Tadipatri

Tadipatri was part of the Gandikota province in Vijayanagara Empire, initially called as Tatipalli, later Tatipatri, was also called as Bhaskara Kshetram in ancient times. The place is believed to get it's name from the palm trees located here, Tati is Telugu for palm. As per some stories, Tadipatri is also believed to have got it's name from the fact that Rama killed the demoness Tataki here. The place was founded in 1350 AD, when a Brahmin Narayana Bhatta settled here on the orders of Vidyaranya Swamy.

The two main temples of Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy and Chintala Venkataramana Swamy were built between 1460-1525,while the former was built by Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayaka, the ruler of Gandikota, the latter was built by his son Timma Nayaka. Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple, located on the banks of the Penna river, gets it's name from the fact that the Shiva linga in the sanctum sanctorum, is surrounded by a perennial underground stream( Bugga) all the time.

Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple, located on the banks of the Penna river, gets it's name from the fact that the Shiva linga in the sanctum sanctorum, is surrounded by a perennial underground stream( Bugga) all the time. As per records, a sculptor from Kashi, Yellanchari was bought to construct the temple, and it's believed it was consecrated where Parashurama meditated. The temple's architecture is a mix of Chalukyan, Chola and Vijayanagar styles. Known for it's rich sculpture.

One of the temple's main features is the unfinished gopuram in the North side, that also is richly carved. Also the entire Shiva Puranam is carved on the walls, as also episodes from Ramayana, Mahabharata. The Shiva Linga here is Swayambhu, surrounded on all sides by the underground stream. There is a murthi of the goddess towards the Penna river, it's believed that when the water level reaches the navel, Tadipatri will sink in the river fully.

The other famous temple in Tadipatri is the Chintala Venkataramana Temple, dating to Vijayanagara era. It's believed that the main deity, here was discovered inside a tamarind tree( Chinta Chettu), hence the name.

Another story goes that Pemmasani Timma Nayaka, the ruler of Gandikota, while resting here, had a dream in which Shree Venkateswara asked him to build a temple here, and directed him to the tamarind tree, where the murthi was located. Due to the tamarind trees here, the main deity was called Chintala Thiruvengalanadha Swamy, which later became Chintala Venkataramana Swamy in due course. The temple is similiar in style to the Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple.

Due to the tamarind trees here, the main deity was called Chintala Thiruvengalanadha Swamy, which later became Chintala Venkataramana Swamy in due course. The temple is similiar in style to the Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple. The main deity of Shri Venkataramana is around 10 ft tall, and during Mukkoti Ekadashi, for 3 consecutive days, the sun rays directly fall on the feet of the deity, which come via the stone Ratha installed in the complex here.

The main deity of Shri Venkataramana is around 10 ft tall, and during Mukkoti Ekadashi, for 3 consecutive days, the sun rays directly fall on the feet of the deity, which come via the stone Ratha installed in the complex here.

Starting from the stone Ratha, the temple has a massive mandapam, with 40 pillars, and like the Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple, has some richly carved sculptures from Mahabharat, Ramayana.

Tadipatri is worth visiting for both the Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple and Chintala Venkataramana Swamy temple, with their Vijayanagara style of architecture and richly carved sculptures. The famous Kadapa granite used in construction comes from near Tadapatri, the town is a major center for granite polishing units. Many prominent cement companies like Ultratech, Penna are located here.

Two famous persons hail from Tadipatri, one is the great director K.V.Reddy, who directed the evergreen classic Mayabazaar, as well as other great movies like Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, Patala Bhairavi, Donga Ramudu. The other great person to hail from Tadipatri, is the legendary theater artist Bellary Raghava, whose plays won acclaim from Gurudev Tagore, George Bernard Shaw. He was equally famous as a lawyer of note.