Jogulamba Temple-Alampoor-Mahabubnagar

About Jogulamba Temple
The temple of Jogulamba is situated in the town of Alampur in the Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the Ashtadasa Sakthi Peethams (18 holy abodes of Mother Goddess) which is one of the famous spiritual places in the state.
The word "Jogulamba" is derived from "Joginula Amma" (Mother of Joginis). Jogini (also called as Yogini) means a female person, who has given up all the earthly attachments. Jogini also has another meaning which implies a dancer (female) whose life is dedicated to God. Hence, the goddess is also known as Yogulamba or Yogamba.

Description Of The Temple:
The temple of Jogulamba Devi is built magnificently near the banks of Tungabhadra River. The idol of the goddess is in a sitting posture with abundant hair which has a lizard, scorpion, bat and human skull adorned in it. Also, idols of Saptamatrikas (group of Hindu goddesses), Ganapathi and Veerabhadra are installed in conjunction of the main idol. The temple has a Yagnasala (where Yagnas are performed), a rest house and a pond. The temple covers a large portion of land, built magnificently with several carvings on the black stone and flooring is made of marble stone. The temple is closely situated to the Nava Brahma temples.

Siginificance of Jogulamba:
Jogulamba can be understood as "Gruha Chandi" (protector of our homes). As we noticed, the idol shows that the goddess has a lizard, scorpion, bat and human skull in her hair. These are the indications of evil and signs of deterioration of a house. Lizard is the primary indication that a house starting to lose its life. Gradually, the number of lizards shall increase which result in the welcoming of scorpions which is even worse. The next level would be the entrance of bats which may result in death of humans living in that house. People believe that Jogulamba protects them and their shelters from all kinds of evils. She is also worshipped to be freed from Vastu Doshas (faults in constructions). The temple attracts a large number of pilgrims from various parts for the country and major festivals like Dussera, Maha Shivaratri are celebrated with pomp.

Legend of Renuka Mata:
 Besides being a religious hub, Alampur is also famous for being a home to the Ashram of Maharshi Jamadagni. According to a legend, Maharshi Jamadagni stayed in Alampur with his wife Renuka and four sons. They were making their livelihood and worshipping Bala Brahmeswara and Jogulamba Devi. Renuka Mata, with her power, regularly used to make a pot with sand and bring water from the Tungabhadra River. One day, she noticed a king of Gandharvas bathing in the river with his wives. On seeing this, she formed a prejudice that happiness comes from materialistic wealth but not by worship.
At this thought, she lost all her powers and could not make the pot. She went home without water and on being asked the reason by Jamadagni, Renuka told about the incident and admitted her sinful thoughts. Then, Jamadagni got angry on her and ordered his sons to kill her. Three of them refused to do so but the fourth son, Parasurama, obeyed the order of his father and killed his mother by cutting her head off with his axe. Jamadagni was pleased and offered him a boon. Parasurama asked him to give back life to his mother. Then Jamadagni revived her life.
Legends say that the head of Renuka Mata became Ekaveera Devi, a symbol of Maya rupa; (materialistic thoughts) and the headless body became Bhudevi, a symbol of Matru rupa (mother). Many people say that Ekaveera Devi manifested herself as Goddess Yellamma in Undavelli village near Alampur, while the shrine of Bhudevi is present in the premises of Bala Brahmeswara temple.

History:
 According to Hindu mythology, "Oordhva Danta Pankthi" (upper jaw with tooth) of Devi fell here and the place formed as a Sakthi Peetham. During 1390 AD, the original temple was demolished by the Muslim invaders, led by Bahamani Sultans and the main idol along with the consorts was damaged by them. But some devotees resisted the invasions and protected the disfigured idols of Jogulamba with other consorts; repaired and kept them in the Bala Brahma temple.
After those invasions the temple was neglected for over centuries. Later in the mid 1970s, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken over the temple and notified as a protected monument. Several pious people thought of re-constructing the temple but could not make it because of the restrictions made by the ASI. Later, Ajay Kallam, the then Commissioner of Endowments Department took initiative and showed special interest in the reconstruction of the temple. He worked relentlessly in raising the funds. Also, a great writer, Sanskrit scholar, researcher, reformist and epigraphist - Gadiyaram Ramakrishna Sarma took active part in the reconstruction of the temple and devoted his later life for the revival of the temple.
After many appeals from the devotees and Hindu scholars, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) finally gave the clearance in 2002 and the temple was reconstructed at a cost of Rs.2 Crore. The new temple was built at the same place of the old temple and a set of new idols were consecrated on 13th February 2005. It took nearly 615 years to see the temple standing again at the same place. Idols of the presiding deity - Jogulamba, Dwarapalikas and Vahanamurthy (lion) were installed in the temple.

