Telangana360

Chilkur Balaji Temple, is an ancient Hindu temple of Lord Balaji on the banks of Osman Sagar in Rangareddy District in Telangana, Twenty Five kilometers from Hyderabad off the Vikarabad road is the picturesque village of Chikur with its hoary temple dedicated to Sri Balaji Venkateshwara is definitely an epicenter of a great deal of spiritual energy and an abode of Lord Venkateshwara, also called as Visa God. Even the popular  Wall Street Journal , amused with the belief, has written a full article on this temple. People from all sects visit this temple in hope of getting their wishes fulfilled. The management believes that the only fee the lord asks the devotees to make pradakshanas around the temple. It is a matter of sheer pride that our nation holds such rich heritage where beliefs and faiths in good are passed on from one generation to the other with or without any scriptures. This temple has no hundi and neither accepts any money from devotees. VAK Books also known as the Voi...

The Mrugavani National Park, located at Chilkuru in Moinabad, Rangareddy district is at a distance of about 25 kms from Hyderabad. The National Park is spread over 3.5 sq kms of pure, untamed land. The Indian government announced it a wildlife sanctuary in the year 1994 and since then, the park has been home to some 600 species of plants and animals. The present day world has created its orbit around technology and modernism. The modern way of living has extensive demands and more and more of our Earth’s space and resources is what is at stake for. One can observe that national parks have eventually become the last sights of refuge for most indigenous species of animals as well as plants around the globe. Even governments of several countries have now become conscious of the importance of preserving these last species in wildlife sanctuaries. The Mrugavani National Park in the state capital is an example of a beautiful national park turned major tourist attraction. What is most ex...

Osmansagar, also called Gandipet, is an excellent picnic spot located on outskirts of Hyderabad. Osmansagar is among the two lakes located on the city’s periphery region supplying drinking water to the city.  Osmansagar is a beautiful lake located 20 km. west of Hyderabad. The lake is a man made reservoir created by constructing a dam across the Isa, a tributary of Musi River. The lake has an abutting bund with lush gardens, which provide an ideal ambience for an outing. The lake also houses a heritage building, Sagar Mahal, which was built as a resort by the Hyderabad Nizam and has been transformed into a lake resort by the department of Tourism. Irrespective of whether it is summer or winter, the place is always crowded with streaming visitors. Mir Osman Ali Khan created this water body as part of the damming project of the river Musi in the year 1920. The idea was to supply drinking water for Hyderabad city. The lake spreads over an area of 46 sq.km and is the chief d...

The Ramoji Film City located in Anaspur Village, Hayathnagar Mandal, Rangareddy, India. At 1633 acres, it is the largest integrated film city in the world. It is also a popular tourism and recreation centre, containing natural and artificial attractions including an amusement park.  The Outer Ring Road Phase 2 has acquired lands at the entrance and is set to intersect the city. Ramoji Film City is spread at over 2,000 acres of lands and it includes amusement parks, recreation centers, film sets and contains both natural and artificial attractions.  Ramoji Film City is located just 25 km drive towards South-East of the Hyderabad city, near the under construction outer ring road, it has the entrance of this privately held company.  The Ramoji Film city has been declared as the world’s largest film studio by Guinness World Records. Ramoji Rao the film producer is the head of Ramoji Group who is the founder of Ramoji Film City.  In 1996 RFC opene...

Khilashapur or Quileshapur or Khila Shapur Fort is located in Khilashapur village, Raghunathpalle Mandal, Jangaon District, Telangana State, India about 5 km from Raghunathpalli Railway station The fort built by Sardar Sarvai Pappanna (1650 and died in 1709 A.D) is estimated to be built in 1690, according to researcher and heritage enthusiast Aravind Arya Pakide. The fort was constructed on square in plan with massive bastions at four corners of the fortifications. Recently, deep pointing works were done by removing tree overgrowths to strengthen the walls. Although Papadu built forts at Bhongir, Thatikonda, Kolanpak, Cheriyal, Karimnagar, Huzurabad and Husnabad, he made Khilashapur fort as his capital. The outer wall of the Khilashapur fort was constructed by stones and the inside structures were built by dung sunnam (lime mortar mix). The fort has five buruzus (fortified towers). The ramparts of the fort were built conveniently to place cannon fires. Currently, there are only two can...

