HYDERABAD: While on the single road from the Maheshwaram Crossroads, after Mesco Model High School, you have to keep your eyes tuned for a little rusted board that announces a left turn into an untarred lane that will lead to the Lord Venkateswara Temple. Layouts have been created on both sides of the path, even as the sun beats down on the dried up land. Barren land all around, there is a rusted arch that announces Swapna Enclave was to be built there, but has not been completed. Small outcroppings lead to an open ground where the breeze blows in a warm air. And here, suddenly you come upon a mandapam, opposite which are a few easy steps leading to a small temple.
The scene is picture postcard perfect. And then there is a board which states that this is protected property, as per the department of archaeology which also spent Rs 18 lakh to build a small wall and clad the open part of the temple in tiles in 2013. Having said that there is no gate at the main temple entrance, which means it is meal time for all kinds of herbivores. “This temple is under the endowments department since 1971,” says Mukkaralla Vijaybhaskar Sharma, one of the hereditary priests. His father Lakshmana Sharma is the dharma karta while his brother Rajasekhar Sharma, also a priest, is the one trying to bring back a certain glory to this temple. Their ancestor, Mukaralla Narasimha Shastry was given this temple and 238 acres of land as ‘inam’ from Akkanna and Madanna, two brothers who were famous between 1674 and 1685.
“This place must have had caves way back in the 5th or 6th century when the Vishnukundina dynasty ruled,” says Rajasekhar Sharma, the priest at this temple. “It must have been caves with sages living here,” he adds. The temple foundation was laid by Akkanna and Madanna. It was during their period that Bhakta Ramadas was released from imprisonment. The two brothers were the uncles of Ramadas. There was great celebration and a Brahmotsavam was also held then. Then the two brothers had a dream where they were instructed to build a temple here and that is how Lord Venkateswara Temple was constructed here.
Lord Vishnu along with his wives.
One has to descend six huge steps below the ground to go down 11 feet, where a single bulb lights up the ‘utsava murthy’ of the Lord and his consorts. Mukaralla Vijaybhaskar Sharma, the hereditary priest, conducts a small puja and takes a lamp to show the Swayambhu avatar of Lord Venkateswara. A few steps lead to this rock if you twist and turn and do not mind a couple of bats living in the darkness here. Etched on the rock face is the Namam, Shanka and Chakra, the religious symbols of the Sri Vaishnavite. This must have been a cave once where the sages worshipped this Swayambhu rock face avatar of Lord Vishnu. Over the years, just this one cave remains, with the rock face still available for worship. This is the Swayambhu Sri Agastya Tirumala Temple resting in a cave on a hillock. Jagat Guru Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have installed the Sri Agastyesvara Shiva Lingam here.
Since it is in a cave and cannot be seen without a light, it is called Cheekati Venkateswara Gudi. Monsoons can be a bit risky here, especially if there is a severe downpour, but otherwise this temple is a pleasant place to be in. With the Brahmotsavams just being over, the dry leafy ‘toranams’ rustle in the breeze, lending a nice buzz to the air. “Whatever development works that happen in the temple, including the ‘Deepam’, ‘Dhoopam’ and ‘Prasadam’ is done by us personally and we go out of money,” says Rajasekhar Sharma.
The family wants to develop the temple on the available land by making it a site worth a visit. “We have made plans to build 108 famous places of worship at one spot, open a ‘Veda Pathashala,’ a Vedic college and have many more plans. It has gone up to the Central government but no one is taking the first step,” rues Rajasekhar Sharma. He added that the temple does not even have a bank account.
Meanwhile, they have leased some of the land to shepherds and get a yearly amount, while they spend from their pocket around Rs 10,000 on the temple. There is not much of irrigation happening here though they are surrounded by four lakes, including Chilamakunta, Bramanakunta, Chalapakunta and Tanakunta, but these fill up during the monsoon and dry up immediately. The Pulimamidi village is around four kilometres away and the local people do help in keeping the temple alive by coming here during the season. In fact, according to Rajasekhar Sharma, the Gatupalli Veera Anjaneya Temple also belonged to the family, but due to some political shenanigans, they had to give it up.
Sri Cheekati Venkateswara Swamy Temple is situated in Pulimamidi village, Kandukur mandal, Ranga Reddy district. This is an important temple of historical importance in Ranga Reddy district and represents the historical significance of this district. The temple is facing east, has a cellar i.e. underground garbhagriha and a mukha mandapa connected with a stair case and small ardhamandapa. The cellar is of sandra type (closed). There is a passage leading to another small cave. The ceiling is decorated with massive carved pillars of post Vijayanagara style. The historic temple offers a lot of scope to understand the rich legacy of the Ranga Reddy district region. Local people throng this temple during festival occasions. On the basis of architectural features, the temple dates back to 18th century AD.
