Ramappa Temple – A Floating Bricks Marvel

Ramappa Temple – A Floating Bricks Marvel

UNESCO has yet not released its 2022 list of nominations for heritage sites. That makes Ramappa Temple, along with Dholavira Harappan City in Gujarat, the most recent Indian entrant on this list. As a UNESCO heritage site hunter, it was apparent I had to visit it. I did that in April this year when I moved back from Bangalore to Gurgaon. I did not plan my road trip based on the shortest route, but around the sites I wanted to visit. These sites included Ramappa Temple or Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple near Warangal, Telangana.

From 1000 Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda (Warangal), a 60-km drive took me to Ramappa Temple. I mostly drove on the state highway. But I thought of a Fibonacci spiral during the last couple of kilometres as I approached Ramappa Temple. The road turns into a circular basin surrounded by hillocks a la Fibonacci spiral and makes its way along the woods to the temple entrance.

Ramappa Temple – First Look

This perhaps is the only temple in India to be named after its chief sculptor, Ramappa. The entrance to the temple complex is from the west, but the orientation of the temple is east-facing. In effect, we enter the complex from the rear. Hence, the first structure that greets you is the shikhara (tapering pagoda) of the sanctum sanctorum, while the temple entrance mandapam (lobby) lies behind it. The principal deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy or Lord Shiva, and two small Shiva shrines flank the main temple.

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Like most Shiva temples, a massive Nandi bull statue stands facing the Mandapam. As I crossed over to the entrance mandapam, the view surprised me. The shikhara was not visible, as the gigantic entrance mandapam completely blocked it from view. 

The architect had perched the entire temple atop a 6-foot-high star-shaped platform that hid the sandbox technique beneath it. In this technique, he filled the foundation pit with a mixture of sand, lime, black myrobalan fruit, and jaggery. It acts as a cushion in case of earthquakes. For further earthquake-proofing, they used floating bricks for the shikhara, reducing the weight of the roof on the walls. These porous bricks actually float on water as their density is less than water. 

Inside the Temple

This earthquake-proofing has helped. From 1213 CE, it took the Kakatiya rulers 40 years to build. Over the last eight centuries, it has withstood many wars and natural calamities, like earthquakes. As a result, though the sandstone slabs of the floor have been knocked askew, the temple building has survived and even today looks stable.

The entrance mandapam and the shrine within are sandstone and black basalt structures. While sandstone forms the basic shape, the craftsmen have used black basalt carvings to embellish its facade, beams, and pillars. The positioning of some of the polished basalt pillars is so clever that they reflect sunlight to illuminate the temple interior. One of the carved basalt pillars, when hit with a tiny stick or your finger, produces musical notes.

After visiting the Warangal Fort, the 1000 Pillar Temple, and the Ramappa Temple, I figured the Kakatiyas loved intricate carvings on black basalt, one of the toughest stones to carve. If you wish to witness this symphony in black basalt, visit these three marvels around Warangal.

Pin this Kakatiya dynasty masterpiece!

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