Reconstruction of the temple:
The construction of the temple started during 2002, under the supervision of an advisory committee which included the Kanchi Kamakoti Peethadhipati, Sringeri Peethadhipati, Gadiyaram Ramakrishna Sarma, the then district collector, Sri Satya Sai Trust and Nagarjuna Group.
One S.P. Perumalachary, the Sthapati or the architect of temples of Endowments Department of Tamilnadu was the man behind the reconstruction of the old temple. The new temple resembled more like the original one built in Chalukyan style and design. S.P. Perumalachary, who is said to be the architect with extra-ordinary engineering and visionary skills, studied extensively the architectural style of Chalukyan Era and their skills. He and his team of 100 sculptors (from Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) left no leaf unturned to make the new temple identical to the original one, be it the selection of stones, the carvings of idols, pillars etc.
He has made great contributions to Andhra Pradesh that augmented the culture and heritage of the state. Some of his outstanding works include the renovation of Lord Sri Rama temple of Bhadrachalam and the carving of Buddha statue in the Hussain Sagar (lake) of Hyderabad. Reportedly, one of his future ambitions is to make a singular monolith (single piece of rock) statue of Lord Krishna chiseled from the granite reserve at Raigiri hill (Nalgonda district), where the boulder for Hussain Sagar Buddha statue was procured.

Mahabubnagar-Alampoor

About Alampur
Alampur is a small village located in the Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The nearest cities are Mahbubnagar, Kurnool and Hyderabad at a distance of 90 km, 27 km and 200 km respectively. Alampur is also known as "Dakshina Kasi", as it has the famous temples of Nava Brahmeswara and Jogulamba. The town is situated on the banks of Tungabhadra River, where it meets River Krishna.
Alampur village is considered to be one of the most important heritage sites and is notified by the Archeological Survey of India. The town has many temples, which are considered to be the finest monuments that show the Chalukyan style of sculptures. This brought the name as "Dakshina Kasi" (the Kasi of south) to Alampur.
History
Historical records reveal that the place was ruled by several dynasties like Satavahana Ikshvakus, Badami Chalukyas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara Empire and Qutb Shahis of Golconda. The place was earlier known as Halampuram aka Alampuram. Some inscriptions dating back to Chalukyan King Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI, mentions the name of the place as Halampura.
The Chalukyan Rule: Alampur region was ruled by the Chalukyan kings. Their reign started with Vijayaditya (696-733) and ended with Kirtivarma (744-755). During this period, they constructed the Nava Brahmeswara temples (nine temples of Lord Shiva) near the southern banks of Tungabhadra River and several other temples in the vicinity.
Local info
Other attractions:
Some of the other religious attractions in and around the town are as follows.
Yellamma temple situated at Undavelli, which is about 8 km from Alampur. It is an ancient temple built of bricks. The presiding deity is Yellamma (believed to be an incarnation of Ekaveera Devi), and her idol consists of only head with a crown. Yellamma is derived from the words "Yellaraku Amma" (mother of all). She is also called as Hemala. All major festivals are celebrated here and regular rituals and poojas are performed to the goddess.

Accommodation:-
Alampur village does not have proper accommodation except for a small choultry maintained by the temple authorities. Best and convenient option is to stay at Kurnool, which is the nearest town (about 27 kms and half hour's drive). Accommodation at Kurnool.

How to reach:-
Alampur has a railway station, which is nearly 8 km far from the town and is situated on the main line of Hyderabad - Kurnool. Also, a small halt station called "BBS Jogulamba Halt" is situated near Alampur station, and only a few trains connecting Hyderabad and Kurnool halt at these stations. The nearest major railway station is at Kurnool which is at just 27 km from Alampur and all major trains halt here. Alternatively, driving down or hiring a taxi would be an ideal option to reach the place easily.

From Hyderabad: Take the NH-7 (National Highway road) towards Mahbubnagar and go straight down the highway. Crossing the villages of Jadcherla, Addakal, Kothakota, Pebberu and Beechpalli River, you need to go straight on the highway until you reach 'Alampur cross road' where you see a temple arch towards your left hand side on the main road. From this point, the temple is about 18 kms inside. Just follow the directions to the temple.

