Akkanna Madanna Temple Hyderabad
History of Akkanna Madanna Temple, Hyderabad, dates back to 17th century when Hyderabad was under the rule of Tana Shah (Abul Hasan Qutb Shah).
Tana Shah was the emperor and stayed at the majestic Golconda Fort. The royal king had many ministers at his court of which Akkanna & Madanna served as The Commander in Chief & The Prime Minister respectively. These two brothers were one of the favorite ministers of the king and stayed in a house near, where this Mahankali temple existed. Being the true disciples of Goddess Mahankali, Akkanna & Madanna performed pooja every day at the holy temple before they left for the court of Golconda for their day’s work.
Soon after the demise of these two brothers, the temple was closed and it formed a part of the devdi of the Nawab, but there still existed the idol of Goddess mother deity, a few holy utensils of pooja and handful holy books safe inside waiting to be discovered.
After about a period of three long centuries at the time of the police action in 1948, did the goddess desire to reveal her and appeared in the dream of an old lady telling where the hidden temple of Mahankali existed. Having heard this from the old lady, a group of enthusiastic young men including the famous Arya Samaj Leader Mr. B. Venkat Swamy, Mr. A. Jangaih, Mr. A. Narhari, Mr. P. Bashiah & Mr. N. Venkaiah took the task of finding the temple into their hands. They made contact with late Mr. Mir Mohammed Anwar Ali Khaja of Balda, the owner of the Devdi where in the temple of Mahankali existed. Knowing about the temple Mr. Anwar Ali readily agreed to help them find it in his house, then after a while of digging, they found the temple hidden behind one of the Devdi’s walls. There they found the sacred idol of Mata, a Jyoti, some pooja utensils, few holy books & some old leaf cradles commonly called as Thotalas.
The kind Mr. Khaji Balda, in whose mansion this holy place was found permitted for a construction of the Mahankali temple to take place and contributed an area of 10 yards and an amount of 50 rupees for this purpose. After this day there started a step by step process of construction which was in many phases of building and renovation.
Being found and developed with the help of the Devdi owner and other Muslim brothers in the locality, this ancient Temple soon came to be known as the Symbol of Hindu – Muslim Unity. Having so many diverse religions and cultures, Hyderabad still stands as a rock hard emblem for its unity and the mahamkali temple being in old city, hosts the grand Mahankali Jatara procession in the fore front with the Matha Ghatam on the elephant.
Akkanna Madanna Temple in Hyderabad is one of the oldest temples in Telangana. It is popular for its Bonalu festival of the twin cities (Hyderabad and Secunderabad). ‘Ghatam Procession’ is the most popular event celebrated at Akkanna Madanna Temple during Bonalu festival.