Hyderabad: A Jain shrine near the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ramappa temple in Palampet, Mulugu district, is in immediate need of protection, pointed out heritage activists.After visiting the site on Sunday, heritage activists E Sivanagi Reddy and Arvind Arya stated that the structure was overrun by vegetation and required intervention by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).Arvind Arya, secretary of the Warangal-based Team of Research on Culture and Heritage (TORCH), said the shrine reflected Kakatiya-period architecture and deserved conservation attention.According to the activists, the Jain temple features a garbhagriha and an ardhamandapa, adorned with a stepped pyramidal Kadamba nagara shikhara and a protruding sukanasa at the front. They added that, despite its small size, the shrine stands on a simple adhisthana and has plain walls and perforated jalis at the entrance.They said the lintel carries a row of miniature shikharas, which are typical of the 13th-century Kakatiya style. Inside, the shrine has a pedestal with lion sculptures which, they said, is the lanchana, or symbol, associated with Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. They said that the original idol is no longer visible in the garbhagriha.Thanking the ASI’s Hyderabad circle for protecting two more temples at Palampet, the activists urged the agency to include the Jain shrine in its list of protected monuments as well.They said that bringing the monument under official protection would help to ensure its proper upkeep and long-term conservation in the vicinity of the Ramappa temple complex, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021. Recent reports state that two other temples near Ramappa are being processed for protected status.
