ASI Museum, Alampur, Telangana

ASI Museum, Alampur, Telangana

ASI Museum is a Museum run by archeological survey of India, located in Alampur Town near Kurnool in Jogulamba Gadwal District in Telangana, India. It is located at the entrance of the Bala Brahma Temple. The Museum was started in 1953 by then Vice President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

The Museum

The museum is a large hall with an open-air section at the center and a small enclosure towards the eastern side. The museum houses a collection of 188 sculptures (124 stone sculptures & 64 loose sculptures) and 26 inscriptions recovered from the Navabrahma Temples and surroundings of Alampur. These artifacts are dated between 6^th and 16^th Centuries CE belong to Kakatiyas, Chalukyas, and Vijayanagara dynasties. The entrance to this museum is a sculpted but an unmarked temple doorway.

All the artifacts are spread across the hall. Some of the important sculptures in the museum include 7^th century Surya, Nataraja, Lord Vishnu, Subrahmanya with Valli, Lord Shiva & Parvathi riding on Nandi, Saptamatrikas, Nagabandhas, Mahishasura Marthini, Nagnanaka Bandha, Ashtadikpalakas, Nagas among others. The Surya sculpture has participated and won several awards in International Art Exhibition in Germany in 1984. The Nataraja sculpture with 8 hands from 11^th century is beautifully carved.

Mahishasura Marthini from 7^th century is wonderfully carved which showcases different facial expressions from different angles. The sculpture of Nandi carrying Siva & Parvathi is one of its kind and rarely appeared scene. Ashtadikpalakas figures are similar to those of Papanasi temples. The museum has a horizontal, circular black-stone sculpture of Nagnaka Bhanda, the Lotus-headed goddess in naked form.

Nagnanaka Bandha represents Renuka Devi in nude and women seeking children perform pooja to Renuka Devi. Similar sculpture exists in Bala Brahma Temple where poojas are performed by women on Tuesdays.  There are several figures of warriors in the museum. Some of these figures showcase warriors being taken to Heaven after their heroic death in the war.

At the centre of the hall there are two large, square shaped Kakatiya ceiling panels which are placed facing up. The one towards left has three rows, each showing the images of Naga, Indra and Agni. The one towards the right shows the common motif of Siva, who is surrounded by Ashta Dikpalas. The far wall is adorned by a beautiful image of Siva as Mahesha and a polished granite doorway which then leads to back room.

The right wall displays images of Surya, and of Siva in Asuravadhamurti and Bhairava Avtar. There is also a unique split piece with Nataraja on top accompanied by Agni on the bottom panel. The centre of the hall houses a stunning black sculpture of Nataraja and this is faced by a large granite Nandi. The museum also has ruins of reliefs that narrate Hindu epics and other texts such as the Panchatantra.

The inscriptions are from the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas and Vijayanagara rulers. The initial inscriptions were a mix of Kannada and Telugu script. Some of the inscriptions have drawings of Surya, Chandra, Shivalinga, Cow and a knife, which means all the donations should only go to Shiva as long as Surya and Chandra exists and stealing these donations is equal to the sin of killing a cow.

Timings

The Museum remains open from 10.30 AM to 01.00 PM and 01.30 PM to 05.00 PM. The Museum is closed on Fridays

Entry Fees

·        Adults ₹ 5

·        Children ₹ 3 

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 500 meters from Alampur Bus Stand, 10 Kms from Alampur Road Railway Station, 27 Kms from Kurnool Bus Stand, 28 Kms from Kurnool, 28 Kms from Kurnool Railway Station, 58 Kms from Kurnool Airport, 126 Kms from Mahbubnagar, 200 Kms from Hyderabad Airport and 215 Kms from Hyderabad. NH7 is the nearest highway passing close to this village and you can easily get down at Alampur Cross Roads and hire a taxi/auto or bus to reach the temple, which is located roughly at a distance of around 15 Kms. APSRTC run frequent buses from Kurnool to Alampur Temple village. The nearest railway station is Alampur Road Railway Station, but not many trains halt here. Major Railway Station is Kurnool Railway Station.

Location | Photos