Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri District of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with an existence of the Bhadrachalam Temple of Lord Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari River.

The temple is considered one of the Divya Kshetrams of Godavari and is also revered as Dakshina Ayodhya. There are several myths and legends associated to the temple. Bhadrachalam site is very closely related to Ramayana. It is said that Ram, Sita and Lakshmana have stayed for sometime at Parnasala, which is only 30 km from Bhadrachalam during their 14 years of exile. This was the same place where Sita was kidnapped by Ravana.

According to the legend, Vishnu appeared to Meru’s son Bhadra as Rama to answer the latter’s prayers. However, Vishnu forgot that Rama was a mortal human and appeared as Vaikuntha Rama with four hands. Sita and Lakshmana form part of the temple’s moolavar.

The self-manifested moolavar was discovered in the 17th century by Pokala Dhammakka, a tribal woman living in Bhadrareddypalem. After she built a mandapam for the idols, Bhadrachalam’s tehsildar Kancherla Gopanna constructed this temple during the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. After Gopanna, Tumu Lakshmi Narasimha Dasu and Varada Ramadasu looked after the temple’s rituals. Bhadrachalam follows the Vaishnavite Pancharatra Agama tradition, and its system of worship is modelled on that of the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. The temple has four entrances; the Rajagopuram is located at the northern entrance, which is called the Vaikuntha Dwaram. The temple houses a number of sub-shrines and a few mandapams.

Bhadrachalam is notable for its principal deity Vaikuntha Rama, a form of Rama not found anywhere else in the country. According to the Brahma Purana, the temple’s deity is capable of imparting knowledge to those who worship him. Gopanna used Bhadrachalam as a centre of the Bhajan tradition to spread awareness of the Vaishnavite tradition. The annual Brahmotsavam is the biggest festival celebrated in Bhadrachalam; the key event is the Sri Sitarama Thirukalyana Mahotsavam, or the marriage of Rama and Sita on the eve of Sri Rama Navami. Other important festivals celebrated in Bhadrachalam are Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Vasanthotsavam, and Vijayadashami.

The chief temple festival is the twelve-day long annual Brahmotsavam festival (the Vasantha Paksha Prayukta Srirama Navami Brahmotsavam),celebrated during March—April. Rama Navami, the birthday of Rama, is the main event of the Brahmotsavam. According to the Pancharatra Agama rules, Rama’s marriage with Sita is held on this day; the marriage is performed at a time that signifies the presence of the stars Punarvasu and Abhijit. This festival is formally referred to as Sri Sitarama Thirukalyana Mahotsavam.

Source:

http://www.bhadrachalarama.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita_Ramachandraswamy_temple,_Bhadrachalam

http://www.journeyplanner.co.in/tour/bhadrachalam-temple/#.WXxHDYSGPIU