Madhavaraya Temple is a 16th century

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

located in the Gandikota Fort, in the

Kadapa district YSR Kadapa district is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In the 2022 reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh districts, the district boundary was largely restricted to the Kadapa parliamentary constituency area. ...

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 ...

. Dedicated to

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

("Madhava"), it is also known as Madhava Perumal Temple or Madhavaraya Swamy Temple. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

has designated it as a

Monument of National Importance A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

History

An analysis of the art and architectural features of the temple suggests that it was built in the first quarter of the 16th century. Epigraphic evidence also confirms this: the earliest reference to the temple is found in 16th century inscriptions. Several 16th century inscriptions from the Vijayanagara period have been discovered at Gandikota. One of these states that several individuals, including a man named Papa Timmaraju, paid obeisance to the god Madhava-raya ("Lord

") and offered a garland (''tomala'') to the god.

Art and architecture

The temple is located within the Gandikota Fort, to the south of the local Jumma Masjid. It is surrounded by a

prakara A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. ...

in a rectangular courtyard. The east side has the entrance, and a pillared

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

runs along the other sides. The pillars feature

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

-style
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s. The main ''
gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' (Tamil language, Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu language, Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Malayalam language, Malayalam: ഗോപുരം) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate ...
'' (tower) gateway is located in the east, with narrower entrances in the other three directions. Its ornate platform ('' adhishthana'') has carvings of creepers, flowers, lotus petals, elephants, warriors,
vyala Yali (, ), also called Vyāla (), is a South Indian mythological creature, portrayed with the head and the body of a lion, the trunk and the tusks of an elephant, and sometimes bearing equine features. Images of the creature occur in many ...
s, and other figures. The projections of the lower portions of the ''adhishthana'' contain figures of various deities, including Venugopala,
Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...
,
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 ( ...
,
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
,
Ganapati Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hi ...
, and Yoga Narasimha. The two vertical projections at the entrance feature a row of figures of deities and two identical sculptures of Vishnu. The ''gopura'' has four levels (''talas''), and its ''
shikhara ''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 ...
'' (top) has fallen. The central passage of the gateway features carvings of ''dvara-palaka''s (male door-keepers) and female figures standing under creepers. The central pillars on the sides of the passage have
brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
with vyala figures. The ceiling has lotus medallion at the centre, and other decorative motifs including tortoise, fish, and lizards. A kitchen hall is located in the south-east corner of the courtyard. Its pillars have roll and leaf corbels, and the ceiling has gaps to provide ventilation. The doorway has decorative figures of creepers, flowers, lotus petals, and ''dvara-palika''s (female door-keepers) carrying lotuses. A
mandapa A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...
with six pillars is located in front of the kitchen hall. A wedding hall (''kalyana-mandapa'') with 16 pillars is located in the south-west corner of the courtyard. Another ''mandapa'' is located in the north-east corner of the courtyard: it was probably used as a shrine dedicated to the nine planets (''navagraha-mandapa'') or a site to celebrate a festival of the main deity. Its doorways feature carvings of creepers, flowers, lotus petals, and '' Gaja-Lakshmi'' motifs. A shrine with an oblong '' garbha-griha'' is also located in the north-east portion, to the east of the ''navagraha-mandapa''. It has no images now, but was probably dedicated to
Alvars The Alvars () are the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused '' bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They are venerated in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the ...
or
Saptarishi The Saptarshi ( ) are the seven seers of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature such as the Skanda Purana. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Br ...
s. Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0095.jpg , The ''
gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' (Tamil language, Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu language, Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Malayalam language, Malayalam: ഗോപുരം) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate ...
'' gateway Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0079.jpg , Ceiling of the ''gopura'' gateway MadhavarayaSwamyTemple-GandikotaFort-AndraPradesh-DSC 0409.jpg , ''mandapa'' pillars with ''gopura'' in background Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0080.jpg , A sculpture Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0088.jpg , ''
Vyala Yali (, ), also called Vyāla (), is a South Indian mythological creature, portrayed with the head and the body of a lion, the trunk and the tusks of an elephant, and sometimes bearing equine features. Images of the creature occur in many ...
'' rider Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0089.jpg , ''
Surasundari In Indian art, a surasundari () is a young maiden characterizing feminine beauty and graceful sensuality. Buddhist and Jain shrines have featured sensual figures in form of yakshis and other spirits since 2nd century BCE. However, the surasundar ...
'' Madhavaraya Swamy Temple Gandikota Kadapa Andhra Pradesh PIC 0097.jpg , Elephant line drawing The main temple at the centre comprises the following parts from east to west: a ''maha-mandapa'' (large pavilion), a ''mukha-mandapa'' (small pavilion), an ''
antarala ''Antarala'' (Sanskrit: अन्तराल; ) is a small antechamber or foyer between the ''garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum ...
'' (antechamber), and a ''garbha-griha'' (the location of the main deity). The pillared ''maha-mandapa'' is a rectangular hall measuring 18.29 m x 13.72 m. It has several decorative motifs and vyala brackets with riders. It has figures of deities (including Vishnu and Surya),
rishis In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "g ...
(sages), a woman, animals, and dwarfs playing musical instruments (such as drums, cymbals and flute). The upper portion of the beams has figures of male and female dancers, which suggests that the ''maha-mandapa'' may have been used as a stage for dance and music performances in honour of the deity. The ''mukha-mandapa'' is a slightly rectangular hall measuring 11.18 m X 9.14 m. It has finely carved pillars with lotus corbels at the centre; a stone slab with female figures dancing as a group; brackets with vyala figures; and line drawings (including those of lion, lotus flowers, and monkeys). Its doorways feature ''dvara-palakas'' and ''Gaja-Lakshmi'', and the ceiling has a lotus medallion. The ''antarala'' has a doorway with carvings of creepers, flowers, lotus petals, ''dvara-palakas'', and ''Gaja-Lakshmi''. The ''garbha-griha'' is square-shaped, with each side measuring 4.12 m. It has a
pranala In Hindu temple architecture, a pranala (IAST: praṇāla) is a discharge outlet attached to the wall of the sanctum. It discharges the lustral water or other liquids poured over the idols. History The earliest evidence of the pranalas can ...
set in the north wall. The
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
above the ''garbha-griha'' no longer survives, and the image of the main deity is missing.

References

Bibliography
*

External links
* {{commons category inline, Madhavaperumal Temple, Gandikota Hindu temples in Kadapa district