)

Home ward bound by road one day,

From a seat by the window bay,

My eyes peered towards the sunlit beam 

glittering over the turquoise stream..  

It drifted thro' the grass and hay,

Chasing crabs that lazily play...

Dancing over those tiny stones,

Making music, in many a tones...

The fallen leaves all went a-floating

One by one in rows like they were boating!

The fishes popped their heads out to greet,

To me and all.. Oh! what a lovely treat!

It gushed and splashed o'er mighty rocks,

And made me wonder where it will finally dock?

It climbed it's way, a little to the top,

And then, it sped down never, ever to stop.

Our life, it makes me think and wonder,

I'm sure, you all too will now ponder, 

Is just like this, sparkling blue stream,

Full of nice things which we later dream...

An adventure we meet at every turn,

The odds, new lessons, for us to learn.

"This unknown journey", we all do take,

Unaware till when or what's at stake!! 

Bhakta Ramadaas, Hyderabad (Untold Tales)

Some places are visited to absorb the architecture and history behind it and some to awe at the magnificence and scenic beauty. But THE GOLCONDA FORT at Hyderabad has a blend of all, vastness, architecture and the rich culture of the Kakatiya dynasty and Qutub Sahib rulers.Built and rebuilt from a mud fort to a granite one, this fort stands tall on a hillock at an altitude of 400 ft and has an expanse of  7 km in circumference with 12 m walls. 

The Golconda Fort

Golconda consists of four distinct forts with a 10 km long outer wall. It has eight gateways, four drawbridges, and numerous royal apartments. halls, temples and mosques, within it. "Fateh Darwaza" (Victory gate) is at the lowermost level studded with giant iron spikes (to prevent elephants from battering them down).  Fateh Darwaza is an engineering marvel of acoustic effect and is the main attraction at Golkonda. A hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the 'Bala Hisar' pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometer away. This worked as a warning to the kings at the time of, attack.

The view of Bala Hisar

This majestic structure has beautiful palaces and an ingenious water supply system.The water raised by Persian wheels was stored in overhead tanks at different levels. Water thus collected was effectively distributed to various mahals, apartments, roof gardens and fountains in the citadel through stone aqueducts and a network of earthen pipes by mere law of gravity.  Sadly, these unique architectures of the fort is not being properly maintained and is losing its charm.

The ventilation of the fort is so well designed that cool breeze could reach the interiors of the fort, even during peak summers.

Another attraction found in this fort is the Jail where Ramadaas was imprisoned for 12 years.

Bhakta Ramadaas was born as Gopanna in 1620 in Nelakondapalli, a small village at Khammam district, Andhra Pradesh. Since childhood, he imbibed his family's interest of spirituality and composed several keertanas on Lord Rama. During the reign of Abdul Hasan Tana Shah, (the nawab of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty at Golconda), Ramadaas (Gopanna), was appointed as a Tahsildar of  Palvancha Paragana which included Bhadraachalam, a picturesque temple town on the Godavari river. Ramadaas was extremely devoted to Lord Rama and this inspired him to build a temple at Bhadraachalam. He collected money for the construction from the people, but since it was not sufficient, he borrowed the wealth collected from the tax revenue of the nawab and built The Seetha RamachandraTemple at Bhadraachalam, vowing to return it. 

The Rama Temple at Bhadraachalam

However, the nawab was furious on knowing about the money from the tax collection being used to built the Rama Temple and sentenced Ramadaas to 12 years of imprisonment. Ramadaas composed some of the best keertanas during his days in prison on Lord Rama.

It is said that Lord Rama and Lakshmana in the guise of two youth paid up his dues and got his release papers. The golden coins paid by Rama are known as Ram Tanka coins. They are kept as exhibits within the temple premise. These coins have the Pattabhishekam scene on one side and of Hanuman, on the other. 

The nawab on realizing that it was Lord Rama who had repaid the money, was deeply moved at the devotion of Ramadaas and released him immediately. He gave him the land around Bhadraachalam to continue his dedicated service to Lord Rama. The Nawab also returned the Ram Tanka coins to Ramdaas to be used for the temple. 

