Bhadrachalam

For the serious pilgrim, Bhadrachalam, another temple on the banks of the Godavari, comes high on the priority list, as this temple of Sitaramachandra Swamy is among the most famous temples in South India. Lakhs of devotees converge on the temple town during Srirama Navami, when a "Kalyanamahotsavam" is performed.

There is an interesting tale behind the coming into being of the temple. According to the legend, Lord Rama appeared in the dream of an illiterate woman Pokala Dammakka and informed her about the existence of his idol in the forests of Bhadragiri. Sure enough it was as revealed. Later in the 17th century, Gopanna, a Tahsildar in the court of Abdul Hassan Tanashah, spent tax collections for the temple. An ardent devotee of Lord Rama came to be known better as Bhakta Ramdas. But when Tanashah came to know of the "misappropriation", he had the Tahsildar jailed at Golconda near Hyderabad.

Lord Rama is said to have appeared in Tanashah's dream and given him a receipt for the Rs.6 lakh spent by Gopanna on the renovation of the temple. So impressed was Tanashah that he personally visited Golconda and got Gopanna released and announced annual grants to the temple. He even gifted jewels and ornaments that are preserved to this day and adorn the deities of Rama and Sita on special occasions. The grants that were continued under the Nizam's government are now borne by the State exchequer and the government is represented by the Chief Minister on Srirama Navami.