Thousand Pillars Temple in Warangal

There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Warangal (also known as Orugallu, and Ekasila Nagaram) is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh.

Warangal was the ancient capital of the Kakatiyas, an Andhra dynasty that flourished in the 12th century AD. The city stands out for its beautiful lakes, temples and wildlife. It is very rich in antiques and relics.

STORY BEHIND THE NAME OF WARANGAL:

The ancient name of Warangal was known to be Orugallu or Omtikonda ( 'Oru' means one and 'Kallu' means stone. The entire city was carved in a single rock, hence the name Orukallu meaning 'one rock') on account of huge boulder like hillock situated near the swayambhu Siva Temple and is also called "Ekasila nagaram". In course of time, it as called as "Orugallu", and finally known as Warangal.

With my Hyderabad friends

ARCHITECTURE:

Natya Mandapam Roof
1000 Pillar Temple

The Thousand Pillar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located in the city of Hanamakonda, Warangal. This temple is one of the finest examples of Kakatiya architecture and a testimony to the Vishwakarma Brahmin's excellence in sculpture. Built by Rudra Deva built in 1163 AD in the style of Chalukyan temple art, it is star shaped and triple shrined. Recently, when the archeological department was conducting excavations, they found a water well below the kalyanamandapam, which leads to the conclusion that the foundation of this wonderful structure was built on water!

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.



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, and has a majestic monolithic Nandi. The black basalt Nandi, a monolith, has a lovely polished finish.

There are many small lingam shrines surrounding the gardens. The temple is famous for its richly carved pillars, screens and detailed sculpture.

My friends: Yugandhar and Murali

PLACES TO SEE IN WARANGAL:

Warangal has many places, which attracts tourists in large number. It finds a reference in the travel diaries of Marco Polo.

• Warangal Fort
• Bhadra Kali Temple
• and so many

My friends

HOW TO GET THERE?

Step well

The Veyistambala gudi (or Thousand Pillars Temple) is located in Hanamkonda part of the Warangal City. It is about 6 kms away from Warangal Railway Station &Bus Stand and 9 kms away from Kazipet Railway Junction and is well connected by city bus service.

By Air :

• The nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad located 160 km away from Warangal.

By Rail:

• Kazipet Junction Railway Station in Kazipet, about 13 km from Warangal is a major railway junction on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route.
• Warangal Railway Station in Warangal is a station located on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route.

By Road

• There are two major bus stations in Warangal and Hanamakonda. Regular bus services are available (APSRTC) from Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Karimnagar, Khammam and other parts of Andhra Pradesh.