Hyderabad: What’s in a name? Certainly, a lot if the names of temples, historical places are changed by rulers of the day for obvious reasons.
Victory of Congress in Telangana State has heralded voicing of voices for setting right the wrongs and changes done by ousted BRS Government.
The first salvo on change of names of prominent places in Telangana State by former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao during BRS rule has been fired by Acharya G Chenna Keshav Reddy, retired professor of Sri Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad.
Keshav Reddy told Siasat.com that he had requested Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to restore the old names of famed Yadagirigutta Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple and Bhadrachallam where the famous Sri Rama temple is located.
KCR on the reported advice of Chinna Jeeyar Swamy had changed the names of two prominent temple places—Yadagirigutta to Yadadri and Bhadrachallam to Bhadradri.
Ironically, Chinna Jeeyar Swamy who was in the good books of KCR and a spiritual guide for some time fell out with him later.
“Yadagirigutta or gutta for short has been called since ages. However, former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on the instructions of an Andhra swami changed its age-old name to Yadadri, which is against democratic principles. Thousands of people in Telangana have Yadagiri as their name. It’s there since ages. Why change it?” he said in a letter to Chief Minister.
He added, “In old Krishna District in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, there is “Vedadri” which was linked to Yadadri. Why lift this name from AP? Yadagirigutta is part of Telangana culture and history. The original names should be restored.”
Yadagirigutta is a famous pilgrim centre of Lord Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temple, which was renovated and reconstructed by KCR, is located 60 km from Hyderabad.
Taking exception to change of name of Bhadrachallam to Bhadradri too, the professor reminded that Kothagudem railway station was called “Bhadrachallam road.”
Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachallam is one of the ancient temples in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district attracting pilgrims from all over the country and world.
The annual Sri Rama Navami day when the wedding of Lord Rama and his consort Sita takes places attracts huge pilgrims. The temple is located 300 km from Hyderabad.
“In a people’s government, the local names should be there and if it is changed, it should be restored back. We should restore Yadagiri-Bhuvanagiri and Bhadrachallam-Kothagudem district names too,” he added.
