Bhadrakali Temple, Warangal.

Whenever we are in Warangal City or we are passing through Warangal we make it a point to visit Bhadrakali Temple and have Darshan of Goddess Bhadrakali and seek her blessings.  We have been to Bhadrakali Temple a number of times before, and once again recently and hence this photo-blog post.

The imposing and beautiful idol of Goddess Bhadrakali and the amazing precincts of the Temple, a beautiful Lake by its side and the huge rocky mountain façade are big attractions that draw us here often. You can see the grand Temple and the beautiful surroundings in the attached pictures. These pictures are from our recent and some of our earlier visits to the Temple.

The idol of Goddess Bhadrakali is in a sitting posture. The Goddess has eight hands, each carrying one weapon and is wearing an alluring crown. The idol is 2.7 meters high and is carved out of stone. A fierce lion, the sacred vehicle of the Goddess is placed opposite to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Goddess Bhadrakali is being worshipped here by saints and commoners since very ancient times. It is said that King Pulakesin-II of the Chalukya Dynasty worshipped Goddess Bhadrakali here after defeating the Vengi Kings and constructed a proper Temple in the year 625 A.D. Later when King Rudra Deva of the Kakatiya dynasty made Warangal (then Orugallu) the capital of his kingdom, he worshipped Goddess Bhadrakali as Kula Devatha that is as ‘Family Deity’ and developed the Temple. And during the rule of Emperor Ganapathi Deva, a minister of his by name Hari got the beautiful Lake made at the Temple (Bhadrakali Lake).

The Temple was very popular for over 900 years and with the defeat of the Vijayanagara Kings in 1565, the Temple lost its prominence and remained neglected under non-Hindu rulers. After the end of such rule, the Goddess appeared in the dream of a devotee named Sri Maganlal Sameja and ordained him to enliven the past glory of the Temple. He along with the help of the local people revived the Temple and in the presence of Alaya Muthavalli Sri B.S. Ganesh Rao, the Temple was re-consecrated on 29th July 1950. And since then all rituals as practised in ancient times are being carried out with great devotion and the Temple has once again become very popular.

This history of the Temple is as narrated in a poster at the Temple. The poster is in Telugu and here it is for you: