With this, India gets its 39th World Heritage Site. The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recherla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
TFM Desk
India’s nomination of Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, in the state of Telangana has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on Sunday.
Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019, according to PIB.
“Just inscribed as World Heritage Site: KakatiyaRudeshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telengana in India. Bravo! ” UNESCO announced in a tweet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness on UNESCO declaring Ramappa Temple a World Heritage site. He also urged the people to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of its grandness.
The union minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy observed that owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO could not be conducted in 2020 and the nominations for 2020 and those for 2021 were discussed in a series of online meetings that are currently underway. The discussion on Ramappa Temple took place on Sunday.
Reddy stated that there were 21 members in the World Heritage Committee with China at present as the chair of the committee and credited the success to the goodwill that PM Narendra Modi has built with UNESCO member countries during his tenure.
Rudreswara (Ramappa) Temple
The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recherla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva. The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy. It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor. The Ramappa Temple is a manifestation of this and often stands as a testimonial to the Kakatiyan creative genius. The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiyan sculptors.
The sculptural art and decoration specific to the time and Kakatiyan Empire have an outstanding universal value. The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region, confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.
European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”.