Hyderabad: Sri Ranganayaka Swamy Devalayam is in Mogiligidda town, around 50 km away from Hyderabad, in Ranga Reddy district. But once you reach this village, it is not easy to find this temple.
After driving through the dirt lanes overgrown with “sarkar tumma” more commonly known as the Velvet Mesquite, one suddenly comes upon this white-washed, small and old-looking temple looked after by a priest and his very young wife Sri Navya.
The hereditary priests here say that the temple has existed since more than 800 years. The current priest Ramakrishnacharyalu says that his father Rajagopalacharyalu was the founder of this temple’s trust. The father and son duo perform daily pujas.
Sri Ranganayaka and his consorts and the utsava ‘murthy. ( Image: Anuradha Reddy )
Before Rajagopalacharyalu, his father Rangacharyalu and before him, Rangacharyalu’s father used to pray and worship at the temple.
The first generation priest here was called Samavedam Rangacharyalu and his wife was Janakamma. Once the trust was formed, the temple’s development became the priority.
The temple has a north gate that opens for Vaikuntha Ekadasi. Sri Ranga faces the south, facing the village with three fingers resting on his chest, known as the ‘chin mudra’. It is as if he is announcing that he wants to protect humanity. The idol is made of black stone. Along with this, there are two idols of Sridevi and Bhudevi. The ‘Prabhavali’, seen around the main idol, is also very old and made of black stone.
Aandal Amma is located in a separate sanctum sanctorum. Another legend says that this temple could be 1,100 years old and might have been built during the Chola times.
A Chola raja had a vision of the Lord and the icon was apparently found between the two villages. The current generation priests in the temple, though hereditary, were taught at the Chinna Jeeyar Swamy Vedic Academy. They follow the Pancharatra Agama like Lord Narayana himself.
Unlike many other temples, there are 162 acre of arable land which had earlier been given on lease before it was auctioned by the Endowments Department. But, between four brothers, they had 60 acres which is just enough for the family.
The priests also do not get any salary or money for dhoopam/deepam and Naivedyam. But the temple is kept clean. Though small, it is compact and the interior has not changed. In fact, the main idol is very small, befitting the size of the temple.
There are 24 stone pillars in the temple and it is built on a raised level, atop a rock. A beautiful bell hangs low from the ceiling with a written legend that has worn off over time. The little that can be read was done by epigraphist Suryakumar and he said that it is Saranam Samsaram and it is in 17th century local Telugu script. There is a number 1730 which could signify the local unit of weight of the bell and while it was gifted to the temple on a Sunday, the name of the donor is not clear and ends with an ‘Ayya’. “While people from the village attend festivals, when it comes to funding it is only the urban dwellers who contribute,” the priest said.
The Bhoodan movement or land gift movement was a voluntary land reform movement in India that was started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village in Telangana. He later visited this temple in 1956 and worshipped here when Boroogulu Ramakrishna Rao was the Chief Minister.
There are two big ‘Pogadu Chettus’ (temple towers), one in the front of the temple and one behind, with Bakula flowers favoured highly by Namalwars. There are two Konerus (temple tank), one is far away while the the other one, though charming, has been completely blocked by falling leaves and other mulch. They use a motor to draw water from this. Veera Aanjeneya and Bhakta Aanjeneya are the two ‘Kshetra palakas’.
Purushotamacharyalu is the uncle of the priest’s family and knows a bit about the temple. He was a language teacher at Tandur and said, “Since there is no road, it becomes a bit unsafe to travel after 5 pm. Since there is an arch at the beginning of the road in the village, people are now aware that there is a temple inside this village. This arch too was built only two years ago.”
The Deshmukhs and Reddys in the village claim that the land belongs to them and the fight is continuous. Borewells were not successful here and so the village basically depends on rains.
“Apart from very bad and unsafe roads, the ‘sarkar tumma’ plants should be removed and lights must be sanctioned for the devotees,” he said.
Purushotamacharyalu said that the TRS government had sanctioned Rs 17 lakh for development work but no one has any idea when the money will come. “The Congress in those days sanctioned Rs 42 lakh but it lost power and there is no money coming from their side now,” he adds. So, in essence, the hereditary priests here have to travel to Hyderabad to make a living doing puja, but they cannot leave this temple unattended too.
Outside is a pillar that got sunk in an odd way and the people here feel that if they dig this up, they will probably see the Shanghu and Chakra embedded therein.
While there is an old mandapam, they have built a new one too. Surprisingly, there is no ‘gali gopuram’ in this temple but a gumbaz atop the mandapam which speaks of the intermingling of cultures. In earlier days, ‘rathothsavams’ were celebrated with great pomp but not anymore, though two of the old wheels are still there.
Two hundred years ago one Rachamacherla Venkateswara Dasu wrote two keertanas, the 74th and 401 Padalus, both in Ada talam.
And in that Keerthana, he refers to this place as Ketakinagara and as Sri Ranganatha residing here.
In 2011, Ahobila Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamy stayed here overnight and performed the Sudarshana Homam, during Dhanur Masam, and laid the foundation stone for the new marriage hall.
In 2012, Sri Ramachandra Jeeyar Swamy worshipped the God for five nights and did the Aagamashastra Padadhi Nitya Aaradhana.
It is said that if you ask anything faithfully to Lord Ketakipuram Sri Ranganatha, your wishes will come true. The current ‘dharma karta’ here is Singarayakonda Tirumalaya Samavedam Raghavendracharyalu.
