Thousand Pillar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the nearest airport to the temple.

• By train

  Warangal railway station is 6 km away from the temple.

• By road

  The temple is about 150 km from Hyderabad. TSRTC buses run from the Hanumakonda district bus stand to Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Bengaluru.

Why devotees come here

The Thousand Pillar Temple stands at the foot of Hanamkonda Hill in Warangal, Telangana. It is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, and it is one of the earliest available examples of Kakatiya art, architecture and sculpture.

Thousand Pillar Temple is one of the earliest available examples of Kakatiya art, architecture and sculpture. A government tourism page dates its building to 1163 AD, under the Kakatiya ruler Rudra Deva. Other accounts say it was believed to be built between 1175 and 1324 CE, by order of the same king.

The Tughlaq dynasty desecrated the temple during their invasion of the Deccan. Later, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, gave a grant of 1 lakh rupees towards its reconstruction.

The temple is star-shaped and has three shrines, in a style that mixes later Chalukyan and early Kakatiya work. Its name comes from its one thousand carved pillars, which took 72 years to construct. A Nandi, Shiva's bull, is carved from a single rock. The temple faces south, while most temples in India face east or north.

Festivals

• Dates not givenMaha Shivratri

  Celebrated at the temple.

• Dates not givenKunkuma pooja

  A pooja celebrated at the temple, alongside Maha Shivratri.

Tips for your visit

• The temple lies near the Hanamkonda-Warangal highway.
• The Archaeological Survey of India is currently renovating and maintaining the temple.
• After the visit, try local food such as laskora undalu with mango pickle.

Questions people ask