Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple, Ammapally, near Shamshabad.

Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple of Ammapally, near Shamshabad Village and close to Hyderabad International Airport is a very ancient Temple. One of the two Archakas, Sri Sathyanarayanamurthy Sharma informed us that the Temple was built sometime in the 13th century by the local rulers called Venghi Rajulu. That makes the Temple over 700 years old!

The Temple is exactly 35 km from our house at Paradise, and on a holiday morning, with lean traffic, it would take us under an hour to reach the Temple. Travelling via Paradise, Begumpet, Banjara Hills and Mehdipatnam we have to take the PV Narasimha Rao Expressway and reach Shamshabad Bus Station which is on the right-hand side. Here we will have to take a right turn at the Bus Station and travel straight along Rallaguda Road, a distance of 5 Km and we will get to the ‘Temple Kamaan’ (Entrance Arch) to our left. Passing through the Kamaan we will reach the huge Temple precincts. The approach to the Temple and its location is serene. The 90 feet high Galigopuram is stunning. The Temple and Pushkarini (Temple Pond) are quite large and the vacant space around these is much larger as you can see in the above Google Earth Map.

As narrated by the Archaka, the deities in the sanctum sanctorum, of Sri Sita Devi, Sri Rama and Sri Laxmana are unique. Each of the Idols and its Makara Thoranam is beautifully formed from a single black rock, they are not separate as in the case of other Temples. All three Makara Thoranams also have Dashavataras sculpted on them. Sri Rama’s idol is four feet tall and that of Sri Sita Devi and Sri Laxmana a few inches less. As in other Temples, Sri Anjaneya Swamy’s Idol is not seen here at the feet of Sri Rama. Sri Anjaneya Swamy’s Idol is at the Dwaja Sthambam facing Sri Rama. It is believed that when devotees pray for the fulfilment of their wishes, Sri Rama would ask Sri Anjaneya Swamy to accomplish the wishes. And that is why Sri Anjaneya Swamy is always waiting outside the Sanctum Sanctorum to take instructions from Sri Rama and rush to help the devotees. The Archaka, Sri Sathyanarayanamurthy Sharma is in the service of God here since 1995. He told us that the majority of pilgrims who visit the Temple come back to thank God for his benevolence and help in fulfilling their wishes. He also narrated some of his personal experiences and that of a few other devotees which are simply miracles!

The film industry, especially Tollywood loves this Temple. They believe that movies filmed here with at least a single scene would automatically become big hits with the blessings of Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy. The list of movies filmed here runs very long. Some of the movies filmed here are Srimad Virat Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy Charitra, Rikshavodu, Murari, Annamayya, Anthahpuram,  Gudumba Shankar, Arundhati, Missamma, Nuvvu Vasthanante Nenu Vaddhantana, Shambo Shiva Shambo, Jalsa, Brindavanam, Paramveer Chakra, Mr. Perfect, Teen Maar, Veera and even some Bollywood movies like Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen, Rudraksh and Bandhan!



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