By Acarya Dasa, assisted by Jayabhadra Dasi and Lila Suka Dasi
We arrived in Vontimitta on the 2nd of October. Vontimitta is one of the mandal headquarters[1] of the Kadapa district. It is a small town situated about 28 kilometers from the Kadapa Chennai main road. Here our party visited the Kodanda Rama Temple (Sri Kodanandaramaswamy Temple). This temple is renowned for its architecture and art and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Rama[2] , His consort Sita Devi and His brother Lakshmana. It is one of the most famous temples after the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati. The Kodanda Rama Temple is also known as Ekasilanagaram and is so named because ‘ek sila’ means ‘a single stone’ and the presiding deities Rama, Sita and Lakhsman (without Anjaneya[3]) are carved from a single stone and have a common pedestal. It is recorded that Caitanya Mahaprabhu also visited this temple 500 years ago.
The great poet Vavilikolanu Subba Rao was a great devotee of Lord Rama in Vontimitta. Once he was re-writing the Ramayana in poetry form when he got to one point where he couldn’t describe a certain pastime. He became saddened by this and wept due to his inability to do so –praying intensely to Lord Rama he begged for His help. Lord Rama having heard his prayers appeared before Vavilikolanu along with Sita and Lakhsman, and He then wrote the pastime Himself. Thus, the Lord is also known as Bhakta Vatsala, which means He is always compassionate to His devotees and listens to their prayers.
After taking darsana of Sri Ram, Lakhsman and Sita that evening we all went on sankirtana and book distribution. The people of the village happily received us and participated in all the programs we held. We explained to them the importance of reading the Bhagavad-Gita, and how the Lord becomes very pleased if we do so.
[1] Mandal or mandal headquarters refers to an administrative division
[2] Lord Rama or Ramacandra is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu
[3] Refers to Lord Hanuman who is usually also present with Ram, Sita and Lakhsman