On the bank of the Godavari at Bhadrachalam in Telangana stands the temple of Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy, one of the most revered Rama shrines of the South, set in the forest region where, tradition holds, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana dwelt during their exile — the Dandakaranya, with the sacred Parnasala nearby. Here Rama is worshipped enthroned with Sita and Lakshmana, and uniquely bears the shankha and chakra of Vishnu, marking him as the Lord himself.
The temple is inseparable from the memory of the seventeenth-century devotee Bhakta Ramadasu (Kancherla Gopanna), who rebuilt it out of overwhelming love for Rama and whose soul-stirring songs are still sung across the Telugu land. Bhadrachalam is thronged above all at Sri Rama Navami, when the celestial wedding of Rama and Sita is celebrated with great splendour.
