Kamalanarayana Temple – Degaon

 

It was my unanticipated unplanned visit to Kamalanarayana Temple we reached this place at unusual time but still we had enjoyed the breathtaking stunning this temple, it’s really amazing to have such a glorious temple belonging to the ancient times and this is a place worth to showcasing. What we admire today is a ligancy of our ancient people handed down to the generations that have followed and are yet to come and each delicately carved figure was a testament to the rich talent of those forgotten sculptors whose chisels and hammer converted simple stones into such everlasting works of art..

The Kamala Narayana Templeple at Degaon is one of the best monuments which situated at unassuming little village. The place name might have originated from its temple complex Devagrama meaning a village of God..

 

The striking monument here is the magnificent Kamala Narayana Temple, built by Tippoja, the architect of God Bankesvara at the command of Kamala Devi, the queen of the Goa Kadamba King Sivachitta, in the middle of the 12th century. These wise moves ensured that even today 9 centuries later while exploring on here we could experience the same solitude and place that allowed those ancient cultures and peoples.

 

It’s built on an unusual plan as it has three shrines and the principal one is located inside a long hall which has an open verandah with a sloping roof resting on ten pillars. While this temple with its lovely pillar designs and eye-catching symmetry was delighting and it quicken my pulse.

 

The back of the temple shows the two shrines wide apart. The walls are decorated with projecting pillars and horizontal bands of moldings. The shrines are not roofed by superstructures. The temple is rectangular in shape and consists of three cells with the pillared hall running from North to South in front of the shrines on the west side.

 

Each of these shrines is divided into two parts, Garbhagriha and Sukhanasi. The frames of the doorways of the Sukhanasi are carved with creepers. The pieced stone windows which surround the doorways are more ornamental than in any other Kadamba temple.

 

The Garbhagihas have, as in other Kadamba temples, the dedicatory block with the image of Gaja-Lakshmi. The first cell contains the image of Narayana. The second cell has the icon of Lakshmi-Narayana with Lakshmi seated on the lap of Vishnu. Garuda and Maruti are standing on either side of this image. The third cell bears the image of Kamala Narayana with two attendants on either side.

 

The walls of the temple are adorned with niche having plasters surmounted by terraced pyramidal towers in the Kadamba style crowned with a Kalasha. The ceiling has pendant lotuses, all of them artistic pieces of workmanship remarkable for richness of ornamentation and elaboration of details.

 

The distinguishing feature of the Kadamba style is the tapering terraced tower, a perfect pyramid, the vigorous and purposeful line of each of these terraces attracting the eye even from a long distance. The Kadamba style would seem to have reached its perfection in the ''Kamala Narayana Temple at Degamve. It is a typical example of a temple built in this style which had come under the Hoysala influence.

 

On returned we took local food we tried Rotti with local curries in one small hotel. Rotti is sort of a staple food. The dish itself is rather bland, and I wondered how something as tasty as this. It does provided a peaceful sight with excellent unsullied experiences to see on the end of the journey.

Photos by- Rajesh Naik,Ashok SB  &  Myself