Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta
– History
The temple is believed to be built by Kumara Kampana, son of Emperor Bukka Raya
I (1356 – 1377 CE) of the Vijayanagara Kingdom from the Sangama Dynasty.
The temple also received patronage from Matli dynasty. The Matli kings constructed
the Sanjeeviraya temple in front of this temple. There are two inscriptions of
King Sadasivaraya (1542 – 1570 CE) of Vijayanagara Kingdom on two slabs
set up near the eastern gopura of the temple.
One inscription
dated to 1554 CE records a gift of the lands and villages for daily worship,
monthly festivals and offerings. Another inscription of King Sadasivaraya dated
to 1558 CE records the gift of villages for daily worship and construction of
prakara walls, gopuras and mandapas. Another inscription of King Sadasivaraya
dated to 1559 CE records a gift of land registers a gift of land for the
daily worship.
An
inscription of Matla Anantaraju, son of Matli chief Yallamaraja dated to 1589
CE on the prakara wall records about the settlement of a dispute between Balija
and Vadla Kammaras (carpenters) of Vontimitta. The Balijas did not allow the Vadla
Kammaras to sit on the ratha of the god during the festival. Anantaraju ordered
that the Vadla Kammaras should be allowed to sit on the ratha as the same custom was followed at Tirupati.
Bammera
Potana (1405 – 1470 CE), a resident of Vontimitta wrote his magnum
opus Maha Bhagavatham in Telugu language and dedicated it
to Rama. A stone image of Potana is placed in the maha mandapa. Another poet Ayyala Thipparaju, the court poet of Praudha
Devaraya (1423 – 1446 CE) who
wrote Sree Raghuvira Satakam was also native of Vontimitta.
Ayyalaraju Ramabhadra, the grandson of Thipparaju was one of the
Ashtadiggajas of Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Kingdom. Vavilakolanu Subba Rao, known as Andhra
Valmiki for translating Valmiki’s Ramayana into Telugu also spent his
time here. The saint-poet Annamacharya is said to have visited the temple and composed and sang kirtans in praise of Rama.
Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier, a French traveler who had visited this temple in 1652, appreciated
the elegance of the temple's architecture. The administration of the temple is
entrusted to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) by the Government
of Andhra Pradesh. The TTD board had passed a resolution on 29 July 2015 to get
the temple under its administrative control.
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