Thread by @ancient_bharat

Ramappa - The Temple of Dance
#ramappatemple
The Ramappa group of temples were built in 1213 CE, Situated in village of Palampet,Telangana.
Temple complex was built by Recharla Rudra,chief of army of Ganapatideva.
Complex is named after main architect Ramappa Stapathi.
#Ramappa

https://twitter.com/UNESCO/status/1419253703115169794

These temples are filled with sculptures that can easily be counted among the masterpieces of Indian sculptural art, and they create a perfect balance between the two ancient art forms prevalent in India: architecture and sculpture.

The most magnificent jewel in the Kakatiyan crown of temple architecture is the Rameshwara temple within the #Ramappa temple complex, in Palampet.

The beauty of this temple is mesmerising;

like a beautiful verse carved in stone, frozen for posterity.

- The Kakatiyan Dynasty

A look at our history will show that architecture and sculpture were two distinctive forms of art, and developed as such from the ancient times.

And The two became intertwined;

As beautiful figures were sculpted on temple walls during the Pallava& Chalukyan period,
A practice later adopted by the Chalukyan vassals:the Kakatiyans.

As the Kakatiyas declared their independence and slowly turned into a dominant ruling dynasty of the Andhradesa, their architecture and sculpture, which evolved simultaneously over the three centuries of their rule, merged seamlessly into each other.

This is evident in their various temples, which are filled with exquisite figures covering each pillar, wall, door panel, door jamb, lintel, and ceiling;

Beautiful sculptures fill the door jambs and pillars of Kakatiyan temples

The Ramappa temples, which are of the prefabricated type, is built of red and white tinged sandstone and show beautiful brick shikharas and ardhashikharas in front, keeping in line with the Chalukyan pattern.

The Ramappa Temple Bricks🪨 Float On Water🌊

The special feature of these temples is the use of feather lite spongy BRICKS THAT FLOAT ON WATER!

A man made ancient Bharat's🇮🇳 technological ingenuity of the 13th century.

#Ramappa #ramappatemple

Another innovation seen in these temples is the use of sand- box technology, where the foundation pit was topped with sand that would act as a support or cushion during earthquakes, thus protecting the structures.

The garbagriha of the Kateswara temple is a trikuta, commonly seen in many Kakatiyan temples, a style that was earlier developed by the Chalukyans.

The 12 bracket figures of the madanikas in the Rameswara temple bring out the best in the Kakatiyan sculptural art,
reflecting the skilled artistry of that period that could use chisels on black basalt and carve out exquisite figures in graceful rhythmic poses.

These slim, tall, and graceful madanikas along with other female figures inside the temple in varying dance poses became the inspiration for a dance treatise known as Nrityaratnavali that was written by Jayasenapati, a Kakatiyan army general.

Dancers on pillars. Maybe they once adorned the pillars around the circular rangamandapas.

The temple wall friezes show four petalled flowers, half moons on outer edges, single figures lined between two pillars, elephants, lions, etc.

The single figures show females doing their hair, donning a saree, applying vermilion on foreheads, huntresses, chawrie bearers, drummers, mithuna couples,
Saivite devotees,
Bhairava, Surya,
dancing Ganesh,
Narasimha,
soldiers with shields, and
Jain tirthankaras.

Unlike the voluptous Hoyala madanikas and the typical beauties of the classical Indian art, these madanikas/salabhanjikas exhibit slim and tall figures in graceful poses; however their faces that have noticeably large eyes, are rather wooden with no emotions.

Not all madanikas are dancers; one is a nagini;

one is a huntress with a bow and arrow;

one is a drummer;

and two are jaganmohinis.

Besides the salabhanjikas/madanikas, there are gajasimhas on basalt brackets all around the mandapa that form the royal insignia of the Kakatiyas.

On the two sides of the three mandapa entrances there are women figures in different postures; a huntress, a salabhanjika, among others

Jaali work on the entrance door to the antarala has circles that are formed by creepers encircling dancers and drummers.

Women in a palm grove, seen at the lower part of the door jamb

The rangamandapa inside is a circular, raised, single black stone, and has exquisitely carved pillars on four sides with intricately sculpted roof that speaks of various stories,

where we see a king standing with a sword while women holding parrots surround him.

The different sculptures on pillars and ceilings shows
the astadikpalas,

& The tales of the samudramanthana (the devas are seen with halos while the asuras do not show any)

Shiva’s marriage,

the killing of Gajasura, vastraharana,
and many other tales from the Hindu epics.

QUOTE ON THE TEMPLE

The temple is a Sivalayam, where Lord Ramalingeswara is worshipped.

