The Archaeology and Museums Department has discovered an ancient Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Dwaraka Nagar of Chandarlapadu mandal in Krishna district.
The temple, dating to the 16th century A.D., was found when a team led by Assistant Director of Archaeology and Museums Department S. Bangaraiah went to inspect Sri Someswara Swamy temple atop a hill abutting Krishna River at Gudimetla village of Chandarlapadu in Nandigama. “While visiting the Sri Someswara Swamy temple, we noticed a small structure on a hillock and went there only to find an ancient Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple,” said Mr. Bangaraiah.
Unidentified persons had partially damaged statues of ‘Dwarapalakulu’ at the entrance of the main shrine. The lintel beam and ‘kalasa’ portion of the temple were also found broken, while the rest of the structure remained intact. Hanging lotus buds, ‘makaras’ (crocodiles) and floral designs reflect the style of Vijayanagara regime, according to Mr. Bangaraiah. It’s an 80-km drive to the temple from Vijayawada.
According to Museum officials, the Revenue Department authorities are verifying details of the temple with the records available with them to submit a report to Mr. Bangaraiah who will, in turn, send a compliance report to the head office in Hyderabad before it is forwarded to the government.
The government will issue a notice inviting objections, if any, in 90 days before declaring the religious structure a protected monument under the control of the Archaeology and Museums Department.
Senior officials said that both Sri Someswara Swamy temple and Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple have huge potential to develop them into tourism spots as they were located on the hillocks facing the Krishna River. The other side of the river is Thullur, where the new capital for the State is coming up.
