Villages in Telangana have been paying rich tributes to the minister of the Kakatiya dynasty and worshipping Naag Devta for more than 1,000 years with their names prefixed with Naaga and Ganga.
Nagulapalli, a small village in Korutla mandal of Jagtial district in Telangana has been reflecting its name where one can find hundreds of idols of Snake Goddess – Naag Devta in the remote rural pocket.
Recently, an idol of a snake with five hoods came to light, apart from the idol of Naag Devta. Whenever heavy rains occur in the village a large number of idols will be found beneath the earth. One will be surprised to know that as many as 285 idols were found at a place in the village.
According to villagers, the idols are of 1000-year-old and belonged to the period of Vemulawada Chalukyas and Kalyani Chalukyas.
The rulers from different periods, who practiced Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism gave given importance to Nagulapalli and the then religious heads took the lead in sculpting the idols of Naag Devta, where all the three rulers worshipped the Snake Goddess with utmost devotion.
Seems to be following the age-old tradition, the name of most of the villagers was prefixed with Naga.
It is believed that couples who don’t have children will be blessed with children after they do special prayers and pujas to the Nagulamma (Naag Devta) at Nagulapalli.
The couples, whose wish got fulfilled would return the favour by naming their newly born with a prefixed Naga.
According to historians, the idols of Parsanathudu and Baahubali at Martanda Temple, constructed during the Kalyani Chalukyas period, in Korutla town with traces of Jainism is very near to Nagulapalli which showcased that then rulers would accept Nagulapalli as their headquarters some 1,500 years ago.
Gangadhara, a village and also mandal headquarters in Telangana state has historical significance where its name derived from Gangadharudu, one of the ministers of the Kakathe tiya dynasty, who was instrumental in the formation of the village during his visit to the place in 1158 AD.
Most of the villagers’ names started with the word Ganga such as Gangadhar, Ganga, Gangaiah, Gangamallu, and Ganga Jamuna.
Interestingly the name of the village sarpanch is Gangadhar. The village Gangadhara is located 20 Km from Karimnagar town.
According to the literary works of historian Parbrahma Sastry, Gangadharudu was a minister in the Kakatiya dynasty during King Rudramadeva’s rule and administered many villages by making Gangadhara village his base camp.
He enquired about the whereabouts of the people and treated them like his children. Though he ruled the area almost 1,000 years ago, the people still remember the love and affection he showered upon their ancestors and named their children combined with the name of the good minister.
As many as 35,000 people were named with the name combined with Gangadharudu in Gangadhara where the total population of the village is 49,251. The 1000-year-old tradition also spread to surrounding areas, like Vemulawada popularly known as South Kaasi is about 18 Km away from Gangadhara. Devotees worship Lord Rajarajeswara, the president deity at Vemulawada temple, as Gangadharudu.
The River Godavari is flowing at Dharmapuri and Kotilingalu, which is 50 Km away from Gangadhara, and local people call the river bed Ganga. The villagers of Gangadhara have been receiving accolades from people from surrounding areas for uplifting the 1000-year-old tradition without fail.
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