Nalgonda trip---part 1---- Chaya someshwaram ---- Road Trip to Spellbound Architectural wonder !!!!!

Area : Telangana state---Nalgonda district--- Panagal city

NH : Vijayawada-chennai highway

Journey : JNTUC---Hyderabad(26kms)---Panagal 104 kms (total 130kms)

Route: JNTU-Secunderabad-Tarnaka-Uppal-LB nagar- Hayatnagar- Ramoji film city--Choutuppal-Narketpally-Chervugattu-Nalgonda—Panagal –chayasomeshwaram

Travel time: in your own vehicle Maximum of  1&1/2 hrs travel

Date of Travel: 4th March 2016 (Sunday)

Temple timings: 6am -7pm (full day)

Photography :  allowed (no fee)

Trip members:   2

Vehicle :  Maruthi WagonR (friend vehicle)

Vicinity of nalgonda: can visit

• ·                  Chaya someshwaram
• ·                  Pachala someshwara swamy
• ·                  Panagal Archaeological historical Museum
• ·                  Cheruvugattu temple

Trip plan: was to cover Chaya someshwaram, pachala someshwara swamy temple, Museum, cheruvugattu temple trail.Planning  failed twice for this trip before, but this time around we made sure that we visit these places under any circumstances.

Etiquette:

•             Dress properly ,it is not the etiquette to visit a great mighty without a proper dress.
•       Keep your  cell phones in silent mode in temple premises.
•       Keep temple premises clean.
•       Try to explore the place and analyse the history of place.

Journey from hyderabad!!!

We Started at around 8:00 am from KPHB and at Padmarao nagar picked my friend, skirted over the traffic and  reached the outskirts of the city by 9:30 am. Four Lane roads here are wonderful; you can easily drive at 100KMPH. I think the timing was not correct for this tour as the climate was rather too hot for us to handle, but still we tried our best to complete the trip.We filled our car with Rs.1000/- petrol at Tarnaka and started our trip at 9:00 am. The traffic was normal  until uppal, there were some snarls at LB Nagar ring road from where we took left towards Vijayawada highway. Once we crossed Ramoji Film City the road was absolutely magnificent to drive towards our destination. There was one toll gate in between, where we have paid Rs.100/- for our up & down charges. Once you cross Narketpally, there is a flyover from where you should take right towards Nalgonda. We reached Nalgonda by 11:00 am in between with small tea break, Distance from Nalgonda to Panagal is 4kms. Pangal was a place of religious importance during Kunduru cholas and Kakatiya period. Chaya Someshwaram temple is on the outskirts of Panagal village which is at 1.5km away from Nalgonda-Chennai highway, where we find an arch.

The view when you enter Chaya Someshwaram is surreal; the temple is in between paddy fields on one side and burial ground on the other side.Once you reach the temple, on your left hand side you will find a lotus pond & on right you will find one of the architectural wonder “Chaya Someshwaram”.

We are welcomed here by the coconut vendors who gives you the pooja items that is required to perform archana inside the temple. We left our footwear at the temple entrance but were unable to walk on the mud road and even on  granite stones inside temple premises  which were laid in the ground & believe me I felt as if I was walking on a hot tawa.

Familiarity of place!!!

You can make it up from the name “Chaya Someshwaram” on what it is all about.

"CHAYA—means shadow (Telugu), the shadow of eight pillars unified as one falls over the main deity (lingam) is the highlight of the temple".

Who says science and Technology developed now?

Going back to 11^th century, where there is no science, no light & no technology. This temple comes as no surprise as there are many architectural marvels including this temple “Chaya Someshwaram”. This temple challenges the modern world if they can build a similar one?

Speaking about temple famous for?

Chaya Someshwaram temple is known as Tirukutalayam (means housing lord Vishnu, siva & sun) which belongs to ikshvaku dynasty. The temple is small, built with granite stones completely. There are eight pillars carved in front of the sacred chamber. The shadow of these eight pillars falls on the deity which looks like a shadow of one of pillars which falls over the main deity of lord siva (on lingam). This happens from sunrise to sunset without any shadow movement at any point of time.

It’s not actually shadow of any pillar, it’s purely related to light technology (physics) and  full whereabouts of traveling of light. In fact it needs the light source not the sunrays. The dark area (Shadow) is formed by the reflection of light through multiple pillars placed in front of sacred mandapa. This marvelous temple, architected by Kunduru Cholas who spreaded and ruled khammam, Mehabubnagar and Nalgonda as their kingdom during 1040 to 1240 A.D corroborates the intelligent thinking and scientific approach of its architects. The pillars in the temple are technically placed so that light falls at the same place without movement as long as light is present. The total Technology rendered here is not based on sunlight. The temple complex houses Siva, sun temple, Vishnu temple in different directions connected with single mandapam. There is a lake named “udaya samudram” which provides water resources for adjoining areas  was digged up by these Kunduru Cholas rulers. The inscriptions of those period tablets speak about this temple and later maintained by Kakatiya ruler Prathapa Rudra 1290 AD.

