A.P. villagers yearn to revive historic temple

A.P. villagers yearn to revive historic temple

1. Villagers in Motupalli seek to revive a historic temple of Veerabhadraswamy located in the village. Motupalli village is located in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh in Chinnaganjam mandal of Prakasam district.
2. Veerabhadraswamy (form of Lord Shiva) temple was built during the reign of Chola dynasty.  It has inscriptions in Telugu and Tamil and also host Panchaloha idols. The temple remains closed after Archaeology Dept. took it over for conservation and preservation.
3. Motupalli has been an important port with flourishing trade with South Asian countries especially during the medieval period. The village is also referred to as ‘Mohanagiripuram’. Motupalli is also referred in the accounts of Italian merchant Marco Polo who visited the Motupalli in the 13th century.
4. The prominence of Motupalli declined gradually with the advent of the Britishers on the East coast who focused their trading activities mostly from Machilipatnam (located in the present Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh)
5. Excavations taken up by the Archaeology Department had led to unearthing of Chinese ware and copper coins of the Ming dynasty, coins belonging to the Chola era and bronze articles and pottery in Motupalli.