Marco Polo, during his visit to the Kakatiya
Empire, called the temple

"the brightest star in the galaxy of temples".

The Kakatiyan ERA was synonymous with wealth and prosperity of the common people,
large-scale developments that included turning forest tracts into fertile farmlands with the help of innumerable large man -made tanks,
and prosperous overseas trading with many foreign countries.

Thus, the lives of common people were filled with joy and contentment,
& it is this feeling that we see reflecting in the sculptures.

Almost 1000 years later, when we now see these temple sculptures,
we witness a historical documentation,
an actual glimpse into a society and
its people whose lives once resonated with happiness and prosperity.

Now,Who were the Kakatiyas?
From two stone inscriptions it is learnt that the Kakatiyas got their name from a place called Kakatipura,
which is a place where the Cholas once ruled & where the temples of Ekavira devi & Kakati devi / Kakatamma (Chamunda of the saptamatrikas) stand.

It is also believed that the Kakatiyas worshipped the Kakati devi,
from whom the family name may have been derived.

Some epigraphical evidences suggest that the Kakatiyas belonged to some Rashtrakuta clan, hence they were Sudras (Chaturdhakulajas),with claims to Kshatriya-hood based on their warrior like activities.

Devi Chamunda or Kakati devi (Kakatamma)🙏 from whom the Kakatiya dynasty was likely to have derived its name, 13th century, Kolunapaka

Kakatiyan lineage:

870-895 CE – Gundaya’s reign as Rashtrakuta vassal

895-940 CE ~ Ereya’s reign as Rashtrakuta vassal

The Mangallu inscription in 956 CE shows Kakatiyan Gundyana fighting under the Eastern Chalukya king; hence likely their vassal (noticeably the inscription doesn’t place the prefix Rashtrakuta before Gundyana’s name showing the disconnect with the clan)

973 CE ~ Collapse of Rashtrakutas

996-1052 CE ~ Beta I installed as king of Annumakonda or Hanamkonda by Erana and his wife Kamaseni (Beta I’s sister)

1052-1076 CE
Prola I rules as Kalyani/Western Chalukyan vassal under king Trilokyamalla Someswara.
The latter gave official ruling rights of Hanumakonda to Prola I (which was already bestowed upon him by his aunt Kamaseni)
after Prola fought a successful battle against the Cholas

1076-1110 CE ~ Beta II rules as Kalyani Chalukyan vassal of king Tribhuvanamalla Vikramditya

1110-1158 CE ~ Prola II rules as Kalyani Chalukyan vassal

1158 CE ~
As the Western Chalukyas fall from power,
Rudradeva or Prataparudra I declares his independence,
and becomes the first independent ruler of the Kakatiyan dynasty.

He rules as the first king of the Kakatiya dynasty until 1195 CE.

1195-1198 CE ~
Mahadeva rules.
He dies in a war in 1198 CE and his young son Ganapatideva is imprisoned.
Later Jaitugi of the Yadavas set him free, and Ganapatideva comes under loyal guardianship of his faithful vassal Recherla Rudra.

1199 -1262 CE Ganapatideva rules.

In 1262 he hands over his throne to his daughter Rudrammadevi.

In 1269 Ganapatideva dies.

The painting represents the court of Rani Rudramma of the Kakatiya dynasty meeting Marco Polo,
who was representing the Mongol king Kublai Khan (13th CE).
Marco Polo is shown accompanied by Chinese & Mongol representatives,
And they are carrying gifts of silk & Chinese pottery.

Here the Rani and her throne has been painted based on the image of Indrani in Ellora,
while the two huge gold makaras are based on the two makaras seen on top of Yamuna in Ellora.
The queen’s crown shows the Nataraja carved in emerald, which depicts her as a Shaivite.

In 1289 Rudrammadevi dies in a battle along with her loyal Senani Mallikarjuna Nayakudu.

In 1289 Prataparudra II starts his rule.

He was Rudrammadevi’s grandson (daughter’s son), brought up by the queen herself and trained as her successor.

In 1323 CE
After a fifth time invasion of Kakatiya kingdom by Mohammed bin Tughlaq,

the capital of the Kakatiyas, Warangal finally falls.

Prataprudra II was taken a prisoner, and while being taken to Delhi he commits suicide by drowning in the Narmada river.

Remains inside the Warangal fort.

Standing prominently is a Kirti thorana of the Kakatiyas.

The fort was completely DESTROYED by Mohammed bin Tughlaq’s army in 1323 CE.

In 1323 CE Kakatiya rule comes to an end.