From Kurnool: Starting from Kurnool bus-station, take the NH-7 (National Highway road) towards Mahbubnagar and go straight down the highway. After crossing the barrage of Tungabhadra River, turn right towards "Panchalingala". Go straight until you cross a railway line. And before you reach the village E.Tandrapadu, turn left to head towards Bhiravapuram. Once you reach Bhiravapuram, from there, you can reach the Alampur town very easily.

Mahabubnagar District. Mandals

There are 64 Mandals in the Mahabubnagar district. This is the complete list with mandal codes.

* 01. Kodangal
* 02. Bomraspeta
* 03. Kosgi
* 04. Doulatabad
* 05. Damaragidda
* 06. Maddur
* 07. Koilkonda
* 08. Hanwada
* 09. Nawabpet
* 10. Balanagar
* 11. Kondurg
* 12. Farooqnagar
* 13. Kothur
* 14. Keshampeta
* 15. Talakondapalle
* 16. Amangal
* 17. Madgul
* 18. Vangoor
* 19. Veldanda
* 20. Kalwakurthy
* 21. Midjil
* 22. Thimmajipeta
* 23. Jadcherla
* 24. Bhoothpur
* 25. Mahabubnagar
* 26. Addakal
* 27. Devarkadara
* 28. Dhanwada
* 29. Narayanpet
* 30. Utkoor
* 31. Maganoor
* 32. Makthal
* 33. Narva
* 34. Chinna Chintakunta
* 35. Atmakur
* 36. Kothakota
* 37. Peddamandadi
* 38. Ghanpur
* 39. Bipjinapalle
* 40. Nagar Kurnool
* 41. Tadoor
* 42. Telkapalle
* 43. Uppununthala
* 44. Achampet
* 45. Amrabad
* 46. Balmoor
* 47. Lingal
* 48. Pedda Kothapalle
* 49. Kodair
* 50. Gopalpeta
* 51. Wanaparthy
* 52. Pangal
* 53. Pebbair
* 54. Gadwal
* 55. Dharur
* 56. Maldakal
* 57. Ghattu
* 58. Aiza
* 59. Waddepalle
* 60. Itikyal
* 61. Manopadu
* 62. Alampur
* 63. Veepangandla
* 64. Kollapur

Mahboobnagar Rivers

Mahbubnagar River Map

Krishna and tungabhadra are the major rivers flowing through Mahabubnagar district. Wanaparthi, Gadwal, Makthal, Kollapnr, Atmakur and alampur are located on the banks of Krishna river. Tungabhdra flows through the areas of Gadwal and Alampur. Dindi River, Pedavagu and Chinavagu , the tributaries of the Krishna river flow through Mahabubnagar dist.

Connectivity to Mahbubnagar District

Railway network in Mahabubnagar District

By road:

NH-7 ( National Highway 7 ) connecting Bangalore and Nagpur passes through Shadnagar and Jadcherla towns in Mahabubnagar district and Mahabubnagar town is located 20 kms off NH-7. Hyderabad to srisailam state highway passes through Mahaboobnagar district.

By Air:

Rajiv Gandhi international airport at samshabad is the nearest airport for Mahaboobnagar district. Shamshabad is located 30 kms from shadnagar and 80 kms from Mahabubnagar town.

By rail:

Trains running between Hyderabad to tirupathi, Hyderabad to Bangalore , Egmore of Chennai to Kachiguda in Hyderabad and New delhi to Tirupathi pass through Mahabubnagar railway station.

History of Mahbubnagar District

H.H.The Nizam VI - Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan

The History of Mahbubnagar district is closely linked to that of the Telengana district, as it forms a part of the same. Telangana forms the core of the Satavahana Dynasty (221BC-218 AD), part of the Chalukyan Dynasty in South India (between 5th and 11th century AD) and in the recent history, it formed the core of the Golconda State and Hyderabad State, ruled by the Qutab Shahi Dynasty (1520-1687) and Asaf Jahi Dynasty (1724-1948) until it was taken over by New Delhi in 1948. This region became independent and joined democratic India on 18th September 1948. Telangana comprises 10 districts: Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, Warangal, Khammam, Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Nalgonda, and Mahabubnagar districts.


