Warangal History

Warangal District  is located in the northern area in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The administrative seat is Warangal. Warangal is near to Hyderabad in the Telangana Region.

Warangal has been recently  in the news because of the Separate Telangana issue. It has been a major centre for the movement and its rebirth. Kaloji Narayana Rao is a freedom fighter and a well-known writer from Telangana.

Warangal district consists of many Prehistoric habitation sites, which were explored by the Indian Archaeological authorities.

Paleolithic Rock art paintings are found at Pandavula gutta (Regonda) and Narsapu (Tadvai) in the district. The lower valley along River Godavari is a rich belt of Neolithic settlement extended to the neighbouring Khammam district also.

Padmakshi Gutta consists of a Hindu temple dedicated to Godess Padmavathi(Padmakshi), located on a hilltop in the heart of the city of Hanamakonda, was originally constructed during Kakatiya reign. Till the Kakatiya Kings renovated and established the Goddess Padmakshi, previously it was a ‘Basadi’ a Jain temple. The temple also has rich sculpture of the Jain Tirthankara's and other Jain Gods and Goddesses. The Kadalalaya basadi or Padmakshi temple is built on a large rocky out crop.

Angadi Veerannagudi a Jain temple located at Biranpally village in Maddur Mandal in the district.

Warangal was the capital of Kakatiya kingdom ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Warangal also known as Orugallu, Ekasila Nagaram and Andhra Naragram, Andhra refers to Andhra Maha Vishnu. The old name of this place is Orugallu. Oru means one and Gallu means stone. The Kakatiyas left many monuments, including an impressive fortress, four massive stone gateways, the Swayambhu temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ramappa temple situated near Ramappa Lake. The cultural and administrative distinction of the Kakatiyas was mentioned by the famous traveller Marco Polo. Famous or well-known rulers included Ganapathi Deva, Prathapa Rudra, and Rani (queen) Rudrama Devi. After the defeat of PratapaRudra, the Musunuri Nayaks united seventy two Nayak chieftains and captured Warangal from Delhi sultanate and ruled for fifty years. Jealousy and mutual rivalry between Nayaks ultimately led to the downfall of Hindus in 1370 A.D. and success of Bahmanis.

Bahmani Sultanate later broke up into several smaller sultanates, of which the Golconda sultanate ruled Warangal. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687, and it remained part of the Mughal empire until the southern provinces of the empire split away to become the state of Hyderabad in 1724 which included the Telangana region and some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948, and became an Indian state. In 1956 Hyderabad was partitioned as part of the States Reorganization Act, and Telangana, the Telugu-speaking region of Hyderabad state which includes Warangal, became part of Andhra Pradesh.

Warangal District is currently a part of the Red Corridor

Warangal district occupies an area of 12,846 square kilometres (4,960 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to the island of Jamaica or the US state of Hawaii

APGENCO has set up a 500 MW (and another unit of 1x600MW unit is under construction, thus the total capacity will become 1100MW) super thermal power plant in the Chelpur/ Bhupalpally area. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited is having a 630MVA, 400/220KV Substation in the Oglapur village in Atmakur mandal.,

Thousand Pillar Temple

Thousand Pillar Temple pond

The Thousand Pillar Temple (Telugu: వెయ్యి స్థంభాల గుడి) is a historic Hindu temple located in the city of Hanamakonda, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Surya. The Thousand Pillar Temple is one of the very old temples of South India that was built by the kakatiyas. It stands out to be a masterpiece and achieved major heights in terms of architectural skills by the ancient Kakatiya vishwakarma sthapathis. It is believed that the Thousand Pillar Temple was built by King Rudra Deva in 1163 AD. The Thousand Pillar Temple is constructed on a platform that is raised to one meter height from the ground level. The temple is provided with a number of pillars which are intricately carved and adorned. Rock cut elephants and perforated screens in the temple are characteristic of the then prevailing dynasty.

