Bhaja Re Bhadrachalam | Bhadrachalam | The Blessed Hill
A holy kshetra, also known as Dakshina Ayodhya, that attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the world, the abode of Lord Rama, is this sacred hill Badrachalam which is encircled by holy river Godavari flowing towards southern direction. This kshetra is named after Bhadra – the blessed child of Merudeva and Merudevi.
This kshetra existed in Dandakaranya forest region during the time of Lord Rama, when Lord Rama with His consort Sita Devi and brother Sri Lakshmana had resided during their forest exile. It is at this very place that, long after Ramavatar, Lord Mahavishnu manifested Himself as Lord Rama again to fulfil a promise He made to His devotee Bhadra, who continued his penance through Yugas, praying for the grace of Lord Rama.
Sage Bhadra performed penance at this very place during Ramavatar. When Lord Rama came by, the sage prayed to Lord Rama to be seated on his head, but Lord Rama who was in search of his consort Sita Devi, gave a promise to sage Bhadra that his desire would be fulfilled on his way back after finding Sita. The sage had been in continuation of the penance as Rama could not accomplish the promise in Ramavatara . Then Sri Mahavishnu manifested himself as Lord Rama and rushed to his devotee Bhadra , signaling hisarrival by blowing His conch. He was accompanied by his consort Sita Devi and brother Sri Lakshmana. Thus , the moorthis of chaturbhuja Rama (having four hands ) – conch on the right , disc in His left and Dhanurbhana (bow and Arrow in the othrr two hands), Sita Devi had condescended on the left lap of Rama who is seated in padmAsana and Sri Lakshmana stood to His left.
These deities of Sri Vaikunta Rama, Sri Lakshmana and Sita Devi were found by Sri Pokala Dhammakka. Sri Pokala Dhammakka, an ardent devotee of Rama lived in the 17th century and was an inhabitant of Bhadrireddypalem, a mile away from this holy place. On one fine night, she had darshan of Rama in her dream who said “the saints and sages are worshiping my embodied moorthy settled on Bhadragiri” and asked her to trace them, perform pooja and attain moksha. On the very next day morning she started searching for the deities, peeped into an ant-hill and found them hidden in it. She poured hundreds of pots of Godavari water on the ant-hill which tardily dissolved and gave way for the appearance of the hidden Deities. Since then, she used to perform pooja daily and offer ‘naivedyam’ with fruits fallen from near the palmyra tree and constructed a mandapam of thatch hut with the help of local villagers. Lord Rama told Sri Dhammakka that at a later date, one of his devotees would construct a temple at this site. Sri Dhammakka waited patiently for the devotee. The devotee turned out to be Bhakta Ramadas.
Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as “Bhakta Ramdas”, a fervent devotee of Lord Rama, was born to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk in 17th century (1620 AD).
Gopanna was the revenue officer of Bhadrachalam under the reign of the last Sultan of Golconda, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (Tana Shah).
He constructed the temple with an amount of Rs 6 Lakhs collected from the land revenues without the permission of the Nizam Nawab. When the temple reached to the nearing completion, he had a problem of fixing ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ at the crest of the main temple. He was deeply distressed and fell into sleep. On the same night, Lord Rama in his dream asked him to have a holy dip in river Godavari where he will find it. The next day morning, Gopanna did so and found holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river without much difficulty. He presumed that Sudarshana Chakra itself was shaped up with the divine power of his beloved Lord Rama. Soon after the construction, his miseries started. He was dismissed from service for mis-utilisation of revenue for constructing the temple and was kept in jail for 12 long years in Golkonda Fort and was tortured. Unable to withstand the miseries, Sri Ramadasa implored Rama to relieve him by singing many heart wrenching kirtans which got popularized from as ‘Dasaradhi Shatakam’ and ‘Keertanas’ of Bhakta Ramadasa.
Gopanna was released by Sultan Tana Shah when Lord Rama himself appeared with Sri Lakshmana to pay the gold coins Sultan demanded for Gopanna’s release.
Influenced by the majesty of Lord Rama, Golkonda Ruler Tanishah earmarked the income derived from the Palwoncha paragana which came to Rs 20,000 and odd for the maintenance of the temple which was continued during Nizam’s reign and offering Pearls (Mutyala Talambralu) on the occasion of kalyana mahotsavam (Sri Rama Navami) to Deities on an elephant through a specially sent messenger. That procedure of sending pearls to the Deities is still followed by present state Government and continues to offer during Sri Rama Navami Festival (Kalyana mahotsavam).
Tumu Narsimha Dasa,Tahasildar of Palwoncha paragana,along with his associate Varada Ramadasa came here from Guntur and took over the charge of Bhadrachalarama temple after Ramadas made inscripted the performance of Nitya Poojas and sevas right from early morning “Suprabhata Seva” till night “Pavalimpu Seva” before closure of the temple as “Silaasaasanaalu” on these two pillars. This inscription gives details of daily dictum and daily rituals also.
The temple is divided into three parts. The first is believed to be the head of Bhadra, where a shrine is dedicated to him. Inside, on a rock structure, the supposed footprints of Rama can be seen. Thirunamam is applied to the rock so that the visitors can recognise it as Bhadra’s head. The second part of the temple is the sanctum where the central icon resides on a place considered equivalent to Bhadra’s heart. The third part is the Rajagopuram (main tower), which is located at Bhadra’s feet.
Sri Swamiji sings in praise of this kshetra in the kirtan: bhaja rE bhadrAchalam
To view kirtan on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/OrrklSE-tRA?si=2EribZtT-JvODbtq
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English
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rAgam: bImbLAs thALam: Adi
bhaja rE bhadrAchalam – mAnasa
Sing in praise of Bhadrachala, O mind!
1. gOdAvarI thIra puNyAchalam
The blessed hill on the banks of Godavari
kOmaLa thAraka mantra mayAchalam
The hill filled with the gentle tAraka mantra
|| bha ||
2. sarva pApa vinAshakAchalam
The hill that destroys all sins
sundara rAma bhadravAsAchalam
The hill where beautiful Rama and Sage Bhadra reside
|| bha ||
3. bahu rAmadAsAdi vinuthAchalam
The hill sung by Sri Ramadasa and many other devotees
priyamuraLIdhara hridayAchalam
The dear hill which is the heart of Muralidhara
|| bha ||
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Sanskrit
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रागम्: बींब्लास् तालम्: आदि
भज रे भद्राचलम् – मानस
1. गोदावरी तीर पुण्याचलं
कोमल तारक मन्त्र मयाचलम् ॥ भ ॥
2. सर्व पाप विनाशकाचलं
सुन्दर राम भद्रवासाचलम् ॥ भ ॥
3. बहु रामदासादि विनुताचलं
प्रियमुरलीधर हृदयाचलम् ॥ भ ॥
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Tamil
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ராகம்: பீம்ப்ளாஸ் தாளம்: ஆதி
ப₄ஜ ரே ப₄த்₃ராசலம் – மானஸ
1. கோ₃தா₃வரீ தீர புண்யாசலம்
கோமள தாரக மந்த்ர மயாசலம் || ப₄ ||
2. ஸர்வ பாப வினாஶகாசலம்
ஸுந்த₃ர ராம ப₄த்₃ரவாஸாசலம் || ப₄ ||
3. ப₃ஹு ராமதா₃ஸாதி₃ வினுதாசலம்
ப்ரியமுரளீத₄ர ஹ்ருத₃யாசலம் || ப₄ ||