Mahabunagar is a southern district of Hyderabad state under the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is bordered with Krishna River in the south and surrounded by the Nalgonda district, Hyderabad, Kurnool district, Raichur and Gulbarga district. This place was formerly known as Rukmammapeta and Palamooru. The name was changed to Mahabubnagar on 4th December 1890, in honour of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI, the Nizam of Hyderabad (1869-1911 AD). It has been the headquarters of the district since 1883 AD. The Mahabubnagar region was once known as Cholawadi or the land of the Cholas`. It is said that the famous Golconda diamonds including famous "Kohinoor" diamond came from Mahabubnagar district.

It is very hard to understand the history of Palamoor as this region was always neglected by the rulers. And for most of the time, this region was ruled by very small regional rulers, Samasthans, Jamindars, Doras or land lords. History of this region can be understood by the dynasties ruled this region as given below.

This region was southernmost land in the Ashoka`s Empire in 250 BC. Consequently it came under the rule of a number of dynasties including the Satavahana Dynasty (221BC-218 AD), Chalukya Dynasty in South India (between 5th and 11th century AD), Rashtrakutas Dynasty - Ruled for a brief period in 9th Century, Kakatiya Dynasty (1100-1474 AD), Bahamanis Dynasty (1347 - 1518), Qutab Shahi Dynasty (1518-1687). After the decline of the Qutab Shahi dynasty, Mughal rule was established over the region. Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, invaded Golconda in A.D.1687 and annexed it to the Mughal Empire. Since then, Golconda became part of the Deccan Subha and a Nizam was appointed as an agent of the Mughal emperor. Thus, for about a period of 35 years it was ruled by the Mughals, the last one being Mubariz Khan. Following this, the Nizam Shahi (Asif Jahi) dynasty came into prominence (1724-1948). This dynasty acquired enormous wealth and lived a most extravagant and lavish life for that time. Nizam VII was one of the richest men the world over at his time. He was also awarded as "Faithful Ally of British". The people of the land left behind a lot of well known landmarks, rich treasures, art, lavish food style and rich culture.

Tourism in Mahbubnagar District

The district of Mahbubnagar has been made a picturesque location with low as well as high hills surrounding the district all around. Apart from the beautiful view there are some places of tourist attraction in the district. They are namely Pillalamarri, Srisailam, Alampur temple, Koilsagar Dam and Priyadarshini Jurala Project at Gadwal.

Economy of Mahbubnagar District.

The prime occupation of the people of Mahbubnagar is agriculture. But due to frequent droughts which are caused in Mahbubnagar, several farmers are not able to carry out their agricultural activities in a proper manner and as a result they migrate to the nearby towns. The main crops that are grown in the region are paddy, castor, pulses and jowar. The main industries of the district are cotton textiles, power generation and ceramics. In the year 2002-03, the District Domestic Product was measured at Rs. 322619 lakhs.

Horticulture is also an important occupation for the people of Mahbubnagar. The fruits that are commonly grown in the district of Mahbubnagar are mango, sweet lime and orange

Education in Mahbubnagar District

From 2008 Palamooru University Started Under Control Of Osmania University. The academic institutes of the Mahbubnagar district falls under the jurisdiction of the Osmania University. In addition to the various government colleges and institutes which offer undergraduate and post graduate degrees there are several private institutes in the region which cater to the academic needs of the students. Some of the well known private academic institutes of the district are SVS Medical College, Madina Group of Institutions, Jaya Prakash Narayana Engineering College and a lot more which adds to the prestige of Mahbubnagar.

Mahabubnagar - Rural Areas Social Conditions and Environment

Landry Lady and Normal Rural Villagers

Woman grinding Chilli

Open sewer system

Mahabubnagar Rural Houses and Streets

Woman drying rice

Streets in MahabubNagar Rural Villages

Childrens in Mahabubnagar Rural Area (Vill-Vemulanarwa)

Collecting firewood

Surviving on Chilli Tamarind and Rotte

Women at the water pump

Peoples & Culture of Mahbubnagar District

Unofficial name of Mahabubnagar is palamoor. Mahabubnagar the southern district of Telangana, have been ruled by Muslim kings for the last six hundred years. Though there were reputed sansthans like Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Kollapur, Amarchinta etc with leaders like Bregadiar Raja Rameswar Rao (whose regiment later became the famous 'Second Lancers' in Nizam's army), they have simply collected taxes by sucking the blood of poor people of palamoor to impress Nizam and develop Hyderabad for themselves and never cared for rural education or rural economic development. The feudal system under these rulers did not help our society. Today rural Telangana is decimated for lack of economic development. Instead of unite and fight for justice, Telangana people are divided on Caste and are prone to outside exploitation. The Naxalite violence in this region is one such good example. Though the world's civilization advanced dramatically, most of our village people are still living like the way people lived 2000 years ago: bullock carts, ploughs, carry weight on their heads, mop the floors with hands etc. There is very little change in their life style. After independence there were number of reputed politicians represented from this land to lok sabha, rajya sabha, state assembly and became ministers. Most of them were selfish, corrupted and never attempted to develop the most backward palamoor.

