Stone by stone, Hanamkonda’s Kakatiya-era dance pavilion rises again

The famed Nandi outside the Shiva shrine at Hanamkonda’s Thousand Pillar Temple is now inaccessible to the public. However, the sculpture stands reconstructed with the tail and folded leg complete. It leads to the remarkable resurrection of the temple’s 12th century dance pavilion, rebuilt stone-by-stone after it sank into the ground centuries ago. The revival, achieved after a 42-year effort led by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), has brought back one of the Kakatiya era’s finest architectural marvels.

The dance pavilion of the troika of Shiva, Surya (sun) and Vishnu was ransacked during the southern conquest of Ulugh Khan in 1323-24. The desecrated temple was left to ruins and as the urban neighbourhood of Warangal closed in, the temple land became a playground for children. It was only in 2012, when ₹5 crore was sanctioned for road widening, that the grandeour of the temple became evident as 30 families who lived in the temple premises were evacuated and structures in the surrounding areas demolished. Due to neglect, the disused pavilion sank to the ground as the north-east fracture or lineament drained away the foundational sandbox used for constructing the temple. 

Now, 700 years later, the temple’s dance pavilion has been rebuilt piece-by-piece.  

What is happening now?

The dance pavilion has been rebuilt after it was completely dismantled piece-by-piece. This 42-year-long effort began as a research project of Panduranga Rao, who was then teaching in Regional Engineering College, Warangal. In 1984, he led a research project for the Archaeological Survey of India titled ‘Geotechnical investigation and evaluation of Kakatiya monuments,’ and included other landmarks created by the Kakatiyas.

The geotechnicial evaluation of the Kakatiya-era temple was submitted in 1987 highlighting how the dance pavilion was not built on conventional foundation but used a sand pit to stabilise and keep the massive stone structure upright. However, nothing moved until 1991 when another ASI official got involved.

“We did drawings, videography, photography and satellite imagery before removing the pieces one by one including the foundation. We established that it was built on sandbox by drilling a number of boreholes in a geophysical survey that evaluated sub surface topography. We removed the sandbox and it took over one year to dismantle the more-than 4,000-odd pieces,” informs Mr. Panduranga Rao.

But all this did not happen in silence as temple visitors would see the process of dismantling and raise hell. The noise reached the High Court as well and it took up the case suo moto after reports about the ‘destruction of the Kalyana Mandapam’ surfaced. 

“When we were set to reconstruct it, one of the companies that came forward to help said they will lay a cement concrete and set up the pillars in it. I didn’t agree,” says Mr. Rao.

As there was a north-east fracture or lineament that led to the failure of the sandbox technology, the team executed the reconstruction relying on special treatment using the same technique as the Kakatiyas. They dug three-metre deep sandbox that was strengthened using granular piles filled with sand and small gravel that was consolidated with vibratory roller with 20 tonne capacity. “Over that we drilled 360 holes of 3 inches each and injected liquid lime mortar that solved the problem of deferential settlement of columns. Each of the beams and pillars weighed over 10 to 12 tonnes and then we assembled the pieces,” says Mr. Rao.

The iron dowels on the beams were rusted so we replaced them with stainless steel dowels. Later, the foundation and the pillars were raised layer-by-layer with the foundation having 10 layers.

The bigger challenge was the broken pillars and beams. Out of the estimated 132 columns, 119 were available. The ASI team had to chisel the rest of them into shape. Out of the 300 beams on the flooring, 60 were damaged beyond repair. These pieces were carved and chiselled by artisans who came from Tamil Nadu.

But why does the temple carry the name of the Kalyana Mandapam as Thousand Pillar Temple? “It is because it has a large number of columns. And few of these columns also have vertical carvings, giving the impression of pillars. Some of them are small and a few ones are big. However, after this restoration I am sure that the mandapam will survive for 1,000 more years,” says Mr. Rao.