This picture gives you a very clear view of  the shadow when power is off and when the power is on we cannot visualize any shadow.

Architectural Wonder, Never before & Never again :-

Lord Siva situated west, facing east with relentless shadow of a pillar posture on the deity throughout day (without any movement according to sun).

No one has still made out as in which pillar makes a shadow on deity out of eight pillars present in the temple is still a mystery..

We tried testing it by touching all the pillars but still was not able to find your shadow on the deity.

There is another architectural wonder apart from the Chaya which fall on the temple. If you stand in front of the Siva Linga in the inner sanctum you will find your shadow divided into 2 postures  behind the wall of the deity.

Going inside the temple,

On right side of the Siva temple you will find Lord Vishnu temple, if we wave our hand standing in front of the deity it splits into 5 shadow postures.

Vishnu temple

At the entrance of the temple we see lord ganapathi and on the other side you have Naga deva idol. 

There is even sun temple opposite to siva temple. As hindu mythology tri-murthis means siva,Vishnu,bhrama but Kakatiya rulers are ardent followers of lord siva,Vishnu and sun,they don’t worship bhrama.

Unfortunately,

All the Nandi idols and other god idols are in a very bad share as they are not maintained properly. The temple authorities are taking measures to install new nandi in front of Lord Siva.

Pillars

The pillars of the temple are figured out by detail depict episodes from Ramayana & Mahabharatha.

With spellbound memories we started  our journey to cover Museum, not aware of the place ,but at main road we have seen big Venkateshwara swamy temple,fortunately we went into this temple ,where some locales guided us to go to Pachala Someshwara Swamy temple and backside there is  a museum, which is located exactly opposite to this temple.

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Nalgonda trip---halt 2

PACHALA SOMESHWARA SWAMY Temple

Temple timings: 6am -7pm (full day)

Pujari : B.Navin Sharma(9440248899) main pujari

             P.V.V Raja Sharma (9502524631)

Pachala Someshwara Swamy temple lies at a distance of 1km from Chaya Someshwaram temple and it is also very oldest temple built by kudumba dynasty  of Andhra kings ruled in this area with Panagal as its capital. Later Kakatiya rulers occupied Panagal in their kingdom.

The temple entrance is on north side and has a large rectangular mandapam (hall),which is divided into 4 rows with architectural pillars. From the entrance u see lord ganesh , lord Vishnu, lord bhrama & see lord siva situated side by side facing east side of the hall and there is Navagraha Mandapa at corner.

In middle of mandapa opposite to lord siva shrine (pachala someshwara swamy) an  impressive statue of big nandi is placed.

Here the pillars are beautifully carved by Ramayana episodes, wars done by lord Ganesh, thandava(dancing)Ganesh ,abduction of Sita, siva leela’s, Mahabharatha, dikpalakas etc.

Beautiful sculptures of gods are found outside the walls of temple. 

Done renovations to the temple without disturbing the originality of temple.

Out side the temple we see big dwajasthambha & broken big nandi ruins at one corner of the temple premises.

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Nalgonda trip---halt 3

Panagal Archaeological historical Museum (beside pachala someswaraswamy temple premises)!!!!!

Timings : 10.30 am to 5:00 pm (closed on Fridays & public holidays)

Entry fee: 3/- for adults and 1/- for children

It was built in 1982 in 3acres of land, 4kms away from nalgonda town .the temples here in panagal are built by kakatiya rulers and kunduru cholas. Collection of prehistoric tools, coins, bronzes, beads, arms, weapons, utensils, copper plate inscriptions & scripts of those periods &changes made in  scripts from all periods were preserved in Museum ranging from 2^nd century A.D to 18^th century A.D, collected from areas like vardamana kota, yeleswaram, phanigiri, panagal. The museum consists of various hindu gods , goddesses dating back to ikshavaku dynasty of 1^st century A.D which is just 1km away from the Chaya Someshwaram. Museum is situated behind the compound of Pachala Someshwara Swamy temple. While constructing Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, areas nearby mainly yeleswaram village were submerged with many of the sculptures, Siva lingas  and those were collected  and preserved in this museum.

Restaurants:

There are no good restaurants on the highway  but after crossing cheruvugattu there is  a subway & couple of typical Punjabi style restaurants.  I don’t suggest that this one is best but can say adjustable to have something in hunger,but we prepared ourselves to have  food in Hyderabad so  we moved on to Hyderabad.

Heading towards cheruvugattu

It was almost  noon 1:30 Pm  with entrenched spell bound memories, we started our journey from Panagal to cover cheruvugattu temple.

Temples (both chaya someswaram & pachala someshwara swamy) needs to ensure proper administration and protection of the architectural Renaissance.

Quick Info!!! 

• Chaya someshwara swamy temple is an hour's drive from hyderabad. 
• You will find bus connectivity to go  to Nalgonda from hyderabad and nearer cities. 
• It is a great place for the people interested in Architectures. 
• Last but not least save our heritage.