People of palamoor are very cool and hard working and majority of people's lifestyle is still comparable to slavery. Because of lack of proper employment and resources, severe draught conditions in the district, palamoor people tend to migrate to other places in India, thus became popular as palamoor labor in all over India. Despite the Krishna and Tungabhadra and 12 other rivulets flowing through here and the Jurala priyadarshini project, it has been chronically drought-prone. As a result, migration is a way of life for its people. Hargopal, member of the Committee Against Famine that has studied the drought situation in palamoor, says between 10-15 lakh people - “the largest migration anywhere in the world” - go out in search of work. The suicides here (Gangapur village witnessed five in one month) are driven by migration for jobs, finding no work and returning to commit suicide. The lack of rain (In the year 1999, 458 mm rainfall received which is 45 per cent deficient) forcing farmers to consume pesticide when they cannot repay the loan taken to invest in bore wells that do not work because the water table and the power voltage is low.

Hargopal says the district has deliberately been rendered backward by the politicians. “Most Mahabubnagar politicians began life as labor contractors and were involved in labor export.” Unlike in other Telangana districts like Warangal where the youth spearheaded movements focusing on the people’s problems, here the migration has led to problems remaining unarticulated. There are few industries. Even those that exist, have not encouraged the hiring of local labor though labor from Palamoor in this district is reputed for good work and is much sought after in construction work in most parts of the country, including the north India.

Demography of Mahbubnagar District

The population of the district in the year 2001 was 3,513,934. The density of population in the district is 167 persons per square kilometer. Most of the people in the district dwell in the rural areas and only a meager percentage of the population which is equal to 10.57 percent stay in the urban areas. The sex ratio in the district is 973 females per thousand males.

Mahabubnagar district is well known for its greater percent of rural population. This district consists of 1553 Revenue Villages, 1347 Grama Panchayatis, 64 Mandals and 4 Revenue Divisions. Mahabubnagar District has 14 Assembly Constituencies and 2 Parliamentary Constituencies. The important towns in the district are Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Atmakur(a), Achampet, Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Jadcherla, Kalwakurthy, Shadnagar, Kodangal, Amarchintha, Makhtal, Alampur, Kollapur and Nagarkurnool[3]. The district Headquarters is approximately 100 km southwest to the state capital Hyderabad.

Telugu is spoken by more than 90 percent of the people in Mahbubnagar and only a very few of them speak in the Urdu Language. Literacy rate in the region is as low as 44.44 percent. Similarly the percentage of working population in the district is 43.19.

Geography of Mahbubnagar District

The global position of Mahbubnagar district is on 16.73 north latitude and 77.98 east longitudes. Nalgonda and the Guntur districts stand to the east of Mahbubnagar. On the west it is bounded by the Gulbarga district of Karnataka. The Rangareddy and the Kurnool districts are towards the north and the south of Mahbubnagar respectively. Mahbubnagar occupies an area of 18,432 square kilometers. The district of Mahbubnagar is generally divided into two distinct regions. They are the plain region with low lying and scattered hills and the second is the plateau of Amarabad-Farhabad. The plateau region has a continuous range of hills with an average height of 800 meters.

The two important rivers that flow across the district of Mahbubnagar are River Krishna and the Tungabhadra River. An important feature of the climate of Mahbubnagar is that it faces drought conditions which occur due to the scanty and erratic rainfall in the region. The average annual rainfall of the district is 604 mm. Timber trees like ebony, teak, mango, tamarind are commonly yielded from the forests of Mahbubnagar. Apart from the timber trees the forests also yield plants which can be used as fuel wood. Hence it can be said that the geographical conditions of the area does not assist the growth of a lot plants and trees

Mahabubnagar – Introduction

Mahbubnagar or the Mehboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh is also known as Palamooru. Mahbubnagar town is the district headquarters. The district ranks second in the state of Andhra Pradesh in terms of land area. The location of the district is strategic in the sense it is located only at a distance of 96 kilometers from the state capital Hyderabad. Mahbubnagar has been divided into 64 mandals under 4 Revenue Divisions.