Bhadrachalam

Bhadrachalam is a sacred town on the Godavari, known for its temple of Rama and Sita. The river and nearby hills are woven into local accounts of the Ramayana, and the shrine has drawn devotees from across the Telugu country. The poet and composer Kancherla Gopanna, known as Ramadasu, is remembered especially for his devotion to Rama and his work at the temple.

In the seventeenth century Gopanna served as a revenue officer under the Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda. He spent revenue on rebuilding the shrine and was imprisoned. Devotional tradition tells how Rama himself repaid the money and secured his release. Ramadasu’s songs made his connection with Bhadrachalam enduring. In 1766 the temple faced a threatened attack, and its priests carried the images away to Santamavilla on the Godavari. After several years they returned to Bhadrachalam; the Nizam supported the restoration of worship. In 1832 devotees obtained the reissue of an earlier grant associated with Sultan Abul Hasan, continuing the relationship between the shrine and its rulers.