Kodandarama Temple is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple located in Gollala Mamidada in

Kakinada district Kakinada district is a district in the Coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Kakinada as its administrative headquarters, it was proposed on 26 January 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty six districts in the ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The temple is dedicated to

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, the seventh incarnation of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. It was built on the banks of Tulyabhaga (Antharvahini), a tributary of

Godavari The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...

. The temple is notable for its unique architecture and two huge

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...

s which stand at 160–170 feet (49–52 m) and 200–210 feet (61–64 m). The temple gopurams are adorned with intricately carved statues depicting scenes from ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', and ''Bhagavata''. The construction of the temple began in 1889 when brothers Dwarampudi Subbi Reddy and Rami Reddy donated land and built a small temple with wooden idols of Rama and

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

. A larger temple was built in 1939. The two gopurams were constructed in 1948–50 and 1956–58. The temple is also known as 'Chinna Bhadradi' or the 'Little

Bhadrachalam Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with the Bhadrachalam Temple of Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari River. It is located east of sta ...

'. It is one of the two most popular Rama temples in Andhra Pradesh along with Kodandarama temple in Vontimitta.

Sri Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one of the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and h ...

is the most prominent festival celebrated at the temple and features an annual wedding ceremony of Rama and Sita. Other important festivals celebrated at the temple are

Vaikunta Ekadasi Vaikuntha Ekadashi () is a Hindu occasion and festival. It is primarily observed by Vaishnavas, who regard it to be a special ekadashi. It coincides with Mokshada Ekadashi or Putrada Ekadashi. It is observed on the 11th lunar day of the waxi ...

and Vijayadasami.

Location

Kodandarama Temple is situated in Gollala Mamidada village in Pedapudi Mandal of

in Andhra Pradesh. The temple is located at a distance of 25 km from

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

, 45 km from

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

, 85 km from

Tuni Tuni is a City in Kakinada district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a second biggest City in Kakinada district. Freedom fighter Alluri Sitaramaraju studied here. It is a major commercial marketing centre for more than 200+ sur ...

and 180 km from

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

. Also located in the same village is the Suryanarayana Temple, a

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

temple.

The temple

The construction of the temple began in 1889 by brothers Dwarampudi Subbi Reddy and Rami Reddy who donated land and built a small temple with wooden idols of Rama and Sita. A larger temple was built in 1939. The east and west gopurams were built in 1948–50 and 1956–58 respectively. The east-facing gopuram is 160–170 feet high and has nine storeys and five

kalasam A ''kalasha'' () is a finial, generally in the form of metal or stone spire, used to top the domes of Hindu temples. Kalashas as architectural feature has been used at least before the first millennium BCE and were made of terracotta and wo ...

s. The west-facing gopuram is 200–210 feet high and has 11 storeys and five kalasams. A mirror hall (''addala mandapam'' in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

) was built between the two mandapams, above the

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, in Latin texts, this generally refers to the holiest place of t ...

in 1975. The mirror hall has a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

relief of ''Sri Rama Pattabhishekam'' (coronation of Rama) on one side and of Rama blessing Hanuman on the other side. The garbhalayam contains the idols of Rama,

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

, and Sita along with

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. There are intricately carved statues depicting scenes from

, and

Bhagavatam The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one o ...

on the four sides of the gopurams in each floor. The ''

Sikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

'' of the temple is carved with statues depicting ''Bala Ramayana'' (childhood of Rama). Devotees can reach the top storey of the gopurams through a 300-step climb. Around 200 metres from the temple is a ''Pushkarini'', a small pond of water sourced from the Tulyabhaga river. Water from the Pushkarini is used in various religious ceremonies at the temple.

Festivals

is the most prominent festival celebrated at the temple. It features an annual wedding ceremony of Rama and Sita. The

District Collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

along with the local MLA and their spouses offer silk clothes to the presiding deities on the occasion. After the wedding ceremony, the

murti In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...

s are taken in a procession across the streets. A grand offering of food (''Annadanam'') is made to the devotees on the occasion. Other important festivals celebrated at the temple are

and Vijayadasami.

Gallery

File:Sri Rama Temple in Gollala Mamidada, East Godavari.JPG File:Sri Rama temple,Gollumamidada A.P - panoramio (5).jpg File:Sri Rama temple,Gollumamidada A.P - panoramio (2).jpg File:Sri Rama temple,Gollumamidada A.P - panoramio (6).jpg File:Sri Rama temple,Gollumamidada A.P - panoramio (3).jpg File:Sri Rama temple,Gollumamidada A.P - panoramio.jpg File:Kodanda Ramalayam , G. Mamidada.jpg File:Aerial view of Gollala Mamidada Town.jpg

References

{{Vishnu temples Hindu temples in Kakinada district Tourist attractions in Andhra Pradesh Rama temples