Hyderabad: A temple dating back to Kakatiya period has been found amidst the thick jungle at Kusumanchi in Khammam district. The temple was hidden in a the thickly grown vegetation consisting of thorny bushes and well preached wild creepers.

Based on the information given by Katta Srinivas, president, TORCH and co-convenor, Kotha Telangana Charitra Brindam, Archaeologist and CEO of Pleach India Foundation, Dr.E.Sivanagireddy visited the temple on Friday.

The temple, with only a part of the entrance visible and is camouflaged by the overgrown creepers, consists of a Garbhagriha, Arthamandapa and a Ranga (dance) Mandapa supported by 16 pillars whose ceiling and flooring are dislocated due to negligence and lack of upkeep.

The brick-built superstructure on the sanctum sanctorum had collapsed and it was found that the inside of the Garbhagriha was dug out by treasure hunters long ago resulting in a heap of stones and earth piled up in front of the Arthamanadapa.

“The doorways, pillars, eve slabs and the basement represent the architectural grandeur and artistic exuberance of Kakatiyas datable to the 13th century CE and more akin to the local Ganapeswara temple,” says Dr. Reddy.

The temple hosts a beautiful sculpture of Valli and Subrahmanya mounted on a peacock carved out of black granite deposited on the stone bench at the entrance of the temple.

“The stone bench above the basement and a stone window that allows enough light inside the temple run all around the Rangamandapa, a unique feature of the Kakatiya temple architecture,” he says.

Dr. Sivanagireddy assured the villagers that he would render his services to restore the temple and bring back the lost glory if the local community comes forward for the cause under the ‘Preserve Heritage for Posterity’ campaign launched by Pleach India Foundation.

Sarpanch, Chenna Mohan and local teachers A.Veerasamy and M. Laxmi helped the team in locating the temple.

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