7th century Rajagopuram hangs by a thread

Nellore: The 7th century AD Western Tower (Rajagopyram) of Sri Talpagiri Ranganatha Swamy temple hangs by a thread, having every possibility of meeting the same fate as 15th century Srikalahasti Rajagopuram, which collapsed a few years ago.

Though the dangerous situation is clearly evident, neither temple administration nor the politicians are taking the issue seriously due to various reasons, including the fear of facing hurdles if restoration of tower initiated as per the predictions of ‘Kala Gnanam’ by spiritual Guru Srimath Virat Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy.

According to historians, the temple was first built in 7th century AD by Emperor Kasyapa. Earlier, western entrance facing Penna river used to be the main entrance. The 30-feet tall western Rajagopuram stands testimony to the sculpture of the time. It has several statues of gods goddesses and other celestial beings.

Nellore district people used to say in those days ‘Penna datithe Perumalla seva’, as they have to cross the river to enter the temple from western side of the river.

Devotees used to pass through this tower to wash their feet in the river before having darshan and also spent some time at the river. Recently, temple authorities constructed Goshala at this place. The temple has another rajagopuram on the eastern side, which is now the main entrance. It is 96-feet tall with seven storeys and was constructed in 1781 by Bagadapati Venkatachalam Panthulu. Devotees used to enter the temple through eastern Rajagopuram and have darshan of Lord Ranganatha Swamy by going towards western side as the Mulavarlu faces west. In 2002, a figurine from eastern gopuram fell and injured a beggar sitting there. The administration repaired the gopuram at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.

However, no efforts were made to renovate the western gopuram. Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, who made his maiden visit to this temple as Endowment Minister, washed his hands by saying that renovation of western tower is a risky job. However, a decision will be taken only after the issue keenly discussed with Agama and Vedic Pandits, he added.