The Ramappa temple at Palampet in Telangana’s Warangal has been conferred the tag of UNESCO World Heritage site.
At the ongoing online meeting of World Heritage Committee, the decision was reached after a consensus where Norway opposed the inscription while Russia led an effort for the immediate inscription of the temple. A consensus with 17 countries backing the move ensured the inscription of the site.
Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019. The iconic Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of great Kakatiya dynasty.
In its selection criteria, UNESCO says, “Rudreshwara, popularly known as Ramappa Temple, is located in the village of Palampet approximately 200km north-east of Hyderabad, in the State of Telangana. It is the main Shiva temple in a walled complex built during the Kakatiyan period (1123–1323 CE) under rulers Rudradeva and Recharla Rudra. Construction of the sandstone temple began in 1213 CE and is believed to have continued over some 40 years. The building features decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with a distinctive and pyramidal Vimana (horizontally stepped tower) made of lightweight porous bricks, so-called ‘floating bricks’, which reduced the weight of the roof structures. The temple’s sculptures of high artistic quality illustrate regional dance customs and Kakatiyan culture. Located at the foothills of a forested area and amidst agricultural fields, close to the shores of the Ramappa Cheruvu, a Kakatiya-built water reservoir, the choice of setting for the edifice followed the ideology and practice sanctioned in dharmic texts that temples are to be constructed to form an integral part of a natural setting, including hills, forests, springs, streams, lakes, catchment areas, and agricultural lands.”
Earlier, the ‘Glorious Kakatiya Temples and Gateways – Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Palampet’ examination as a World Heritage Site nomination was deferred in the agenda papers. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) cited nine shortcomings at the site after the initial visit in 2019, but on Sunday a majority veered round to India’s view about the site’s outstanding universal value.
India had mounted a diplomatic offensive to ensure the World Heritage Site status for Ramappa Temple by reaching out to 24 countries whose representatives were to vote on the proposal to inscribe Ramappa Temple on the World Heritage Committee.
The temple is savvy blend of technological knowhow and materials. The foundation is built on sandbox technology, the flooring is granite, the pillars basalt, the lower part of the temple red sandstone, and the white gopuram is built with light bricks that reportedly float in water. An inscription dates the temple to 1135 Samvat-Saka on the eight day of Magha (January 12, 1214).
According to the temple priest, some of the iconography on the temple was damaged during the invasion of Malik Kafur in 1310. Treasure hunters vandalised the rest. But the biggest test for the temple was an earthquake in the 17th century (one of the biggest temblor was the 7.7-8.2-magnitude on June 16, 1819). The flooring was rocked by the waves, while the pillars and the vertical structure stayed intact due to sandbox technology. “We can make out that the pillars have sunk between 1 ft and 1.5 feet due from the state of the sculptures,” Kumaraswamy, an ASI official, at the site had said earlier.
Built by Racherla Senapati Rudrayya, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapatideva, in the 13th century, the main temple is flanked by the collapsed structures of Kateshwarayya and Kameshwarayya temples in Palampet, about 220 kilometres from Hyderabad and 77 kilometres from Warangal.
The Ramappa Temple, probably is the only temple in India known by the name of the sculptor who built it. The head sculptor was Ramappa, after whom the temple is known today, rather than after the presiding deity, Ramalingeswara, as is the general norm. The temple of Ramappa was built on behalf of the king, Kakati Ganapathi Deva by his chief commander Rudra Samani at a place called Ranakude in Atukuru province.
This temple has been rightfully described as the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan” a repository of Kakatiyan creative genius, with intricate carvings adorning the walls, pillars and ceilings of this marvellous edifice. The temple is a Shivalaya and stands majestically on a 6 ft high star shaped platform. The hall in front of the sanctum has numerous carved pillars that have been positioned to create an effect that combines light and space wonderfully and the exquisitely chiselled walls and ceiling are unique to the time of Kakatiyan sculptors and empire.
The sculptural work of dance postures in the temple appears like frozen record of dances of the region in stone and was of great inspiration for the famous work ‘Nritya Ratnavali’, by Jayapa Senani. The postures pertaining to Bharata Natya, Shrunga, Bharunga, Rathi, Perini Nritya etc., are engraved on the pillars and top-beams of ‘Mukha Mandapam’, The mythological episodes such as ‘Gopika Vastrapaharanam, Tripura samharm, Daksha Samharam, Ksheera Sagara Madhanam, Girija Kalyanam etc., stand for the highest standards of Kakatiya Sculpture.
The ‘Nagini’ and other eleven devanarthakis are arranged as supporting beams on both sides of each entrance. The aesthetic sense which scaled innumerable heights in Kakatiya sculpture is clearly evident in these twelve postures of devanarthakis. The desi (local) varieties of dances such as Perini, Prenkana, Sudda Nartana, Dandarasak, Sivapriya, Chindu and Kolata are some dance forms in the sculptural art of the temple. The famous treatise of dance ‘Nritya Ratnavali’ of Kakatiya period is said to have been inspired by the construction and art work on Ramappa temple.
The Ramappa temple is a best example of the love for art, music and dance as patronized by Kakatiyas. The temple is situated in a valley and is built with bricks so light that they can float on water, established after scientific research conducted indicating the creative master pieces of the time. The temple withstood many wars, invasions and natural calamities.