As the loyal vassals of the Kakatiyas, the Nayakas, snatch power back from Delhi and take over.

Prataprudra II’s brother Annamdeo moves to Bastar with his army in 1324 CE,

And carves a kingdom there, which is held by his successors until 1947.

The last direct descendant of the Kakatiya dynasty was maharani Prafulla kumari who reigned from 1921 to 1936.

She was married to Prafulla Chandra Bhanjadeva of Mayurbhanj.

Raja Kamal Chandra bhanja deva is still held as the king of Bastar by the locals.

All five Islamic invasions faced by the Kakatiya kingdom took place during King Prataprudra II’s rule.

The deadliest attack was launched during the second attack by Alauddin Khilji’s army under Malik Kafur in 1309,

when different Kakatiyan cities, including Hanamkonda, were brutally DESTROYED by Khilji’s army.

It was during this attack that Prataprudra II offered the Koh-i-noor diamond💎 to Khilji in exchange for peace.

Yes, The Kohinoor💎 came from "Kollur Mine" in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh,
during the reign of The Kakatiya dynasty in 13th century in the Bhadrakali Temple.

1000 pillared temple complex in Hanamkonda.
The temple complex was started by Rudradeva-1163
& completed by Ganapatideva-1213
Rudrammadevi came here everyday from Warangal Fort to pray

This temple & ENTIRE CITY faced massive DESTRUCTION under Malik Kafur (Khilji's)army (1309 CE)

Did the Kakatiyas rule well?
The Kakatiyas emerged as the most powerful rulers during 12th -13th CE,in the entire Telugu land.
Their rule ushered in many new bearings in politics& administration,agriculture (especially in terms of irrigation),religion,literature,architecture&arts

While it is believed that originally they might have been Digambar Jains, their temples predominantly show their Shaivite beliefs.

The many conquests and good maintenance of their vast empire by the Kakatiyas; while encouraging growth of arts, literature, and temple architecture;

And simultaneously defending their kingdom from constant onslaughts of invading armies, place them foremost amongst the ruling dynasties of modern Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

They united the Andhradesa and bought all the telugu speaking people under a single umbrella, thus establishing a unique identity of the telugu people and their language.

During their 3 centuries rule, the Kakatiyas focused on developing the three Ts : Town, Temple, and Tank.

Keeping the basic monarchical form, the Kakatiyas gave great importance to decentralisation of authority by distributing power horizontally to their subordinates (thus creating central, provincial, and local levels of administration).

Owing to their continued policy of developing widespread tank irrigation, the kingdom at this time saw unprecedented economic prosperity.

This led to large-scale trade activities, and development of many new trade guilds.

Motupalli at that time was a well known sea port of the Kakatiyas.

Marco Polo, the famous traveller visited the Kakatiya kingdom during the rule Rudramma devi,

via Motupalli, and in his travel diary praised the prosperity of this kingdom.

Owing to the relentless focus of the Kakatiyas on building INNUMERABLE TANKS for irrigation purposes

The arid region turned fertile&remains so even to THIS DAY

Extensive farmlands across to horizonare green& yellow with growing crop-heads of paddy,cotton,lentils,maize&sugarcane

Many such large tanks for facilitating irrigation were built under royal patronage during the Kakatiyan era.

Those tanks are still in use!! after 1000 years!

Most of the temple and tank construction projects took place during Ganapatideva’s rule, while his successors Rudrammadevi and Prataprudra II spent their lifetimes fighting invasions.

Innumerable majestic temples were built under the supervision of Ganapatideva and his loyal general Recherla Rudra,

which included the well known
Ghanpur temples and tank,
Ramappa temples and tank,
Laknavaram tank, and
Pakhal tank,
amongst many others.

The Kakatiyan temples predominantly are dedicated to Shiva, and follow the Ekakuta, Trikuta, or Panchakuta plan. The sculptural art of this time gives us an idea of the socio-religious atmosphere of that era.

A favourite theme in temple sculptures of this time were stories from various epics, such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavat Gita, and the Puranas.

The artisans would take inspiration from these texts and transfer their imaginations onto stone sculptures on temple walls and panels, making it easily available for the viewing and understanding of the common people.

The Andhradesa society during the Kakatiya era also saw some religious movements associated with Jainism, Buddhism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

The Kakatiya rulers provided their citizens with stability, security, and economic prosperity;

while ushering in art and architectural growth, and literary development, which was unique and unheard of previously.

The cultural roots sown by the Kakatiyas can still be seen and felt in the innumerable tanks and temples built by them that still dot the area.

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