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Bhadrakali Temple

The Bhadrakali Temple is a hilltop shrine between Warangal and Hanamakonda. One historian identifies its seated, many-armed goddess as Kakatamma, the guardian goddess of the Kakatiyas. No inscription in the sources consulted dates the temple.

Period
Undated. One historian attributes it to Rudrama Devi, and local tradition to the Chalukya period
Materials
A stone image in relief
Location
17.9949° N, 79.5831° E

Source of the position: OpenStreetMap way/331992247

Condition
In worship. The temple has been repaired several times (1964).
Two cream-and-gold tiered gateway towers rise above a long, low pillared hall. A paved forecourt with metal queue railings lies in front, under a clear blue sky.

Two tiered gateway towers rise above the Bhadrakali temple complex. The towers and the long hall between them appear to be recent work. Metal railings guide visitors across the paved forecourt.

Photo: Warangalite, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

A white tiered temple tower rises above trees on a stone-faced embankment at the edge of a wide lake. A small island and a distant rocky hill are visible across the water under a cloudy sky.

The Bhadrakali temple stands beside a wide lake. Its white tower rises above the trees. A stone embankment edges the water below the temple.

Photo: Harsha8398, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Detail

  • The temple stands on a hillock between Warangal and Hanamakonda. The stone goddess is seated, crowned and eight-armed, and holds weapons. The image is 2.7 metres high and 2.7 metres wide.District Census Handbook 1986
  • Gopalakrishna Murthy describes the image as a large painted Chamunda in relief, with a human body stretched beneath her seat. He notes that the temple and the image have been repaired several times.Gopalakrishna Murthy 1964
  • From that corpse seat, Gopalakrishna Murthy identifies the goddess as Kakatamma, the guardian goddess of the Kakatiyas. He reports a belief that the temple is due to Rudrama Devi.Gopalakrishna Murthy 1964
  • A heritage leaflet records a belief that Pulakesin II worshipped the goddess in 625 CE. The same leaflet states that Hari, a minister of Ganapati Deva, built the tank and the road to the temple. No inscription in the sources consulted supports either claim.HRIDAY Warangal leaflet
  • The Siddhesvara Charitra, a poem of about 1600, places the goddess Bhadresvari to the east of Siddhesvara at Hanumakonda. Its editor identifies her with Bhadrakali, whose temple stands on the tank called Bhadri Cheruvu.Siddhesvara Charitra (ed. 1960)

Also recorded as

  • Bhadrakali
  • Bhadra Kali
  • Sri Bhadrakali Devasthanam
  • Kakatamma

Sources