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 Allani Ramoji Rao of the Allani family, and told him that his idol lay in the forest country of Mambapur — that it should be brought out and worshipped. The whole of the Allani clan went looking for it, and the search came to nothing.
So Ramoji Rao slept again with the Lord in his mind, and in a second dream he was told that before daybreak a Garuda would be waiting in front of his house, and that the bird would carry him to the place. At first light the bird was there. The family followed it into the forest, and in an anthill they found the murti of the Lord.
Then the brothers of the Allani line each claimed him for their own. They settled it this way: their bullocks would be yoked together to one cart, and wherever that cart went, there the Lord would be installed. Darkness fell before it could be done, and they slept. When they rose the next morning the Lord had gone ahead of them — he had risen of his own accord, swayambhu, upon the great hill in the forest at the edge of Kodakanchi.
Allani Ramoji Rao built the temple there upon the hillock. When he considered how the Lord should be worshipped, he decided that whatever order is followed at Kanchi should be followed at Kodakanchi — and it has been kept that way from that day to this. As Kanchi has its golden lizard and its silver lizard, so does Kodakanchi.
The sanctum still stands on the granite outcrop where the Lord appeared. The painted vimanam rises directly out of the boulders, and the gopuram, prakaram and pushkarini were added around it over the centuries; a major renovation in recent years has restored much of the kshetram's former glory. Here he is worshipped as Sri Adi Narayana Swamy together with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi.
“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
Raised about a thousand years ago on the granite hill where the swayambhu murti appeared, 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 resemblance is not an accident. The founder decided at the very beginning that whatever order of worship is followed at Kanchi would be followed here too, and the temple has kept to it ever since.
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 Allani Ramoji Rao and tells him that his idol lies in the forest of Mambapur, waiting to be brought out and worshipped.
The whole of the Allani clan goes together into the Mambapur forest looking for the idol, and comes back without it.
Ramoji Rao is told that before daybreak a Garuda will be waiting in front of his house, and that the bird will carry him to the place.
Following the bird into the forest, the family finds the swayambhu murti of the Lord resting in an anthill.
The brothers of the line each want the Lord. They agree that their bullocks will be yoked to a single cart, and that wherever it goes the Lord will be installed. Night falls before it can be settled, and they sleep.
By morning the Lord has gone ahead of them: he stands swayambhu on the great hill in the forest at the edge of Kodakanchi.
Allani Ramoji Rao raises the temple on the hill where the Lord appeared. The sanctum, its vimanam and the Garuda shrine on the ground floor take the form the devotee sees today.
He decides that the Lord shall be worshipped exactly as at Kanchi, and the golden and silver lizards are set upon the wall in the same manner. That order has been kept unbroken from then until now.
The entrance gopuram, the enclosing prakaram wall and the stepped temple tank are added around the sanctum.
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 with great splendour in the Telugu month of Magha, with the Kalyanam of the Lord and his consorts, 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.