Padmakshi Temple is one of the oldest temples in the

Hanamakonda Hanumakonda is a major city and the district headquarters of Hanumakonda district in the Indian state of Telangana. Earlier Hanumakonda was a separate city, then merged in Greater Warangal now. The three urban cities Kazipet, Hanumakonda and ...

area of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

, India. It is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Padmakshi (Lakshmi), and also features

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

imagery. The site originally had a

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

cave temple, and a Jain shrine was established in 1117 CE, during the rule of the

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

chief Prola II, who was himself a Shaivite. Some time later, the Jain shrine was replaced by a Hindu temple. The Jains attempted to regain control of the site in the 19th century, but a commission set up the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

concluded that the site originally hosted a Hindu shrine.

History

The site originally had a

cave temple. The artificial caves, located to the west of the present-day temple, were probably carved before the 5th century CE, as they are almost identical to the early

Brahmanical The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

caves. A Jain shrine was probably added during the rule of the

Chalukyas of Vatapi The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

or the

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

. A 1117 CE inscription found at the temple records the construction of a Jain shrine named ''Kadalalaya- basadi'', and a gift of land to this shrine. The site probably already had Jain presence by this time. Mailama, the wife of the

minister Betana-pergada, commissioned the shrine. Medarasa of Ugravadi (Meda II), who held the office of ''Maha-mandaleshvara'', donated the land. Betana was a minister of the Kakatiya chief Prola II, who was a

and a vassal of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Ugravadi appears to be the name of a historical region comprising the present-day Mulugu and Narasampet

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s. Probably sometime after the 1156 CE, the Brahmanical shrine replaced the Jain shrine, possibly due to the influence of the

Veerashaiva Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or five ...

s. In the 19th century, the Jains appealed to the

to grant them the control of the site, arguing that it was originally a Jain shrine. The Nizam instituted a commission to investigate the Jain claim, and concluded that the earliest shrine at the site belonged to the Hindus. In 1869 CE, the Nizam granted land for the maintenance of the temple.

Architecture

An impressive feature of the temple is the four faces of the Annakonda pillar, which is a quadrangular column made of black granite stone at the temple's entrance. The temple has rich sculpture of the

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

s and other Jain gods and goddesses. Once a year, Lakhs of women arrive to celebrate the famous

Bathukamma Bathukamma is a flower-festival celebrated by the women of Telangana and some parts of Andhra Pradesh . Every year this festival is celebrated as per the Sathavahana calendar for nine days starting on Pitru Amavasya, which usually coincides wi ...

festival and immerse flowers in the pond at the foot of the Padmakshi hillock. Painting of Godess Padmakshi.jpg, Painting of Goddess Padmakshi at Padmakshi Gutta Jain Tirthankara Relief at Padmakshi Gutta 02.jpg, Statue of Parshvantha File:Jain Tirthankara Reliefs at Padmakshi Gutta 04.jpg, Jain Tirthankara reliefs at Padmakshi Gutta Jain Tirthankara Reliefs at Padmakshi Gutta 05.jpg, Jain Tirthankara reliefs at Padmakshi Gutta File:Jaina Inscriptions at Padmakshi Temple 01.jpg, Jain Tirthankara reliefs at Padmakshi Gutta

References

{{Warangal topics Hanamkonda district Tourist attractions in Warangal Hindu temples in Telangana Jain temples in Telangana 12th-century Jain temples Lakshmi Lakshmi temples