Places to visit in Rajanna Sircilla District

Rajanna Sircilla District has been carved out of erstwhile Karimnagar district. It is surrounded by Karimnagar, Kamareddy and Siddipet districts. The district is spread over an area of 2,030.89 square kilometres and according to 2011 Census of India, the district has a population of 546,121.

The district has one revenue division and 13 mandals, with its headquarters located at Sircilla town, popularly known as Textile town due to the presence of large number of power looms and processing units. A Textile Park established near Sircilla town is being developed as a mega textile zone. Maneru, a tributary of Godavari, passes through the district.

Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam

Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam, the abode of Lord Eshwara or Shiva is situated in Vemulawada village of Rajanna Sircilla district. It is one of the ancient and famous Shaivite temples in the region. The shrine is known for its architectural grandeur as well as spiritual sanctity and is one of the famous Shaivite temples in South India, which has been mentioned in the puranas.The presiding deity of this temple, Lord Raja Rajeshwara is seen in the form of NeelaLohitha Siva Lingam and is known for great benevolence towards fulfilling the wishes of the faithful.

The presiding deity of the temple, Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy is fondly called as Rajanna. This shrine is also known popularly as ‘Dakshina Kasi’ and ‘HariharaKshetram’ due to the presence of two Vaishnava Temples in the main complex namely Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple and Sri Seetharama Chandra Swamy Temple. Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy is considered the KshetraPalaka of this temple.

There is also a durgah within the precincts of this temple, which stands as a symbol of religious tolerance. Pilgrims have divine bath in a holy tank called 'Dharma Gundam', before they head for darshan as these holy waters are believed to possess medicinal properties. Every year during Maha Shivarathri, devotees flock in large numbers to Vemulawada, to offer prayers to Rajanna.

Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

Just 2 kilometers away from the town of Vemulawada is an interesting temple, at Nampally Gutta. It is the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy aalayam. The temple is nestled on a small hillock on the highway connecting Vemulawada and Karimnagar. The powerful Lord Narasimha Swamy adorns the hills. You can observe this with most of the temples for the revered Lord Narasimha that are usually located on hills. The Manpally Gutta temple also adheres to the same tradition.

Vehicles are only restricted to a certain point on the hill from where the tourists have to walk a few hundred steps that lead to the top. The climb up to the temple may be strenuous as it is slightly steep. When you reach the top of the hill, you will reach this small temple dedicated to Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy.

The little temple doesn't look like an ancient one, and is attached to a huge rock, which indicates to a probable idol, that was carved out of the rock, around which the temple was built. At the entrance of the temple, you can find a statue of Lord Narasimha breaking his way out of a pillar.

Sircilla Textile Park

Sircilla as it is also called, borders the banks of the River Manair. It is a town and a municipality in the Karimnagar district of the Telangana region. The importance of Sircilla lies in its claim to being a well-known textile producer in Telangana. The primary income for about 80% of its population comes from being employed as weavers or as textile dyeing workers. Sircilla name is derived from Sirishala which means ‘Centre of Wealth’.

Ananthagiri Fort

Ananthagiri fort is situated in the outskirts of Ananthagiri village on a hillock in Illanthakunta Mandal. This historical fort built in stone with several bastions on the hill, played an important role from medieval period to the period of the Asaf Jahis. There are ruined fortification walls and two water tanks on the hill with entrance gates. There is a ruined Vishnu (in the form of Anantha) temple on the hillock. Since Vishnu is in the form of Anantha in this temple, this fort is known as “Ananthagiri”.

Source: Telangana Tourism