Preched elegantly on the slopes of the hills at Hanmkonda, the Thousand Pillars Temples is a fine specimen of kakatiya architecture and sculpture. Built by Rudra Deva in 1163 AD in the Chalukyan style, the star-shaped, triple-shrined temple is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. The temple is notable for its richly carved pillar, perforated screens and exquisite icons, specially impressive are the rockcut elephants and the Nandi statue is reminiscent of a turbulent yet glorious history. The black basalt Nandi, a monolith, has a lovely polished finish. We were the only people visiting this Jain temple. It was totally silent, save for the wind that gently swayed the bells that hung from the peaks of the roof.