Namaste Anucarh Ji,
I'm happy that you questioned about this.When Gajendra's feet was caught by a crocodile,he prayed to Lord Vishnu to save him.At that time Lord Vishnu was in Vaikunta and as soon as he heard the cries of Gajendra he started but without carrying any weapons with him.Seeing the Lord leaving,immediately the weapons followed him and in that hurry to save Gajendra instead of taking the Chakra and Shanka in the usual hands Lord Vishnu caught them in reversed manner.So thus the reversed position and his manifestation here is known as 'Vaikunta Rama'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gajendra_Moksha
In the wiki link you will find info about why the Lord took residence upon Bhadrachalam(Bhadra-Achala).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadrachalam_Temple
The temple is famous in India because of the Sri SitaRama Kalyana(marriage) of Sri SitaRamachandra Swamy which is being conducted here since many centuries on Sri Rama Navami day.
There was great devotee called Bhadrachala Ramadasa(Gopanna) who renovated the temple in the 17th century and offered precious ornaments to the deities.Ramadasa composed very beautiful Kirtanas on the Lord and in a short time these became very popular in Southern India.(Composers like Saint Sri Tygaraja (one of the Trinity of Carnatic music) praised Bhakta Ramadasa in his works).In his time the Muslim ruler of the then Hyderabad Kingdom was Abdul Hassan Tani Shah,he jailed Ramadasa in Golkonda fort(I saw the jail room(Charasala/Ramadasa Bandhikana) of Sri Ramadasa some years ago,in it you will find the images of the Lord he carved on the walls and used to worship) and later this ruler had the darshan of Lord Rama.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kancherla_Gopanna
Sri Ramadasa's Prison cell in Golkonda Fort:
Tana Shah used to offer Mutyala Talambralu(Pearls) every year for the Kalyana.Since then all successive rulers continued this tradition and today the Chief minister of the State offers Pearls on behalf of the Government.
Talambralu ritual in marriage - (From the net)
After the most prominent aspect of a marriage the 'Mangalasutra dharana' move on to a very exciting event in the marriage, the pouring of 'Talambralu ' on each other's head by the bride and groom. This is also called as the 'Akshataaroa panam'. 'Akshatah' means unbreakable. Which means the unbreakable bond of Love. 'talan' + 'braalu' meaning that which slide from the head. These could be pearls, or rice coloured yellow by turmeric.
The bride and groom take 'talambraalu' in their cupped hands and reciting the mantras the priest who is presiding over the marriage will let them slide over each other's head for three time. The meaning of the mantras is thus:
'May I have the children of my desire' saying so the bride poures the talambralu on the grooms head.
'May we have happiness, esctasy, joy, bravery. We we enjoy every happiness in a married life.' saying so the groom pours the talambralu over the brides head'
Then the preist recites a mantra:
'The wanderings of the heart of desire, words and truth, may they experience all this together. By their senses, by their food may they prosper and may wealth approach them'. then the bride and groom pour the talambraalu over each other with joy.
. Initially they take turns to shower the rice, but as time progresses the bride and groom begin to compete with each other, making for an entertaining scene.
My relatives who visited the temple last year said that some ornaments offered by Sri Ramadasa to Lord Ramachandra are displayed inside the temple museum.Also,the Rama Mada coins which Lord Rama himself gave to the ruler Tana Shah are also seen.In this link you can see some of the Jewellery like Kalikitu Rayi(Studded Turban Ornament),Chintaaku Patakam(Tamarind leaves ornament),Mangala Sutra(Tied to a woman during marriage),Pacchala Patakam(Emerald Ornament),Ravvala Molathadu(waist band [worn by all Hindu men]- studded with diamonds),Shanka Chakras and many others.
http://www.bhadrachalarama.org/gold.html
You should certainly visit the Kshetra and also the nearby places which are connected to incidents from the Ramayana.I would advice that you plan well before visiting.
S.M. Srinivasa Chari, in his book Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline, gives several reasons for the greater importance of Śrī Rāma and Śrī Kṛṣṇa: (1.) they are "perfect ideal human beings symbolizing the very dharma," (2.) they were in the world much longer than brief incarnations like Matsya and Kūrma, (3.) they are pūrṇāvatāras (full incarnations), and (4.) because of the important teachings of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Bhagavad Gītā.
Śrī Madhvācārya had a different teaching about them. According to the wonderful book Bhakti Schools of Vedānta by Svāmī Tapasyānanda (a great source of information about the Vaiṣṇava philosophies of Viśiṣṭādvaita, Dvaitādvaita, Dvaita, Śuddhādvaita, and Acintya-bhedābheda), he taught that "there is no difference" between the incarnations, that they are all "expression[s] of his entire nature," and that "all the divine attributes are residing in all incarnations." It's just that some incarnations manifest fewer attributes depending on the circumstances that require their presence and keep other attributes hidden. For the Brahmā Vaiṣṇavas who follow his teaching of Dvaita or Dualism, it would seem that all incarnations are equal. Śrī Madhvācārya even said that the "Supreme being can be adored in and through" any of them.
I think theoretically Hindus accept that "all incarnations are equal", "Supreme being can be adored in and through any of them" and the 4 points mentioned by SM Srinivasa Chari explain the practical approach of majority of Hindus.
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