The cultural and historical revamp of the holy shrine, Sri Lakshminarsimha Swamy temple, taken up by the State government, will be in the tradition of Sri Vaishnavism, combined with the legacy of the Kakatiya dynasty.
With more than 500 sculptors under the supervision of 20 temple architects, the Pancha Narsimha Kshetram' (after the deity appeared in five forms here) is built in all black granite. “All the Krishna Sila is bought from Gurijepalli quarries in Prakasham district. Best in quality, the stone would survive hundreds of years,” temple architect Sundar Rajan says.
“The design and construction is in adherence with Agama and Vaasthu sastras; each component is thoroughly vetted by the Chief Minister followed by Chinna Jeeyar Swamy,” Mr. Rajan asserts.
About 50 km away from Hyderabad, the shrine of Lord Vishnu’s incarnation, the temple sees devotees in large numbers despite lack of full amenities.
Excepting the Garbagriha (womb-house) of the temple, the previous construction was brought down 17 months ago. A make-shift facility of the temple near the original home is currently serving devotees.
“After the development, the temple complex would be able to accommodate one lakh devotees at any time,” says Executive Officer of the temple N. Geeta Reddy. The annual hundi collections would also increase from the present ₹80 crore, she says.
With seven months away from completion of phase-I (main temple), officials say 70% of sculpting and designing is ready. The carved idols will be available for public display in December when they are transported to the top of the hill.
Final design
The final design of the main temple, in rigid adherence to the precincts, however, was achieved by B. Anand Sai, temple artist for the project. “Every element in the temple is special. I had visited more than 50 Vaishnava temples and made sketches for six months,” he says.
According to Mr. Sai, one of the unique features of the temple is the 12 Alwar statues to be installed facing each other in the Mahamandapam (area after the sanctum and before the flag-staff).
Poet-saints to propagate bhakti path during the early medieval period, Alwars are believed to be those who permanently reside with Lord Vishnu in His abode.
Showing a fully ready statue at the workshop, a carved three-piece idol of Sri Andal (Godha Devi), the only woman among the 12 Alwars, he says “the concept of installing Alwars was idealised by Swamyji.”
Each statue measuring 18 feet in length weighs about 40 tonnes.“It is nowhere that all the Alwars are at one place. Only Nammalvar of Kurugoor will be in a sitting posture here,” the artist says.
Resting on the granite columns above all the Alwars in the first floor are Kakatiya pillars, of almost the same size as the ground ones. A 1,000-foot retaining wall will also feature panels of marching elephants, where sandstone is used and sculptors from Akshardham are being roped in for the task.
“A lot of importance was given to the intricate work of the pillars. It also avoids repetition in the design and conveys the architectural legacy of Telangana,” Mr. Sai says.
Lampshades, pole posts, use of lights, temple hundis and a three-level landscape designs are also inspired from the Kakatiya and Pallava dynasties.
The phase-I, which was to be ready by Dasara, would not be realised owing to “ground problems”, and the new deadline is the annual Brahmotsavam in March 2018.
“We have spent almost ₹ 300 crore so far, and a request for ₹ 500 crore will be made soon,” CEO of Yadadri Temple Development Authority G. Kishan Rao says.
