India is the land of temples to worship the divine trust (God and Goddesses) and functioning as sacred institutions to perform a range of services and activities such as spiritual fulfilment of the people, dharmic (righteous) discourses, arts, music, dance, economy, education, tourism, several social and cultural functions to integrate the society.
➢ Temples attracted generous offerings from the rulers in the past and society at present has made temples huge stocks of wealth such as land, jewellery, and monetary resources, making these temples powerful economic institutions in providing employment and livelihoods to millions of people directly and indirectly.
➢ Historically temples played a significant role in the all-round development of human beings, be it mental wellbeing or material progress through economic activities based on Dharma.
➢ Many small towns in Telangana like Vemulawada, Basara, Yadadri, Badrachalam, Ramappa, Kaleshwaram, Dharmapuri, Chilukuru, etc. are known as temple towns, economic activities developed around these temples
very significantly over temple-based products business and gift items.
➢ From time immemorial, temples have been playing all basic economic aspects such as producers (agriculture), consumers (puja products and services), investors (permanent structures, educational and health institutions) and
distributors (prasadams and free food distribution).
➢ Temples often had tanks, wells and irrigation facilities to boost the agricultural economy in the surrounding areas.
➢ Vemulawada ‘Raja-Rajeshwara Temple’ has its footprints on the society of at least four states Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, devotees and pilgrims from all these places come to have a ‘Holy Darshan’.
➢ Shri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple is also called ‘Dakshina Kashi’, and those who are not affordable to go to Varanasi and have the holy darshan of Kashi Vishwanath feel that at least visit Vemulawada Temple and internalise the divinity of Kashi Vishwanath Temple.