The ancient temples in the Telangana state speak of the great architectural skills possessed by the artisans of the old era and the promotion being given by the then rulers. Jetaprolu, a small village in Amanaganti Seema is famous as the land of temples in the state. The place was earlier known as Jatayuvu Kshetra. Jetaprolu is known mostly for two temples, the Agastheeswarar Swamy Temple and Madanagopala Swamy Temple. These are the ancient temples built in the 10th century and the 16th century A.D. respectively. These temples had originally been constructed in Malleswaram and Manchalakota by the rulers but had to be later shifted to Jetaprolu due to the threat of getting submerged in the Krishna water after the construction of the Srisailam Dam.
Agastheeswara Temple in Jetaprolu is the result of great architectural skills and has beautiful pillar beams. The temple has less number of devotees on the weekdays but on the weekends and on the occasion of major festivals, the temple is heavily crowded. It is visited by devotees on Sivarthri, Karthika Poornima and Ekadashis.
Madana Gopala Swamy Temple:
The Madana Gopala Swamy temple, built by Rajas of Jetprolu in the 16th century A.D is another famous temple in the village. The Sabhamandapa here is quite spacious and is a place for certain rituals and ceremonies. The Brahmosatvam has been celebrated in the temple for the last 400 years.
The Jatara of Jetaprolu in the Lord Madanagopala Swamy is also very popular amongst the people.
Naming History of the Lord:
Lord Madana Gopala Swamy is the other name of Lord Sri Krishna who is said to be one of the ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Lord is also known as Venu Gopala Swamy when he is represented by Rukmini and Satyabhama. The temple is situated at a distance of 9 km from Kollapur.
How to Reach the Temple:
By Road: Devotees willing to visit the Madan Gopala Swamy temple can reach the village either from Pebber on the NH-7 36 km, from Kollapur 9 km, from Mahabubnagar 158 km.
By Train: Trains are also one of the easiest ways of reaching the village. The station is about 50 km and is in Gadwal town.
By Air: The Shamshabad airport in Hyderabad is the nearest airport. On reaching Hyderabad one has to board the state-run buses or hire a private cab to reach the temple site.
Special Tourist Attractions:
There are other places worth seeing to attract the tourists. There are about 20 Shiva temples where the Lord is worshipped in the Linga form. These temples are directly under the management of the Telangana Endowments Department.
The banks of River Krishna are as such considered for Holy Bath and are crowded by the devotees on special occasions and festivals.
The Pushkara Snanam is celebrated by devotees in good faith. Huge number of crows also visits the area during the Snanam. The relationship of the snanam and the crows is yet not understood.
Accommodation Facilities:
The devotees and the pilgrims visit the place for a day and leave after having Darshan. So the lodging facilities have not developed in the area yet. One can stay back at Mahabubnagar. However, a few pilgrims also sleep in the mandapam itself at night without any payments or charges.
The holiday or the vacation months like April, May and June and festivals like Ugadi, Sivarathri and Dussera are the best time to visit the temples in Jetaprolu.
Temple Timings: 6.00 am to 9.00 am and 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm
