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Warangal is a
district of beautiful lakes, magnificent temples and rich flora and fauna. Warangal is the headquarters
of this district, has always been an important industrial and cultural centre.
Once the capital of the great Kakatiya Kingdom. It is a town mentioned in Marco
Polo's travel diaries.
Warangal Fort: It is 12km from Hanamkonda, this fort was built during the 13th century by the Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva and his daughter Rudramma. Warangal's main attraction is the enormous, abandoned mud-brick fort, which has a
terrific atmosphere and many interesting features. Carved atones from wrecked Chalukyan temples are set indiscriminately in the massive stone walls which form a distinct fortification almost a km inside the outer mud
walls. The remains of four huge stone gateways, similar to those of Sanchi and several exquisite pieces of sculpture can be seen. Rich ,intricate
sculpture on walls, pillars, brackets and ceilings will captivate you.
Thousand Pillars Temple:
Preched elegantly on the slopes of the
hills at Hanmkonda, the Thousand Pillars Temples is a fine specimen of kakatiya architecture and
sculpture. Built by Rudra Deva in 1163 AD in the Chalukyan style, the star-shaped,
triple-shrined temple is dedicated to shiva, vishnu and surya. The temple is notable for its richly carved pillar, perforated screens and
exquisite icons, specially impressive are the rockcut elephants and the Nandi statue is reminiscent of a turbulent yet glorious history. The black basalt Nandi, a monolith, has a lovely polished finish. We were the only people visiting this Jain temple. It was totally silent, save for the wind that gently swayed the bells that hung from the peaks of the roof.
Bhadrakali Temple : Situated a top a hillock between Hanamkonda and Warangal, it is famous for stone image of the
goddess. Eight-armed, with a weapon in each hand, she is shown in a sitting posture. The 2.7 mts tall stone image of the deity is the main attraction here. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali, the
Grant mother Goddess, with fierce looking eyes and face. The main attraction of the temple is the stone image of the
diety in human form, in sitting posture, wearing a crown and having eight hands holding various weapons.
About 1 km from the 1000-pillared temple is the Hanamkonda fort. Within the fort is the Siddeshwara temple. It contains a small Linga shrine.
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