1000 PILLAR TEMPLE.

THOUSAND PILLAR TEMPLE.

Ø    About 150 kms. from Hyderabad lies the ancient city of Warangal.

Ø    Noted today for its beautiful lakes, magnificent temples and wildlife, Warangal possess the marvelous thousand pillared temple, built by King Rudra Deva in the 12th century.

Ø    The famous Thousand Pillar Temple, built in 1163 AD, by king Rudra Deva is an important monument situated near the Hanamkonda-Warangal highway.

Ø     One thousand richly carved pillars and a magnificent black basalt Nandi bull are unique to this temple.

Ø    The temple is in shape of a star and has three shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. The temple is built on a 1m high platform on the slopes of the Hanumakonda hill.

Ø    The black basalt Nandi, a monolith, has a lovely polished finish. There are many small lingam shrines surrounding the gardens. The sculpture of 'Nandi' the holy bull of Lord Shiva, carved out of a monolithic black basalt stone has a glossy finish which is a splendid piece of art.

Ø    The temple is famous for its richly carved pillars, screens and detailed sculpture.

Ø    This region has been beautified by the Kakatiya rulers. The Thousand Pillar Temple reflects the magnificence of the Chalukya kings. 

Ø    Many small shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva encircle the garden of the temple.

Ø    This temple is Popular as A Pilgrimage Center, where people from all the faith come for meditation and obtaining peace.

Ø    The atmosphere around is calm and serene with the sonorous ringing of the puja bells, gentle chirping of the birds and the soothing cool breeze.

Ø    The early chiefs of the Kakatiya dynasty were feudatories of the Chalukyas. As independent kings, the Kakatiyas ruled the Deccan for nearly two hundred years in the 12^th and 13^th Century with architectural works mainly concentrated around Warangal.

Ø    The Kakatiya architecture has roots in the Chalukyan style with improvisation to suit local conditions. Locally available granite and sandstone were used for the main structure. The Shikhara was built with lime and brick.

Ø    Kakatiyas stepped their Shikharas instead of using curvilinear spires of Chalukyas and vertical structures of the north. The domed ceiling of the central hall was polygonal, eight or sixteen sided instead of circular.

Ø    Volcanic, intricately carved and polished black basalt was used for pillars, jambs, lintels and motifs.

Ø    The doorways have cutout lintels. The temple has several columned mandapas. The large number of granite columns of this temple has given it, its name. Warangal, once the capital of Kakatiya kings, was an important urban centre of the Deccan since the eleventh century.

Ø     In 1300 AD the city is said to have had a population of nearly 100 000.  The Bahmanis finally captured Warangal in 1366 and later Warangal became part of the Qutub Shahi kingdom.  

Ø    Veyyi Stambhala Gudi (’1000-Pillar Temple’),à  Veyyi Stambhala Gudi (Thousand Pillar Temple) have history, architecture and sculpture and are probably among the best of Indian temples.

Ø    Kakatiya dynasty, that ruled Andhra region from 750 AD – 1325 AD – for 575 years, still lives in the ruins of the fort and almost intact temple. You can get a first hand of the dynasty’s taste for sculpture in Veyyi Stambhala Gudi or 1000 Pillar Temple.

Ø     Are there thousand pillars? Yes there are – of many varieties and sizes; some of them are even part of others! The pillars that support the central ‘Natya Mandapam’ (dance floor) are large and made of multiple blocks of stone.

Ø     More so because a mandapam  that contributes 400 of 1000 pillars, was dismantled by the Archeological Survey of India for reconstruction. Unlike pillars in other temples of India, pillars of the main temple, are tightly knit and form its walls and so don’t seem like there are 600 of them.

Ø    The temple is star shaped with three shrines devoted to Rudradeva (Shiva), Vishnu, and Surya (Sun). Interestingly, the third deity is not Brahma who is part of the Trinity of God [as in the Trinity (which consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) in Suchindrum] because the Kakatiyas worshipped Lord Shiva and Lord Surya and not so much Brahma.

Ø     On the fourth side is Shiva’s vehicle, Nandi or Bull. Unlike most temples in India that face east, 1000 pillar temple faces south. Because, the Kakatiyas, worshipers of Lord Shiva, wanted early morning sun rays to fall directly on Shiva Lingam. So, of the three shrines, Shiva’s shrine faces east and other shrines face south and west. On the fourth side is Nandi. Adding to the uniqueness, the Nandi in 1000 pillar temple looks east, unlike most Nandis in Indian temples that look west.

Ø    Between these four is the Natya Mandapam (dance floor) where dancers performed.

Ø     More interesting is the architectural prowess of the Kakatiyas. Hearsay is that ASI, when it dismantled the Mandapam for reconstruction, found about 30 feet of sand and three wells below it! Unbelievable.

Ø    This temple was built in 1163 AD and took 72 years to construct! The Nandi had on its back, a chain made of bells which seemed real. And the bull was life like. Impressive Bull was a beginning. The 1000 pillar temple takes it to a whole new level.

Ø     Enter the temple, you will see four magnificent pillars supporting the Natya Mandapam (dance floor). Each richly carved with exquisite designs. A pillar has multiple designs, 2 centimeters to about 30 centimeters, on the perimeter of circular pillar.

Ø     They used designs of jewelry of their age. Chains, bangles, rings, crowns and the Kakatiya Dynasty’s symbol, Kalisam, can be seen one after another on each pillar.

Ø    The design also had flowers finely carved, the sculptures carved gaps so fine between petals that a tiny stick could be inserted into those holes, This showed how fine Kakatiya’s sculptures were!

Ø    The roof of the Natya Mandiram in 1000 pillar temple is a master piece in itself. It has Gayatri, the goddess of learning, and Chaturmukam (four faces) that guards against ill. In fact, the roof has 3 Chatur mukhas or 12 such faces in all.