Archaeology officials have identified an ancient idol Shaivite Veeragallu at a farmer’s field at Munigadapa village of Jagadevpur. It belongs to 12-13th century AD. Assistant Director of Archaeology and Museums, Telangana, P Nagaraju clarified that some locals mistook it as idol of lord Shiva, but actually it is a Veeragallu idol. “Number of such idols have been found across Telangana in the past too,” said Nagaraju. He further said that they were planning to make a visit to Munigadapa after informing the Director of Archaeology and Museums, NR Visalatchy to find out if there were any historical sites that were located at Munigadapa. The idol was found at the farm of farmer Vadde Narsimhulu on last Thursday. Locals, Krishna Murthy and Venkata Swamy identified it recently. Source https://telanganatoday.news/shaivite-veeragallu-idol-found

Much to the delight of archaeologists and historians, a rare idol of Tara – the female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism – was found at Ippagudem in Station Ghanpur mandal recently. Archaeology and history enthusiast R Rathnakar Reddy found the black granite idol abandoned near the bund of a tank. He first mistook it for Yakshini of Jain mythology. But later, noted archaeologist and historian Emani Shivanagi Reddy confirmed it as Tara. “It was Shivanagi Reddy who identified the idol as Tara. There is an engraved image of Buddha on the hair bun. The deity’s upper body is naked with large breasts, which is the most common description of Tara in Buddhist literature,” Rathnakar said. Rathnakar also found a broken idol of Buddha near the black granite structure, which helped them confirm that it was Tara. Both the idols – three-ft-tall Tara and four-ft-tall Buddha – take historians and archeologists closer to the Buddhist era. It is beli...

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient menhir, a memorial from the Iron Age, in Padurivarigudem in Nalgonda district of Telangana. The structure stands 11 feet high and was built as a memorial for warriors or tribal leaders in the region. Similar relics have been found in Guntur too. E. Siva Nagi Reddy and his associates uncovered the massive menhir that, according to them, dates back to 1000 BC. “Based on the information that we received from T. Saidulu, president of the local Vivekananda Youth Association, we visited the spot on Thursday and confirmed that the menhir belongs to the Megalithic period. It stands 11 feet tall, is six feet in width and goes six feet deep into the soil. The massive stone slab was installed during the Iron Age as a memorial to tribal lords or warriors in the region. It reveals the collective efforts of the ancient iron-smelting community,” he said. The team of archaeologists also examined around 20 circular burial stones, also from the Megalithic age,...

Excavation at Narmeta sets back region’s history to 3,500 years Beads made of bones and used as ornaments and two conches found The ongoing excavation at Narmeta and Palamakula villages in Nanganur mandal of Siddipet district may set back the history of the region to at least 3,500 years as the excavation site belongs to Megalithic period. Burial site The Department of Archaeology and Museums has taken up excavation at Menhir burial site at Narmeta, located between Siddipet and Husnabad. Two burial sites – a Menhir and a Cairn burial –were selected for excavation. The sites were named Meg-I and Meg-II. The excavation at Meg-I was done adopting quadrangular method. This Menhir burial has double circles of boulders. The diameter of Meg-I is 14 metres and it has 24 boulders forming the inner circle and six boulders on the outer circle. It has the Menhir planted on the northern side, which measures 2.9 metres in height and 95 cm in width. A capstone found at this site measur...

The Nacharam Gutta houses a revered Lakshmi Narshima Swamy temple, in the Wargal Mandal, Siddipet district of Telangana, India. This place is about 50 kilometers from the state capital. The temple is believed to be 600 years old. The Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy temple is a cave temple, situated on a beautiful hillock. Inside the sanctum (Gharba Gudi), we can see Swayambu Narashima Swamy along with his consort Lakshmi thayar beautifully carved inthe rock. The temple also has some more idols. According to the Hindu Mythology, Naradha forfeited here. The place got its name Nacharam gutta after a devotee by the name Nacharam. As we go round the temple, we can find a flight of stairs to the left side, these stairs lead us to the darshanam of Lord Shri Soorya Narayana. The temple has a beautiful rajagopuram with images of Gods and Goddesses carved on it in multi-colours. A gold coated Dhwajastambha which made up of a metal is installed opposite Garbhagudi. There are sub-shrines in the temple fo...

