Whenever we are in
Warangal City or we are passing through Warangal we make it a point to visit
Bhadrakali Temple and have Darshan of Goddess Bhadrakali and seek her
blessings. We have been to Bhadrakali
Temple a number of times before, and once again recently and hence this
photo-blog post.
The imposing and
beautiful idol of Goddess Bhadrakali and the amazing precincts of the Temple, a
beautiful Lake by its side and the huge rocky mountain façade are big
attractions that draw us here often. You can see the grand Temple and the
beautiful surroundings in the attached pictures. These pictures are from our
recent and some of our earlier visits to the Temple.
The idol of Goddess Bhadrakali
is in a sitting posture. The Goddess has eight hands, each carrying one weapon
and is wearing an alluring crown. The idol is 2.7 meters high and is carved out
of stone. A fierce lion, the sacred vehicle of the Goddess is placed opposite
to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
Goddess Bhadrakali is
being worshipped here by saints and commoners since very ancient times. It is
said that King Pulakesin-II of the Chalukya Dynasty worshipped Goddess
Bhadrakali here after defeating the Vengi Kings and constructed a proper Temple
in the year 625 A.D. Later when King Rudra Deva of the Kakatiya dynasty made
Warangal (then Orugallu) the capital of his kingdom, he worshipped Goddess
Bhadrakali as Kula Devatha that is as ‘Family Deity’ and developed the Temple.
And during the rule of Emperor Ganapathi Deva, a minister of his by name Hari got
the beautiful Lake made at the Temple (Bhadrakali Lake).
The Temple was very
popular for over 900 years and with the defeat of the Vijayanagara Kings in
1565, the Temple lost its prominence and remained neglected under non-Hindu
rulers. After the end of such rule, the Goddess appeared in the dream of a
devotee named Sri Maganlal Sameja and ordained him to enliven the past glory of
the Temple. He along with the help of the local people revived the Temple and
in the presence of Alaya Muthavalli Sri B.S. Ganesh Rao, the Temple was re-consecrated on 29th July 1950. And since
then all rituals as practised in ancient
times are being carried out with great devotion and the Temple has once again
become very popular.
This history of the
Temple is as narrated in a poster at the Temple. The poster is in Telugu and
here it is for you:
Beautifully covered. a place worth visiting when one is in Warangal.
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