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Ghanpur Temple Complex

The Ghanpur temples, also called Kota Gullu, are a group of about twenty-two temples within an enclosure 260 feet square in Mulug taluk. They are built of red sandstone and granite.

Period
13th century, Kakatiya
Materials
Red sandstone, granite, black granite
Location
18.3172° N, 79.8764° E

Source of the position: Wikidata Q26258396

Condition
Ruined but substantially standing. The roof of the main hall has fallen.
Outer enclosureInner enclosure · 260 ft square, built of huge stone blocksMain shrine92′6″ × 55 ftSaiva, rooflessnandimandapa with Siva Tandava on the architraveeight subsidiary shrinesgroup of five

Around twenty-two shrines within a double enclosure. The main temple measures 92 feet 6 inches by 55 feet.

Drawn for this site from published descriptions; not to scale · CC BY-SA

A row of small sandstone shrines at Ghanpur, each a square cell with a stepped tiered superstructure, receding into the distance, with fallen blocks on the grass

A line of subsidiary shrines at Kota Gullu. Each shrine is a square cell with a tiered superstructure, and fallen blocks lie in front.

Photo: Rangan Datta Wiki, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Aerial view of the Ghanpur temple complex: a central temple on a large platform, smaller shrines with towers around it, ruined structures and paths, set among fields and palms

The complex from the air: the main temple on its platform, with subsidiary shrines and ruined structures scattered around it.

Photo: Torchtelangana, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Detail

  • The group has around twenty-two temples inside a double enclosure 260 feet square. The inner enclosure is built of huge stone blocks.Kore & Sudhakar 2017Rama Rao 1966
  • The main temple is a Saiva shrine on an upapitha. It has a navaranga, three porches on the east, north and south, and an antarala and garbhagriha on the west. The main temple measures 92 feet 6 inches by 55 feet.Kore & Sudhakar 2017
  • Eight subsidiary shrines line the western wall, and a group of five shrines stands north of the main temple.Kore & Sudhakar 2017
  • The antarala doorway of the main temple carries a carving of Siva Tandava and pierced jali work.Kore & Sudhakar 2017
  • Parabrahma Sastry credits the Ghanapur temple to Recherla Rudra. The 2017 paper by Kore and Sudhakar links the Recherla family to a separate temple called Reddy Gudi.Parabrahma Sastry 1978Kore & Sudhakar 2017
  • Reddy Gudi is a Siva temple at the other end of Ghanpur village. Reddy Gudi faces north.Rama Rao 1966Kore & Sudhakar 2017
  • The 1900 survey did not record the complex. The Hyderabad Archaeological Department photographed it in 1931–32, and M. Rama Rao described it in detail in 1966.ASI 1900Nizam’s Archaeological Reports 1920–31Rama Rao 1966
  • Ghanapur Lake, in Mulug taluk, has a catchment of about 100 square kilometres and irrigates nearly 1,620 hectares.District Census Handbook 1986
  • The UNESCO dossier pairs the Ghanpur temples, which it calls Kotagullu, with Ghanpur Cheruvu. It pairs Ramappa Temple with Ramappa Cheruvu in the same way.UNESCO dossier 2017

Also recorded as

  • Ghanapur
  • Ghanpoor
  • Ganapeshwaralayam
  • Kota Gullu

Sources