Hanamkonda
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Hanmakonda (हनमकोंडा) is a suburb and one of the three cities constituting the Tri-City of Warangal in the Indian state of Telangana.
Origin
Variants
- Hanamakonda हनमकोंडा, जिला वारंगल, तेलंगाना (AS, p.1006)
- Hanmakonda
- Hanumakonda
- Anmakonda
History
The great kings of Kakatiya dynasty left their marks in the state of Telangana for over several centuries. The famous fort of Warangal and the Thousand Pillared Temple. It has come to light that the original capital of Kakatiya Kings was not Warangal; they in fact had shifted the capital to Warangal for reasons unknown. It could probably be strategically ideal for a King to run his empire from the hill fort of Warangal.
Hanmakonda or Hanumakonda or Anmakonda is a short distance from the north of Warangal, and may be the ancient suburb of Warangal. Hanamkonda was the older capital of the Kakatiya kings before they actually shifted the new capital to Warangal during the reign of Ganapati Deva. The district around it was called Sabbi sayira or Sabbi one thousand which was a part of the empire of Kalyani. The land of Hanmakonda was also referred to as Anmakonda Vishaya. However, the actual Sanskrit name was supposed to be Hanumnadachala or the Hill of Hanumat (Hanuman), the famous follower of the hero of Ramayana, Lord Rama. The most breath-taking feature of Anmakonda is the hill is the thousand pillar temple built by King Rudra in 1163 CE.
Warangal eventually replaced Anmakonda' as the new city during the time of Ganapati Deva. Warangal was actually the corrupted term or the later name for Ekasaila, which means ‘one rock.’ In the Sanskrit texts the name sees a literal translation of Orugallu as ', whose again original form was Ekasailanagara. The Telugu form of the name is Orumgallu. The city was prosperous.
In the time before Ganapati deva, the city of Warangal occupied a menial position but it was finally king Rudra I who further popularized the city by his work. It was provided with a stone wall by Rudra’s nephew and successor Ganapati. The fortifications of the city were finally completed by the daughter and successor Rudramma devi. From the onset of 14th century, the city had to face successive wars under the hands of Tugluq dynasty. Mohammed bin Tugluq took it in 1323 CE and again renamed the place as Sultanpur. Finally the city’s pride was lost upon the rising of Bahamani sultanate and shifting of capitals to Golconda in Hyderabad.[1]
Following section is from the book History And Legend In Hyderabad, Department of Information and Public Relations, 1953, pp.119-122.....
For hundreds of years, both Hanamkonda and Warangal have been renowned for their industrial importance, and Marco Polo wrote of Warangal, in the kingdom are made the best and most delicate buckrams (cotton stuff) and those of highest price; in sooth they look like tissue of spider’s web. There is no king or queen in the world but [p.120]: might be glad to wear them"
Thousand-Pillar Temple: The temple of Hanamkonda, one of the suburbs of Warangal, is considered to be one of the finests specimens of the architecture and sculpture of the Kakatiya period.
Founded by Ganapati the temple is mentioned in Pratap Charitra and, like all earlier Chalukyan temples, it is star-shaped and triple-shrined, the three shrines being dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and Surya respectively.
The shrines have no deities, the pedestals inside being fitted with black basalt lingams. But the perforated and ornamented stone screens on the respective doors of the shrines contain the effigies of the three gods.
The most notable features of this temple are the richly carved pillars and lintels, the delicately pierced screens and the most carefully finished sculptures. The black basalt Nandi or the sacred bull, in front of the temple, is a splendid specimen of sculpture in monolith.
A large black basalt slab, fixed near the eastern entrance and inscribed with Kan- nada-Telugu characters, records the events and the date, 1164 A.D., of the construction of the temple.
This record is extremely important inasmuch as it gives a geneological table of the builder of the temple, King Ganapati, and contemporaneous events.
Padmakshi Temple, believed to have been built during the first quarter of the 12th century, is a temple at Warangal with Goddess Padmakshi as the main deity. Thousand Pillar Temple was built during the period of the Kakatiya dynasty, and later destroyed by Muslim invaders. The temple called the Trikutalayam, dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Surya. [Bhadrakali]] Temple at Hanmakonda is a significant Goddess Bhadrakali temple located on the hilltop.
हनमकोंडा जिला (वारंगल, तेलंगाना)
हनमकोंडा (AS, p.1006): हनमकोंडा एक ऐतिहासिक उपनगर है, जो तेलंगाना के वारंगल ज़िले में स्थित है। यहाँ काकतीय नरेशों के समय का बना हुआ मन्दिर है, जो दक्षिण भारत के सर्वोत्कृष्ट मन्दिरों में परिगणित किया जाता है। हनमकोण्डा के मन्दिर की स्थापना महाराज गणपति ने की थी। इस स्थान का उल्लेख 'प्रतापचरित्र' नामक ग्रंथ में भी हुआ है। चालुक्य कालीन मंदिरों की भाँति ही यहाँ के मन्दिर का आधार ताराकार है और इसमें सूर्य, विष्णु तथा शिव के तीन देवालय हैं। हनमकोण्डा के देवालयों में मूर्तियाँ नहीं हैं, किंतु कटे हुए पत्थरों की जालियों में इन देवताओं की मूर्तियाँ निर्मित हैं। मन्दिर के सामने काले पत्थर से निर्मित भगवान शिव के सेवक नंदी की मूर्ति स्थित है। यह मूर्ति एक ही पत्थर में से काटी गई है। हनमकोण्डा के मन्दिर में लगे एक तेलुगु-कन्नड़ के अभिलेख से ज्ञात होता है कि इसका निर्माण 1164 ई. में हुआ था। अभिलेख में काकतीय नरेश गणपति की वंशावली तथा तत्कालीन घटनाओं का विवरण है। [2]