The iconic Rudreswara Temple, a 13th century engineering marvel at at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Also known as Ramappa Temple, named after its architect Ramappa, the majestic temple was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.
The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.
“Just inscribed as World Heritage Site: KakatiyaRudeshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telengana in India. Bravo! “ UNESCO announced in a tweet.
🔴 BREAKING!
Just inscribed as @UNESCO #WorldHeritage site: Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana, in #India🇮🇳. Bravo! 👏
ℹ️ https://t.co/X7SWIos7D9 #44WHC pic.twitter.com/cq3ngcsGy9
— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳😷 (@UNESCO) July 25, 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness on UNESCO declaring Kakatiya Ramappa Temple a World Heritage site. He also urged the people to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness.
Reacting to a tweet by UNESCO, the Prime Minister said;
“Excellent! Congratulations to everyone, specially the people of Telangana.
The iconic Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of great Kakatiya dynasty. I would urge you all to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness.”
Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy thanked the Prime Minister for his guidance and support as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conferred the World Heritage inscription to Rudreswara Temple.
“It gives me immense pleasure to share that @UNESCO has conferred the World Heritage inscription to Ramappa Temple atPalampet, Warangal, Telangana. On behalf of the nation, particularly from people of Telangana, I express my thanks to Hon’ble PM @narendramodi for his guidance & support” tweeted G Kishan Reddy
The Minister also took the opportunity to congratulate the entire team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and also thanked the Ministry of External Affairs.
“I congratulate the entire team of @ASIGoI for their untiring efforts towards making the Ramappa Temple a World Heritage Site. I would also like to thank the Ministry of External Affairs for their efforts under the guidance of Hon’ble PM @narendramodi”
Mr G Kishan Reddy observed that owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting of the World Heritage Committee(WHC) of UNESCO could not be conducted in 2020 and the nominations for 2020 and those for 2021 were discussed in a series of online meetingsthat are currently underway. The discussion on Ramappa Temple took place on Sunday, the 25th July 2021.
Mr Reddy stated that there were 21 Members in the World Heritage Committee with China currently as the Chair of the Committeeand credited the success to the goodwill that Mr Modi has built with UNESCO member countries during his tenure.
The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.The presiding deity here is RamalingeswaraSwamy. It is also knownas the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor. The Ramappa Temple is a manifestation of this and often stands as a testimonial to the Kakatiyan creative genius. The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiyan sculptors.
The sculptural art and decoration specific to the time and Kakatiyan Empire have an outstanding universal value. The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.
European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”.
