Hidden in the long shadows of the sleeping valley of Palampet village, straddled by wooden hills and vast farms, cast into the depths of neglect stands a magnificent jewel from the Kakatiya era: The RAMAPPA group of temples. The temples that still stand amidst the scattered mounds of ruins show exquisite workmanship that can be easily considered as among the best sculptural masterpieces in the arena of medieval Indian temple art and architecture.
The Ramappa temple has been referred as the brightest star in the network of medieval temples in the Deccan region.
“On the top of the temples of this (god), shines distinctly a golden cupola, illuminating the space of the sky, always having the brilliance of a vast sun’s orb standing on the lofty peak of the eastern mountain” an inscription at Ramappa temple issued by Recharla Rudradeva in 1213 AD justifies the excellence of the temple complex.
History of the Temple Complex-
About 900 years ago, the Kakatiya kings ruled the Palampet area of Warangal and has commissioned the construction of awe-inspiring Ramappa temples which is an engineering marvel. This medieval architectural wonder is a shrine surrounded by a cluster of small temples in honour of Hindu deity Shiva and other deities. The Ramappa group of temples, was constructed in 1213CE by Recharla Rudra, who was the army head under king Ganapatideva of the Kakatiya dynasty. The temple was built around a large artificial lake that is used as an irrigation channel for the fields.
Another important feature of the temple is that it is one of the only South Indian temples that is named after the main architect ‘Ramappa Stapathi’ rather than the deity residing in. Inside the complex is Rudreswara Temple which is intact and other sub-shrines, the Kateswara Temple and Kameswara Temple, which are partially or fully in ruins.
The Ramappa Temple dates back to 1213 AD and saw completion in the year 1253, forty years after it first began. The time invested in laying the foundation was a worthy investment indeed, as the temple has managed to remain intact even after repeated plunder, wars and natural disasters. The only damage suffered by Ramappa Temple can be attributed to an earthquake which struck the region in the 17th century, besides which the building stands strong even today.
Architectural Excellence-
When one enters the temple sanctum, we get marvelled by Kakatiya style of architecture. The main temple is designed to be elevated above its surroundings on a high star-shaped platform. It is covered with a pyramid like structure over the garba griha on one side, and entrances on other three sides. These three distinct sections, namely Antaral, Maha Mandap and Garbhagrih together constitute the Ramappa Temple complex.
The Maha mandapa is an exquisite feature which is supported by four enormous pillars carved with elaborate detailing making it an astonishing site. Its roof is adorned with delicate engravings from the Shiva Purana. The main entrance opening to the Garbha griha opening to the Maha mandapa is heavily embellished with dancing couples, Maskaratorana (water beings), lotus, animals and birds.
The Sabha Mandapa or Outer porch is supported by dwarf pillars with life size bucket figures. The three entrances depict the celestial animals. Every entrance has sculptures of dancing girls and illustrations of slender, youthful looking women referred as mandakinis which are considered as masterpiece of Kakatiyan art. The Amazonian like figures, with firm bossom and svelte body types, stand for youth, elegance and agility. Other than dancing girls, there are four distinct illustrations, three of them portraying real life scenes and fourth is the mythical Nagini with snakes.
Behind the temple is a roofless structure where Shiva's celestial bull Nandi can be seen guarding the premises in a standing position as opposed to standard sitting position.
A Poem carved into the stone-
The most striking feature of this temple is its jaw – dropping carvings adorning the walls, pillars and ceilings. Lotus motifs, elephants in different poses and images of Gods such as Narasimha and Ganesha embellish the many pillars that hold the ceiling of Ramappa temple in place. The shrine boasts massive pillars with elaborate carvings and life-sized sculptures that capture movement with great elegance. The most prominent among these are the sculptures of Hindu mythology that cover the temple from its base all the way to its wall panels and ceiling in the form of figurines.
These sculptures may not have extraordinarily sculpted facial features or bodily symmetry but the artistic finesse with which the undulating motion moves the visitor is its unique characteristic. The grace, expressions, perfect postures, mudras and all those elements defining Indian classical dance are very well detailed.
‘Bricks as light as feather’ they say-
One of the most important features we have to talk about are its FLOATING BRICKS. Yes! The top of the Ramappa temple is made of bricks which are light enough to float on the surface of water but strong enough to stand tall and proud for centuries to come. Recent studies show that the weight of these bricks is about one-third or one-fourth of the normal bricks of the same size. The top of the temple is made up of these types of bricks so that the load on the pillars and walls can be minimized. Thus, the chances of collapsing the temple during a natural disaster like an earthquake will be least.
‘Sand Box Technique’: Standing tall against any natural catastrophe –
Another engineering marvel applied in the construction of this temple is the SAND BOX TECHNIQUE that is way ahead of their time and has been recently researched extensively. It is one of the techniques widely seen in Kakatiya architecture. The following is the principle implemented:
Depending on the size of the building at least a 3m deep pit is dug as part of the foundation.
It is filled with sand and supplements are added to the sand mixture to make it compact and strong. Powder mixture of Granite, Jaggery, Terminalia Chebula (Karakkaya) is added.
On top of this foundation, super structures are erected. Low level earthquakes and vibrations are absorbed by the sandbox pit used in the foundation which protects the super structure to stand erect without any damage.
For large level earthquakes, small tunnels like holes were made through stones used in construction of walls, pillars and roof tops. Melted iron is poured in these tunnels which forms iron dowels that holds these stones together.
Ramappa temple is a living proof that this sand box technique can help the construction withstand severe earthquakes. The temple stood firm against a major earthquake in the 17th century with a very little damage. Apart from the foundation pillars and stones which were little disoriented and being resurfaced, the ceiling and other building elements were left unscratched.
Into the books of UNESCO –
The efforts to get UNESCO’s recognition of Ramappa temple began almost a decade ago. The Kakatiya Heritage Trust along with the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and the state department of heritage, Telangana government with the help of experts prepared the proposal which made it to the tentative list of world heritage in 2014. The World Heritage Convention’s operational guidelines say that a tentative list is like an inventory of properties a country thinks should be on the World Heritage Site. After UNESCO includes a property in the tentative list, the country prepares a nomination document that will be considered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
In this case, the nomination was under Criterion I (Masterpiece of human creative genius) and Criterion III (bearing a unique or at least an exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition, which is living or which has disappeared).
On Sunday, July 25, at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Fuzhou (China), 21 member nations supported the inscription making India now have 39 sites on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and the Archaeological Survey of India is now the custodian of 23 world heritage sites.
Being listed in the ‘World Heritage List’ means recognition, care, restoration, management and dignity. Every temple with similar grandeur needs to be recognised to be protected. So, let us celebrate the Ramappa temples listing as the beginning for the walk to the hall of fame.
"This temple is like a brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan" – Marco Polo.
P.S: Account of what does this title mean to the temple complex is explained in the next article. It also talks about the current status of many temples and why is it important to have a heritage tag to initiate change in the name of conservation.
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