The origin, heritage and enduring spiritual importance of the Sri Adi Narayana Swamy kshetram at Kodakanchi.
About a thousand years ago the Lord appeared in a dream to Ramoji Rao, a descendant of the Allani family, and told him that his idol lay in the forest of Mambapur — and that it should be brought out and worshipped.
The idol was found in the forest, in a hollow in the ground. The people of the Allani clan carried it to Kodakanchi and installed it upon the rocky hill above the village, where they performed the first great puja. The murti is swayambhu — self-manifested, not sculpted by any hand — and it is worshipped here as Sri Adi Narayana Swamy together with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi.
The temple that grew around that spot was built about a thousand years ago, in the 10th century CE. Its sanctum still sits on the granite outcrop where the idol was first set down; the painted vimanam rises directly out of the boulders, and the gopuram, prakaram and pushkarini were added around it over the centuries. After a major renovation in recent years the kshetram has regained much of its former glory.
“Even if you cannot go to Kanchi in your lifetime, go to Kodakanchi.” — The Telangana folk saying that gave the village its second name
Three strands — historical, spiritual and cultural — make this temple central to the life of the region.
Historical
Built in the 10th century CE on the granite hill where the swayambhu murti was installed, the temple has stood through a thousand years of change on the Deccan — and still keeps the Vaishnava agamic order of worship it began with.
Spiritual
Like the great temple at Kanchipuram, this kshetram bears a golden lizard and a silver lizard upon its wall. Devotees believe that touching them releases a person from lizard-dosha and from the troubles it brings.
Cultural
Weddings, naming ceremonies, harvest thanksgiving and the annual jatara are all anchored to the temple. Its calendar is, in effect, the calendar of the village.
In Telangana folklore the saying runs: even if you are not able to visit Kanchi in your lifetime, visit Kodakanchi. From that belief the village took its second name — Telangana Kanchi.
The comparison is not merely poetic. This temple carries the same sign that pilgrims seek at the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram: a golden lizard and a silver lizard, fixed upon the temple wall. Devotees believe that touching them frees a person from the doshas caused by lizards, and from the troubles that follow.
What the two kshetrams hold in common:
Note for the temple office: this account follows the tradition as recorded in press and pilgrimage sources. Please add any inscriptional or documentary evidence held in the temple records.
Key moments in the life of the kshetram, as recalled by the community. (EDITABLE — replace era labels with confirmed dates.)
The Lord appears in a dream to Ramoji Rao of the Allani family and tells him that his idol lies in the forest of Mambapur, waiting to be brought out and worshipped.
The self-manifested idol is found in a hollow in the Mambapur forest, exactly as the Lord had described it.
The people of the Allani clan carry the murti to Kodakanchi and install it on the rocky hill above the village, where the first great puja is performed.
A stone temple rises around the swayambhu murti on the granite outcrop. The sanctum, its vimanam and the Garuda shrine on the ground floor take the form the devotee sees today.
The entrance gopuram, the enclosing prakaram wall and the stepped temple tank are added, and the golden and silver lizards are set upon the wall in the manner of Kanchi.
A major renovation restores the temple, and it regains much of its past glory. Facilities are improved for the pilgrims who arrive from Hyderabad and the surrounding districts.
The annual Brahmotsavam is celebrated over ten days from the first of February, with the Kalyanam of the Lord and his consorts on the fourth day, drawing thousands of devotees to Telangana Kanchi.
If your family holds photographs, documents or memories connected with the temple, the trustees would be glad to receive them for the temple archive.