Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple

Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple

News: The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism unveiled the UNESCO World Heritage Listing plaque at Ramappa– KakatiyaRudreshwara Temple in Palampet.

Details:
• The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recherla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
• The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy.
• It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
• The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiya sculptors.
• The foundation is built with the “sandbox technique”, the flooring is granite and the pillars are basalt.
• The lower part of the temple is red sandstone while the white gopuram is built with light bricks that reportedly float on water.
• An inscription dates the temple to 1135 Samvat-Saka on the eight-day of Magha (12th January, 1214).
• The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region, confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.
• European merchants and travellers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveller had remarked that the temple was the 'brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan'.