Wargal Saraswati Temple, or Sri Vidya Saraswati Temple, is a Hindu temple located in Siddipet district in Telangana, India. The deity of education in Hinduism is Goddess Saraswati. It is among the few temples of Saraswati in Telangana. It is maintained by the Kanchi Shanker Mutt. Construction of the temple complex was due to the efforts of Yayavaram Chandrashekhara Sharma, a scholar and adherent of Goddess Saraswati. This temple is located on a hillock near Wargal village. On the same hillock are the temples of various other deities, such as: Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Temple Sri Vidya Saraswati Temple Lord Shanishchara Temple Lord Shiva Temple a few Vaishnava temples, now completely damaged and without mola vigrahas Many families visit the temple for their children's akshara abyasam ("learning ceremony"). Meals are provided for free to all devotees at the temple premises, a practice referred to as nitya annadanam. Vasant Panchami and Sharad Navratri festivals a...

Glory of prehistoric period reflects in the rock paintings in the small temple town, throwing light on the rich wildlife and tradition of Stone Age. Wargal One of those marvels left behind by the history for the posterity - rock arts - seem to continue to be the delight of archeological experts and young students. Historians from Telangana are busy deciphering the ancient paintings at the rock shelters here at Wargal in Siddipet district. These rock paintings found in parts of the State show the love humans had for art and nature as long ago as 10,000 BCE. They provide ample evidence that a large number of wild animals were present in the State centuries ago. Shambhuni Gutta (Shambu’s Hill), beside the famous Saraswathi temple here has already emerged as a great spot for explorations relating to the prehistoric life. The roofs of the caves in the hill have red pictures. The archeological department found some of these paintings. But a lot of them are yet to be explored further. ...

Palakurthy Someshwara Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple is located in Palakurthy Mandal, Jangoan District, Telangana State India . Jangaon is the nearest town from this village. To reach Palakurthi from Hyderabad it is around 110 kilometers, via Jangaon towards Suryapet road.  There is Sri Someshwara Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple on the hill inside a cave.  Bommara Pothanna birth place is very close to Palakurthy. Sri Palkuriki Somanathudu was born and brought up here who developed Veera Shaivam. He is the first writer to do gadhya rachana in Telugu. He lived in 12th century. Places of interest in and around this village include Sri Someshwara Laxmi Narsimha Swamy Temple, Bommara Pothana native place and temple, Valmidi Sri Rama temple, and Visnoor Deshmukh fort. All religious peoples live here, most of them are Hindhus. It is a part of Telangana. For the people visiting Palakurthy, there is a lodge available from the endowment department. Also there is nice lodge and...

Komuravelli Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple popularly known as Komuravelli Mallanna Temple is a Hindu temple located on a hill in Komuravelli village of Siddipet district in Telangana state.  It is located near Siddipet on SH–1. This temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Mallikarjuna swamy a fierce looking diety along with Kethamma and Medalamma on the both sides of the main diety. The temple is located in a cave on a small hillock at a distance of 110 Kms from warangal. Lakhs of piligrims congregate on the eve of Makara Sankranthi as Brahmotsavam starts. The Mallanna deity with Golla Kethamma and Medalamma is at the main temple. The temple is specially popular with the devotees belonging to the Kuruma and Yadava communities. The Oggu Katha singers sing the tale of Mallanna here. The temple is visited during Shivarathri day when Pedda Patnam is celebrated. Another temple, Konda Pochamma temple is nearby which is visited by the devotees who visit Mallanna temple. Lakhs of pi...

Jamalapuram is a small village situated close to Yerrupalem town of Khammam district, Telangana, India.  Located about 85 km from Khammam town and 6 km from Yerrupalem railway station in serene atmosphere near the Pedda Cheruvu tank, the historical shrine attracts devotees from various parts of  Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The village has an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara. Here Lord Venkateswara is manifested in the form of swayambhu. The temple also boasts of Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Sivalayam, Ganesh Temple, Anjaneya Swamy temple, Sri Alivelu Amma vari Temple and Ayyappa Swamy Temple.  The temple’s location amidst pleasant weather surrounded by lush green hills is an added attraction. The shrine in Khammam district, said to be over 800 years old, attracts devotees in droves. The ancient Swayambhu Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Jamalapuram is believed to be more than 850 years old, says Uppala Srinivasa Sarma, main priest of the shrine. T...