Warangal: The Kakatiya Keerthi Thoranam at Inavolu which was discovered recently after 900 years is being erected on the North side of the temple. The foundation works began at the temple and the erection of the thorana is expected to be completed by the end of February. The fully carved pillars belong to the 12th century when the temple was built.
The thoranam pieces were not assembled and put up near the temple for unknown reasons and have been lying around unnoticed for 900 years. Some of the carved structures were found buried underground. “These rock pillars were ready to be installed but for some reason, they were not brought to the temple and remained there for so long,” said temple priest Madhu Sharma.
“At present, the temple has only two pillars on the east and south entrances. On the north side, the keerthi thoranam was not installed but the rock pillars were put there. They have remained there since long. We have written to the Archaeology Department to erect the newly found thoranam at the temple and they have begun the works three days back. They calculated the distance and depth at which the thoranam has to be set up and marked the location,” he said.
The temple is a preserved monument of the state Archaeology and Museums Department. However, the works are being carried out without the monitoring of the department officials. Much against the rules, a JCB machine is being used to dig the ground. When this correspondent tried to contact the concerned officials they were unavailable on phone. In Warangal there is no permanent assistant director. An AD from Hyderabad was appointed as the incharge.
The Inavolu temple was built by a minister, Ayyanna Deva, of Kakatiya Kingdom during the 12th century. The Kakatiya Keerti Thoranams stood as the symbol of the historic Kakatiyan rule. It is said that the Keerthi Thoranam seen today at Padmakshi temple in Hanamkonda was the oldest known thoranam built by Kakatiyas. Later, these thoranams were constructed at Inavolu and then at Warangal Fort.
