Padmakshi Temple, Hanamkonda

Padmakshi Temple ranks among the oldest temples of Hanamkonda, Telangana, dedicated to the goddess Padmakshi, identified with Lakshmi. The site began as the Kadalalaya Basadi, a Jain shrine founded in 1117 CE under the Kakatiya chief Prola II for the Tirthankara Parshvanatha, with his yaksha Dharanendra and yakshi Padmavati. Probably some time after 1156 a Hindu shrine replaced it, perhaps under Veerashaiva influence, and the yakshi came to be worshipped as Padmakshi.

In the 19th century the Jains petitioned the Nizam to return the site; his commission ruled in favour of the Hindu shrine, and in 1869 the Nizam granted land for its upkeep. The temple still holds rich sculpture of Jain Tirthankaras and deities, and at its entrance stands the Annakonda pillar, a four-faced column of black granite. Each year lakhs of women come to celebrate Bathukamma, immersing flowers in the pond below the Padmakshi hill.