Last week, historians and heritage activists were aghast when the Telangana government demolished a Kakatiya-era 13th-century Shiva temple in Ashok Nagar, Khanapur mandal of Warangal district, to build a school. Not only was it unfortunate, but it was also ironic, given that the state over the last few years has been trying to diversify its tourism beyond Hyderabad with a focus on older temples.
We tend to focus on Hyderabad’s Indo-Persian architecture more today due to the Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518-1687) that ruled the Sultanate of Golconda and also because of its origins linked to Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (from Persia), who founded the city of Hyderabad in 1591. But many forget that Hyderabad and Telangana also have some exquisite and beautiful temples, thanks to the state once being ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty.
In fact, Hyderabad also boasts some very interesting Hindu temples due to the fact that the region has had dynasties that shaped two major cities over a period of more than 800 years. While serving initially as vassals of the Rashtrakutas and Western Chalukyas, the Kakatiya dynasty of Telangana developed Warangal as their capital. The Kakatiyas majorly ruled what are now the two Telugu states (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) between the 12th and early 14th centuries.
The Shiva temple destroyed in Warangal dates back to the Kakatiya period, roughly 800 years ago. According to activists, a pillar from the temple bears an inscription dating back to 1231, just decades after the Kakatiya dynasty emerged as a sovereign power in the 1160s. Warangal today is known for its fort, the Thousand Pillar temple, and the Ramappa Temple, which was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2021.
The forgotten temples
While most tourism from outside the state is focussed on Hyderabad, it is time that Warangal and the Ramappa temple also receive the same importance. The Ramappa temple in fact dates back to the first half of the 13th century and was built by Recherla Rudra, a general of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva.
Ghulam Yazdani, founder of the erstwhile State Department of Archaeology under the Nizams of Hyderabad (1724-1948), also recognised its importance and took up restoration works in the 1930s. While tourism to Warangal is not as high as to Hyderabad, a visit to the Ramappa temple is worth promoting by the state, given that it is one of the most beautiful sites in the state thanks to its exquisite design motifs and reddish sandstone structure.
Even though Hyderabad did not exist before 1591, older temples have been around. The Ammapalli Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple near the airport in Shamshabad dates back to roughly the 12th-13th centuries (Kalyani Chalukya period). The historical ancient Hindu site has a stunning Gopuram that is about 80-90 feet high and more famously has idols of Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all carved from a single stone.
During his exile, Lord Rama passed through the Dandakaranya forest and rested at this site. Many people go there to pray, but learning the historical significance of this temple is equally important for the city.
Similarly, there is also the Jagadamba Mahankali temple inside the Golconda Fort, which is believed to date back to the early Kakatiya period (roughly 900-1,000 years old, when the rulers were still vassals), and the 17th-century Bhakta Ramadasu temple inside the fort. The Ramadasu temple is very interesting, given that it is associated with the Golconda period.
Ramadasu is said to have served as a revenue official or Tehsildar of the Bhadrachalam region during the Qutb Shahi period. By some accounts, he is also described as a nephew or relative of the influential brothers Akkanna and Madanna, senior ministers under the last Qutb Shahi ruler, Sultan Abul Hasan Tana Shah (1672-1687). Ramdas is more known due to his imprisonment for allegedly using state funds to construct the now-famous Seetha Ramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam.
According to legend, he carved images of Lord Rama and Hanuman on stone walls in his jail cell, which today is also known as the Ramadasu temple inside the fort. It is said that Sultan Abul Hasan Tana Shah released Ramadasu after Lord Rama himself appeared in his dreams. The Golconda king eventually made it a tradition to give an annual grant to the temple, which was continued by the later Nizams and still continues to this day by the state government.
Beyond Hyderabad and Golconda
People in Hyderabad seem to have forgotten about the Nizam-era temples. The Sitaram Bagh temple, for example, was built in the first half of the 19th century during the time of the fourth Nizam, Nasir-ud-Daula, by a Marwadi family that settled in Hyderabad. Many don’t even know about its existence, but it is worth a visit due to its unique blend of Mughal, Rajasthani, and European designs. The temple was apparently designed to resemble a fort.
The destruction of the Shiva temple in Warangal comes at a time when the state and Hyderabad have both faced sustained threats of erasure of heritage sites. It is time that the Telangana government steps in to put an end to it. In fact, the government could have just built a school around the temple instead of demolishing it.
It would have been such a great example of how we can use space—even when they have ancient sites—for modern purposes without destruction. More importantly, people also need to learn to look a little beyond Hyderabad when it comes to Telangana’s history because the ancient temples in the state are as grand as anywhere else.
Yunus Lasania is a Hyderabad-based journalist whose work primarily focuses on politics, history and culture. He posts on X @YunusLasania. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)