The government of Telangana started a major renovation project of the temple town Yadadri or the Yadagirigutta temple in October 2016. After a span of four years, the temple has undergone a massive transformation.
Yadadri or the Yadagirigutta temple is a Hindu temple situated on a hill in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district in Telangana. It is well known as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram and Rishi Aradhana Kshetram. This temple is an abode of Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The main features of this temple are the sapta rajagopurams (7 gate towers), ashta (8) bhuji prakarams (the temple compound around the sanctum) sometimes numbering more than one mirror chamber, and Krishna sculptures reflecting the Kakatiya tradition. (The Kakatiya dynasty ruled over most of the eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between the 12th and 14th centuries). The mukha mandapam facing the sanctum sanctorum is adorned with pillars carved with the images of the 12 Alvars (a group of South Indian mystics of the 7th to the 10th centuries who wandered from temple to temple singing hymns in adoration of God Vishnu). It also has a depiction of Prahlada’s story in brass.
The renovation project is expected to turn Yadadri into a major religious-cum-tourist destination. This huge renovation work involved more than 500 sculptors from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. The temple has been renovated in line with Agama Shastra (guidelines revealed by Lord Shiva to his consort Parvathi on how a temple has to be constructed, how an idol has to be installed, and what worship rituals are to be carried out in the temple) blended with Shilpa Shastra (manuals for sculpture and vedic infographics, giving guidelines about sculpting a figure, compositions, principles, meaning as well as rules of architecture).
The seven-storied, 80-feet tall maharajagopuram (the main gopuram) on the western side of the temple along with the six other gopurams are built entirely with black stone or granite. Usually, temple gopurams are built in stone till the roof level and bricks are used beyond that.
For renovating the gopurqms, stone was procured from Gurijepalli mines in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. To bind the black stone slabs together, instead of cement, a mix of lime mortar, karakkaya (Indian hog plum), jaggery, aloe vera, and jute has been used. This mixture was used during the ancient times too as it has the capacity to withstand any unpredictable weather conditions.
The sanctum sanctorum (garbha griha), where the presiding swayambhu (self-manifested) deity Narasimha resides would be kept intact. The main renovation done on top of the sanctum sanctorum is the construction of a 48-feet, five-storied vimana gopuram. This vimana gopuram along with the rajagopuram and the main doors of the renovated Yadadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple would be coated with gold.
As the Yadadri temple is famous for Satyanarayana Swamy Vratham, facilities are being made to accommodate 4,000 devotees at one go to perform Satyanarayana pooja. The renovated complex is expected to have a capacity to accommodate approximately 40,000 devotees at a time.
Mythological Significance of Yadagirigutta
In Tretayugam, Sage Yadarishi did penance inside a cave with the blessings of Lord Hanuman on a hill between Bhongir and Raigiri. Lord Narasimha, pleased by the devotion of Yadarishi, appeared before him in five different forms—as Sri Jwala Narasimha, Sri Yogananda, Sri Gandabherunda, Sri Ugra, and Sri Lakshminarasimha. All these five forms (roopas) are presently worshipped in the temple. They later manifested themselves into finely sculpted forms that came to be worshiped as Pancha Narasimha.