Telangana’s Ramappa Temple Gets UNESCO World Heritage Tag

The Ramappa temple at Palampet in Telangana’s Warangal has been conferred the tag of UNESCO World Heritage site, the Culture Ministry said on Sunday.

“It gives me immense pleasure to share that @UNESCO has conferred the World Heritage tag to Ramappa Temple at Palampet, Warangal, Telangana. On behalf of the nation, particularly from people of Telangana, I express my gratitude to Hon PM @narendramodi for his guidance and support,” Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said in a tweet.

The temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.

“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 its grandness,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Several others leaders, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, expressed their joy over India’s achievement.

“Great News. Commend MoS @M_Lekhi, Ambassador @VishalVSharma7, Team @MEAIndia and Team @MinOfCultureGoI for their efforts in this regard,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Sitharaman in her tweet, said: “Great news. Immensely pleased on this announcement. Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple is inscribed as @UNESCO #WorldHeritage site. Located in Mulugu district in Telangana, with Warangal the nearest town”.

Shah congratulated Team India, calling the iconic temple a “perfect illustration of the Grand Indian engineering skills & craftsmanship” in his tweet, while Union minister Piyush Goyal termed it “an incredible moment for Incredible India”.

Reddy also said that owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the UNESCO could not be conducted in 2020, and the nominations for 2020 and those for 2021 were discussed in a series of online meetings.

The discussion on the Ramappa Temple took place on Sunday.

Reddy stated that there are 21 members in the WHC, with China currently as the Chair, which selected the Telangana temple for the tag.

The Rudreswara (Ramappa) 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 there is Ramalingeswara Swamy, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

It is also known as the Ramappa Temple, after the sculptor who executed the works of 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 statement said.

The temple stands on a six-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 outstanding universal value,”the statement said.

The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region, confirms the highly-evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.

European merchants and travellers were mesmerised by the beauty of the temple and one such traveller had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”, according to the statement issued by the Culture Ministry.