Since then, it has been the royal custom of the Hyderabad State (now part of Telangana State) to send gifts to the temple on the occasion of Sree Rama Navami celebrations every year.

 BHADRAACHALAM

The temple town of Bhadraachalam is about 312 km away from Hyderabad situated in the Khamman District. 

At Paranasala

Legend says that the present town is situated in an area which was once a part of The Dandakaranya Forests, the abode of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana during their exile. Paranasala a scenic place on the banks of River Godavari is at a vicinity from the temple, at about 35km away. It is said to be the place where they had built their hut and is also the spot from where Sita was abducted by Ravana. 

The hut where Rama and Sita lived at Paransala

The history of this temple stands for the significance of Ramayana Era, and adds another story - of " Sri Mahavishnu ", who manifested himself as The Avatar of Rama to fulfill his promise to his Bhakta, Bhadra (a mountain king), who had been continuing a penance to obtain the grace of Lord Rama. The name Bhadrachalam is derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra).

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 is said to have appeared in the dreams of a woman devotee, Pokala Dammakka and informed her about the existence of vigrahas on Bhadragiri hills. To her surprise the next morning she found the "Vigraha's" and made a modest structure and offered puja to the deities. 

Glimpse of River Godavari

Panaromic view of River Godavrai from Paranasala

Vaikunda Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram , Tamil Nadu

One long weekend we decided to visit Kanchipuram more on a social visit to a relatives house. After visiting the famous Kamatchi Amman Temple and Ekambareswarar Temple, on our way back, we saw an ancient temple just about 500 m away from their house. This board at the entrance made me curious and stop at the gates to make a visit here. 

                     

As I entered the gates of this temple I was awed at the peace and well maintained greenery. It lacked the usual thronging of devotees and it's serenity and carved structure brought a beauty of its own all around. 

view of the temple from the road

                  

the entrance to the sanctum

                   

This temple is situated right in the middle of residential buildings and is popularly known as The Thiru Parameswara Vinnagaram or Vaikunda Perumal Temple. It is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is worshiped as Vaikuntanathan and his consort Lakshmi as Vaikundavalli here.

the outer  premise of the temple

                   

the outer structure of the temple

             

Vaikunda Perumal temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava king Nandivarman II (720-96 CE), with later contributions from Medieval Cholas and Vijayanagar kings. It's architecture is of the Dravidian style, with lion faced pillars around the corridors resembling that of at The Thousand Pillar Hall at Madurai.The temple is said to have been surrounded by a granite wall enclosing all the shrines and water bodies of the temple. 

Pallavamallan was a worshipper of Vishnu and a great patron of learning. He is said to have renovated old temples and built several new ones. One amongst them is the Vaikunta Perumal temple. The walls around the temple has inscribed panels of sculpture portraying the events leading up to the accession of Pallavamalla to the throne. 

the grey stones seen here are said to be melting hence no one is permitted to walk on them

           

the corridor around the temple with the lion faced pillar on one side and carved sculptures on the walls

            

sculptures on the wall

Three sanctuaries host the image of Vishnu in different postures here - seated form(ground floor), reclining (first floor; accessible to devotees only on Ekadashi days) and standing pose(second floor; inaccessible to devotees). The temple's architecture is said to have been a prototype for the much larger shrines which were constructed later all over Tamil Nadu. This temple is now under the maintenance of Archaeological Survey of India. It wears a worn out look standing tall for 3000 years. The priest here says that the stones have started to melt due to age and erossion. Adequate measures are being taken to safeguard the inscriptions and sculptures by the Government now.  

The Vaikunta Perumal Temple temple is classified as a Divyadesam (Divine Places)- and is one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the Vaishnava canon. The temple is one of the fourteen Divyadesams in Kanchipuram and is part of Vishnu Kanchi, the place where most of the Vishnu temples in Kanchipuram are located.

I would recommend a visit to this peaceful temple as a must do when traveling to Kanchipuram be it for the Silk Saree shopping or as a pilgrimage.