Bhadrakali Temple

Bhadrakali Temple in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh is known to be one of the oldest temples for Goddess Bhadrakali in India. This temple is located on the banks of the Bhadrakali lake, a picturesque location between Hanamkonda and Warangal. As per the writings on the temple wall this temple is believed to be constructed by the King Pulakesi II of Chalukya dynasty around 625 A.D to commemorate his victory over Vengi region of Andhra Desham. This can be observed from the square pillars used in the temple structure which were different from the circular pillars commonly used in temples constructed by Kakatiyas. Bhadrakali Temple has become a major tourist place and people from many parts of India visit this temple.

Warangal fort

Warangal fort Ruins

The existence of Warangal Fort in the present-day Indian state of Andhra Pradesh traced back to at least the 13th century CE. Although precise dating of its construction and subsequent enhancements are uncertain, historians and archaeologists generally accept that an earlier brick-walled structure was replaced with stone by Ganapatideva, who died in 1262, and that his successors – Rudramadevi and Prataparudra – added to its height and added gateways, square bastions and additional circular earthern walls prior to the latter's death in 1323. This places the construction towards the end of the Kakatiya period. There were later modifications between the 15th and 17th centuries, comprising principally the addition of barbicans to the four gates in the stone wall and the creation of gates in the outer earthern wall.Remnants of the structure can be seen today near to the city of Warangal, which was the Kakatiya capital. The Archaeological Survey of India has listed the remains as a Monument of National Importance.

Ramappa Temple

Ramappa also known as the Ramalingeswara temple, is located 77 km from Warangal, the ancient capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, 157 km from Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. It lies in a valley at Palampet village of Venkatapur Mandal, in erstwhile Mulug Taluq of Warangal district, a tiny village long past its days of glory in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Ramappa Temple, many of the smaller structures were neglected and are in ruins. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken charge of it. The main entrance gate in the outer wall of the temple is ruined. Exactly Ramappa temple is located in Palampet,Venkatapur mandal, which is 19 km far from Mulugu Mandal (50 km off Warangal).

Pakhal Lake

Pakhal Lake, situated amidst undulating forest land hills and dales is a popular retreat for the tourists. The lake, constructed around 1213 A.D. by Kakatiyan Ruler, Ganapathidev and spread over an area of 30 km2., provides a beautiful site. Set around the shores of this lake is the Pakhal Wild Life Sanctuary with an area of 839 km2. It is a dense forest shelter for a variety of fauna. If, one is lucky, one can spot a tiger or a leopard or a bear and one can find a herd of deer roaming about freely in the wild. The sanctuary is also harbouring Mammals like panthers, hyenas, wolves, wild dogs, jackals, sloth bear, nilgal, porcupine, langoor, Reptiles like python, cobra, common krait, monitor lizard and Crocodiles. Pakhal is situaled about 50 km east of Warangal and it is well connected by road passing through the east while taluk headquarters of Narsampet town which about 12 km away

Mandals 

1. Cheriyal

2. Maddur

3. Narmetta

4. Bachannapet

5. Jangaon

6. Lingalaghanpur

7. Raghunathpalle

8. Ghanpur (Station)

9. Dharmasagar

10. Hasanparthy

11. Hanamkonda

12. Wardhannapet

13. Zaffergadh

14. Palakurthi

15. Devaruppula

16. Raiparthy

17. Thorrur

18. Nellikudur

19. Narsimhulapet

20. Maripeda

21. Dornakal

22. Kuravi

23. Mahabubabad

24. Kesamudram

25. Nekkonda

26. Gudur

27. kodakandla

28. Kothaguda

29. Khanapur

30. Narsampet

31. Chennaraopet

32. Parvathagiri

33. Sangem

34. Nallabelly

35. Duggondi

36. Geesugonda

37. Atmakur

38. Shayampet

39. Parkal

40. Regonda

41. Mogullapalle

42. Chityal

43. Bhupalpalle

44. Ghanpur (Mulug)

45. Mulug

46. Venkatapur

47. Govindaraopet

48. Tadvai

49. Eturnagaram

50. Mangapet

51. Chityal (Warangal Dist)

52. Warangal.