Soliloquy

The Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal is a significant memorial to the architectural genius of the Kakatiya dynasty, who ruled over the region till the 14th century. Dedicated to the Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, as its name suggests, the temple is built out of a thousand granite pillars in a star-like shape.

Having travelled to Warangal on a rainy weekday morning, my mother and I felt that there was no better time to pay a visit to the said temple as well. Unbelievers both, we felt that the history of the place deserved obeisance of its own.

I was moved by the carvings on the inside, with the perforated screens and exquisite icons standing out. The monolithic dolerite Nandi, the steed of Shiva stands proudly at the entrance of the sanctum santorum. Low, wide and made entirely out of granite, the temple is otherworldly, but has only come into prominence after the bifurcation of the state.

Completed in the year 1163 under the rule of Rudra Dev I, who, as is the wont of any authority in power, named it after himself. Thus did the Thousand Pillar Temple come to be known as the Rudreswara Swamy Temple. Technically located in the town of Hamankonda, it is not a ways off from the city centre of Warangal.

Lush gardens fed by fountains steeping out of step-wells surround the premises of the temple. The granite walkway that leads to the shrine is friendly on the foot, although the temperate weather no doubt played a big role. Circumambulating the premises in little time but beset by mendicants who derive amusement out of being rendered unemployed by the laity, my mother and I came back to Hyderabad in a rather pleasant state of mind.

To put things into perspective, this temple was already a whopping 428 years old when Hyderabad was founded in the year 1591. Rudrama Devi remains perhaps the most celebrated ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty, but this stunning piece of architecture was a hundred years old even when she became regent.

Getting to Warangal is no hassle at all, with the road leading out of the eastern edge of the city through Uppal proliferating into a four-lane highway much before Ghatkesar. Situated about a hundred and fifty kilometres from Hyderabad, Warangal can be reached via bus or train as well.

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