A statue of Pokala Dammakka, a tribal woman of the bygone era known for her boundless devotion to Lord Rama, is set to be installed inside the famed Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple complex in Bhadrachalam soon.
The move to install Dammakka’s statue inside the temple complex is considered another step towards reinforcing the age-old bond between the tribal people of Bhadrachalam Agency and the Bhadradri shrine. The temple has been organising Dammakka Seva Yatra featuring religious and cultural programmes involving scores of Adivasis in July every year, in honour of Dammakka.
Dammakka is considered one of the key persons behind the construction of the historic shrine dedicated to Lord Sitaramachandra Swamy in Bhadrachalam.
Legend has it that Dammakka first spotted the idols of Lord Sitarama on the Bhadragiri hills which eventually led to the construction of Bhadradri temple by Bhakta Ramadasu, the ardent devotee of Lord Rama and the then tehsildar of Palvancha paragana, during the reign of Abul Hasan Tanesha of Golconda in the 17th century. The temple town already has a statue of Dammakka in a sitting posture near Haritha hotel. It has been decided to install a four-feet tall statue of Dammakka under the centuries-old tree inside the temple complex, said Prabhakara Srinivas, executive officer, Bhadradri temple.
The idea behind the move is to remind the devotees visiting the temple of the glorious history of the shrine built by Bhakta Ramadasu, the great saint composer of Nelakondapalli, he told The Hindu.
Efforts have been on to entrust the task of making the life-like statue of Dammakka to the noted sculptors of Tiruvuru in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.