Located on the left bend of the Tungabhadra River, the village of Alampur is surrounded by the Nallamala hills. Alampur is the meeting point of the sacred rivers Tungabhadra and Krishna and is referred to as Dakshina Kashi, also known as Navabrahmeshwara Theertha and the Western Gateway of Sri Sailam, the famous Shaivite pilgrim centre. The nearest town to this village is Kurnool, which is about 25 km away. The official language spoken here is Telegu.
History of Alampur
Under the rule of the Satavahana Ishvakus of Nagarjunakonda, Badami Chalukyas, Vijaynagar Empire, Kakatiyas and Qutb Shahis of Golconda, Alampur was known as Halampuram, Hamalapuram and Alampuram. In the inscription dated AD 1101, which belonged to the Western Chalukyan king Vikramaditya VI, Alampura was mentioned under the name of Hatampura.
Demographics of Alampur
As per the reports of Census India 2011, the population of the village is about 13,000 with 54% male and 46% female. Children below 6 years of age are 11%. Since the census of 2001, there has been a growth in population by 11.9%, the overall literacy has also increased by 9%. The male literacy has gone up by 8% and female literacy rate has gone up by 11%.
Temples of Alampura
The Archaeological Survey of India has enlisted the temples of Alampur as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official List of Monuments under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. After the submergence of the original area of the temples by the Sri Sailam Hydro-electric Project, the temples were relocated to a higher ground.
The uniqueness of this group of temples lies in their simple and elegant design of the northern architectural style introduced by the Chalukyas of Badami between AD 650 and 750. The predominant deities at Alampur are Jogulamba and Brameshwara.
The Jogulamba Temple: The original construction of the Jogulamba temple dates back to 6th century, which was grounded by Muslim invaders in AD 1390. After almost 615 years, the temple was rebuilt in 2005. The temple is regarded as a Shakti Peetha, where Sati Devi"s upper teeth fell.
The Navabrahma Temples: The nine temples of Navabrahma were built by the Badami Chalukyas dated back to the 7th century. The sacredness of Alampur Temple is mentioned in the Skanda Purana. Lord Brahma performed a strict penance for Lord Shiva, who appeared before him and blessed Brahma with the powers of creation. Hence, the name Brahmeshwara came about.
The Navabhrama temples are Taraka Bhrama, Swarga Bhrama, Padma Bhrama, Bala Bhrama, Garuda Bhrama, Kumara Bhrama, Arka Bhrama, Vira Bhrama the Vishwa Bhrama.
Sri Sailam: To the west of Alampur lies Sri Sailam, which is regarded as one of the greatest Saivite shrines in the Indian subcontinent and constitutes one of the 12 Jyotirlingam shrines of Lord Shiva. This ancient temple of Alampur built in a Dravidian style has fort like walls, towers and a rich endowment of sculptural work. It is even regarded as one of the finest specimens of Vijaynagar architecture.
Siddhavattam, Tripurantakam and Umamaheshwaram serve the southern, eastern and northern gateways of Alampur respectively. The temples of this beautiful district of Alampur in fact exhibits excellent specimen of Chalukyan architecture and sculpture and several of the temple sculpture which can be traced back to ancient times still stands prominent and beautiful.
Visiting Information for Alampur
Alampur, is located approximately 220 km from Hyderabad and easily accessible via Hyderabad-Bangalore highway. The nearest airport is the Rajiv Gandhi International airport of Hyderabad. Alampur has its own railway station by the same name, and is located at a distance of nearly 9 km.