ALLADURG (MEDAK DISTRICT): A village steeped in history so much so that anyone digging the ground to lay the foundation or anything for that matter is bound to uncover either a complete sculpture or a part of it. Welcome to Silamkota village the mandal headquarters.
Every resident of the village has sometime or the other unearthed a sculpture. Alladurg was once ruled by Jagirdars (Doras). Though no one is clear on how old the mandal headquarters is, residents claim that it was more than four centuries old.
However, there was confusion over the timing of these sculptures. The sculptures available here are attributed to the time of Yadava Kings 850 AD to 1350 AD and Pallava Kings. Some others feel that these sculptures date back to second century BC when Ajanta and Ellora caves were carved.
Ancient sculptures
“We can see some parallels between sculptures in Ellora caves and those found in our village. The one Nandi sculpture before the Lord Veerabhadra in the temple is a good example with beautiful and smooth finish. I have never come across such sculpture except in Ellora caves,” said Pujari Ramakrishna, a former teacher from the village.
“The panavattam (a basement for Shivalingam in traditional system), two sculpture of Lord Basavanna (Nandi) were found in the village and one of them was kept here. One such panavattam and Shivalingam were kept in the cave-like structure on the top of the temple,” said Madpathi Chinmalaiah, a priest at the temple of Lord Veerabhadra.
There are three to four sculptures at the entrance of the temple which the villagers say were unearthed while taking up some digging in the village.
At every home
The villagers who uncover the sculptures have installed them on their own premises wherever they find space.
There is a five-foot high statue of a person in a sitting pose with two other statues on either side can be seen on the roadside in the middle of the village.
“Many of us come across such small incomplete statues while laying foundation for houses. This is common even today,” Maneppa, another resident of this village, told The Hindu .
The old name of Silamkota can be seen on the plaque of Renuka Ellamma temple situated on the outskirts of the village. Interestingly the rituals in this temple are conducted in Marathi system.
