मंथानी में एक बार गौरवशाली गोमेतेश्वर मंदिर के चुप खंडहरों की बुढ़ापे वाली दीवारें और क्रिप्पर सजे हुए मूर्तियां आपको ऐसा महसूस कर सकती हैं कि आपको सीधे इंडियाना जोन्स फिल्म में ले जाया गया है।
यह जगह एक बार वैदिक शिक्षा का केंद्र था, माना जाता था कि यह गांव वेदों के विद्वानों द्वारा कब्जा कर लिया गया था। माना जाता है कि मंथानी को हजारों ब्राह्मण परिवार या सहस्र ब्राह्मण गडपा का घर माना जाता है।
यहां पुराने लोग कहते हैं कि “मंथानी” मक्खन के एक बर्तन को संदर्भित करता है। मक्खन-दूध की तरह ही एक बर्तन में मंथन किया जाता है, इसलिए वेदिक मंत्र थे जो इस गांव में मंथन करते थे। इसलिए मंथानी को इसका नाम मंत्र-मथाना से मिला, जिसका मतलब मंत्रों का मंथन करना था।
ऐसा कहा जाता है कि आदी शंकरचार्य (एडी 788-820), जिन्होंने मंथानी का दौरा किया, गांव में वैदिक मंत्रों के निरंतर पठन को देखकर प्रसन्न हुए और इसे धर्म-पिथम के रूप में मान्यता दी। कहा जाता है कि वेद, तर्क, व्याकरण, ज्योतिष, चंदसू और मीमामासा जैसे विषयों को यहां संस्कृत के विद्वानों द्वारा पढ़ाया जाता है।
यहां तक कि आज भी मंथानी वैदिक घानापाथी और अगामा शास्त्रों और धर्म-सूत्रों में अच्छी तरह से ज्ञात विद्वानों के लिए प्रसिद्ध है।
तेलंगना राज्य में मंथानी के मंदिर में एक समृद्ध सांस्कृतिक विरासत है जहां तक ऐतिहासिक, पुरातात्विक और धार्मिक पहलुओं का संबंध है। मंथानी के अन्य मंदिर लक्ष्मी नारायण स्वामी मंदिर, सेलेश्वर मंदिर, महालक्ष्मी मंदिर, विनायक मंदिर, गौतमेश्वर मंदिर, दत्तात्रेय मंदिर, रामालयम मंदिर, सरस्वती मंदिर, ओमकेश्वर मंदिर और पंचायतम मंदिर हैं।
Manthani – Ruins of the Village of Hymns
The aging crumbling walls and the creeper-adorned sculptures of the silent ruins of the once glorious Gowthameswara Temple.at Manthani will make you feel like you have been transported straight into an Indiana Jones movie.
The place was once a center of Vedic learning, the village was believed to have been once occupied by scholars of the Vedas. Manthani is popularly believed to house a thousand Brahmin families or Sahasra Brahmana Gadapa.
The old people here say that “Manthani” refers to a pot of buttermilk. Just like butter milk gets churned into a pot so were the Vedic Mantras that used to churn in this village. So Manthani got its name from Mantra-Mathana, meaning churning of the Mantras.
This temple is mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva, which is also stated as Gautameswar. A big Shiva linga of about 1.25 m, made of black stone is enshrined in the sanctum sanctorum on a beautifully carved ‘Panawatika’ (platform or pedestal) according to ‘Somasutra’. Lord Ganesh is installed in the inner right corner in between the entrance room and the sanctum sanctorum.
A big Nandi idol, beautifully carved in black stone, can be seen in the entrance room. The ears and nose of the Nandi are said to have been destroyed by Muslim invaders.
The temple is quite fragile at this point in time, but the idol of Lord Shiva and his bull is quite prominent even now. The temples have sunk into the ground, the ceiling and walls have collapsed, the sculpture has faded, and creepers and overgrowth have taken over.
The Manthani village is surrounded by the sacred Godavari river in the northern side, Bokkala Vaagu in the south, a lush green reserve forest in the east, and Ravula Cheruvu – a small lake on the Western side.
The Manthani temples are reminiscent of early Buddhist and Jain cultures, which makes it clear that Manthani was an important center for Jainism and Buddhism.
As per the latest historical evidence, there is no such history of who constructed this temple. However, the idol of Lord Shiva is more or less similar to the Thousands Pillar Temple, which is located in Warangal. It is also stated that the Kakatiya rulers might have renovated the old temple in order to create a new look.
It is said that Adi Shankaracharya (A.D.788-820), who visited Manthani, was pleased to see the ceaseless recitation of Vedic Mantras in the village and recognized it as a Dharma-Pitham. The subjects like Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Astrology, Chandassu, and Mimamasa are said to have been taught here by scholars in Sanskrit.
Even today Manthani is famous for Vedic Ghanapathis and the scholars are well-versed in Agama Sastras and Dharma-sutras.
The temple of Manthani in the state of Telangana has a rich cultural heritage as far as historical, archaeological, and religious aspects are concerned. The other temples in Manthani are Laxmi Narayana Swamy temple, Saileshwara Temple, Mahalaxmi Temple, Vinayaka Temple, Gautameswara Temple, Dattatreya Temple, Ramalayam Temple, Saraswati Temple, Omkeshwara temple and Panchayatanam Temple.
