Thousand Pillar Temple

Built in 1163 under Rudra Deva, the temple at Hanamkonda is laid out on a star-shaped plan with three shrines, to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, opening off a common hall, a triple arrangement the Kakatiyas favoured. Its pillars are polished dark stone, dolerite and granite, carved and finished to a reflective surface, and a monolithic Nandi sits in the courtyard. The kalyana mandapa, the pillared hall in front, had subsided over centuries and was taken apart in the 2000s and rebuilt from its original stones on a sand-box foundation.

History

The temple, also called the Rudreswara Swamy Temple, was built by order of the Kakatiya king Rudra Deva and is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, a triple shrine known as the Trikutalayam. It was desecrated during the Tughlaq invasion of the Deccan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, later gave a grant of one lakh rupees towards its reconstruction, and it is on UNESCO's tentative list together with the Warangal Fort and the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam (Wikipedia, Thousand Pillar Temple).

The main sights

• The triple shrine - three sanctums opening off one hall on a star plan.
• The polished pillars - carved dolerite and granite finished to a shine.
• The monolithic Nandi - the bull cut from a single block in the courtyard.
• The rebuilt hall - the mandapa taken apart and reassembled from its own stones.

When to go

October to March; Telangana summers are severe. The temple is in worship and closes in the middle of the day. Mornings are quietest.

Practical notes

Despite the name there are nowhere near a thousand pillars. Photography inside the shrines is restricted. The temple sits on a busy road with limited parking.

Nearby

Warangal fort lies southeast; Ramappa is northeast.

Key facts