Ramappa Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Hyderabad is about 150 km away, the nearest airport.

• By train

  Warangal is the nearest major railway station, with a taxi or bus onward to the temple.

• By road

  The temple is about 70 km from Warangal. You can hire a cab or take a bus.

Why devotees come here

Ramappa Temple stands in Palampet village, Mulugu district, Telangana. It is a Shiva temple and a prominent example of Kakatiya architecture, and UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 2021. It is the only temple in India named after its craftsman.

Ramappa Temple is a Shiva temple in Palampet village, worshipped here as Ramalingeswara. The name Rudreshwara, a mix of Rudra and Ishvara, is Sanskrit, and the temple is also called Sri Rudreshwara Swamy Temple. It takes its name from its sculptor, Ramappa, who built it. The Kakatiya style here mixes Dravidian and Chalukyan elements.

An inscription on a basalt pillar in a nearby courtyard says that Recherla Rudra, a Kakatiya general, commissioned the temple in 1213. It took 40 years to build, during the reign of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva. The Hyderabad state archaeology department first took up its renovation in 1914, under the archaeologist Ghulam Yazdani. The Archaeological Survey of India has managed it since 1948.

The temple is mainly built of red sandstone, with granite and dolerite for the carved pillars and brackets. The five-storied tower over the sanctum, in the Versara style, is made of lightweight, buoyant clay bricks. The carved dancers and musicians on its dolerite stone have kept a mirror-like polish for more than 800 years.

Tips for your visit

• Near the antarala, a carved stone branch held by a figure called the Dalamalika gives the seven notes of the musical scale when struck at specific points.
• The Shiva lingam in the inner sanctum is one of the main attractions, and the temple also features a large carved Nandi statue.
• Ramappa Lake, less than 1 km away, makes a good stop after the temple.

Questions people ask