Thousand Pillar temple, defined as the oldest temple of all:
Located in Warangal of Andhra Pradesh, this 1000 pillar religious shrine is considered to be 850 years old. It was said to have been built by King Rudra Deva in 1163 A.D and with a typical chalukyan styled architecture. At present, this temple along with its ruins lies near the available highway of Hanamkonda-Warangal, as located in Telangana State.
Religious belief associated with it:
A perfect temple for Vishnu, Shiva and Surya combined, thousand pillar temple is considered to be an amazing example of Indian religious beliefs. This temple is also stated as the first ever temple in India with star shaped base. This platform comprises of one thousand ornamented pillars, which clearly adorns the complex of temple. Just near the entrance, a huge statue of Nandi, made out of granite is placed. People mainly celebrate all the major religious occasions, related to Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, within the complex of this religious shrine. There are separate hotels and lodges associated with this temple, in order to let the devotees rest and stay, while their travel during night.
Presiding deity of this temple:
This temple comprises of three major Lords; Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. At the entrance of this temple, you will find black colored basalt Nandi, which is also termed as a monolith and in a lovely polished finish. Devotees from various corners of the world make it a point to visit this arena, once every year to show their tribute to the Almighty. There are some small lingam shrines available, too adorning the temple well, and with some amazing and mind boggling sculptures, as well.
Details of idols:
Built using the sandbox technology, this temple comprises of three presiding deities, Rudraseva, Vasudeva and Suryadeva. There is also a scripture of nandi, which is located at entrance level. This temple comprises of two major components, and those are Thrikutalayam and Kalyanamandapam. Previously, this temple used to have Panchaloha idols of Surya and Vishnu, which went missing later. However, at present, the idol is located inside a spacious area and the height of main idol is eight feet tall.
Other shrines designing the place:
There are three major shrines, which surround the entire place, and those are called together as Trikutalayam. Moreover, the impressive nandi is well surrounded with thousands of richly carved pillars, to accentuate the beauty. On the other hand, there are magnificently carved rock elephants available, as built on either side of the entrance area.
Nature of worship:
This reliable 1000 pillar temple is mainly adorned during Maha Shivaratri service. Moreover, there are some unique rituals, which are again performed in this temple. The entire lingam of Shiva is mainly adorned with cooked rice, which is just harvested. This is mainly defined as a part of sivaratri celebration. As per the Vedic precepts, the main priest is likely to mix pepper, rice and herbs and the mixture is used in order to decorate the main idol of Lord Shiva, in sanctum sanctorum. This procedure of decorating Lord Shiva with rice is stated in Veerabhadra incarnation and with huge moustache.
Special occasions waiting for you:
This temple is mainly known for adoring a gorgeous look during Maha Shivaratri. You can also try and look to see various devotees thronged the historical pillar temple on the eve of religious Karthika Pournami. This occasion mainly takes place to dedicate love, devotion, respect and prayer to Lord Shiva. The district administration is said to make elaborate decoration during this point of time. With emergency medical care for the devotees to proper barricade arrangement for safety personnel to even drinking water service, there are loads of services available, for the betterment of devotees.
On the other hand, this temple also comprises of Laksha Deepotsavam as another major festivity, which also showcase unusual crowds. During this festivity, Sri Swaroopananda Swamy also visited this religious shrine and took part in the major rituals. Special prayers are performed and the entire pace is lit up beautifully. There are some devotional programs, which are arranged for visitors.
Now for pilgrimage mark:
Defined as a perfect place for pilgrimage values, this temple is a mark of total religious aspect for all. This place comprises of dedicated shrines of Lord Shiva, accompanied by Lord Vishnu and Surya. Once in your lifetime e, a trip to 1000 temple is a must, for both its beauty and religious values.