The Journey into Amazing Caves...

 

 In September 2011 I made a 1day trip to the Charmadi Grasslands with my group through a hard bike ride. Throughout our journey went through rolling hills and forest areas for the last few minutes in tough driving in rough boulder mud road, by 10AM we reached to the famous Kala Bhairaveshwara temple which built during Chola period we found a safe spot to park our bikes near the temple.  

 

It was a grassy hill ranges covered this small village and it was my second visit to this village. Last time I had hike to Karadibetta track from this place and this time I planed to explore few new places on the same track. Due to lack of information we decided to find some resourceful person about this land and finally by luck & god's grace we were able to get one tribal very well known person from this village. And the interesting thing was that only he knew about the Ballalana Cave.

 

Around a short walk form the base we reached 'Madle Marada Kambayi' a small open view point with a 100 years old tree. We enjoyed the fantastic panorama of the mountains deep valleys and magnificent view from that. We took a long ramble in the hills on next 45 minutes and reached to Katimettida Kallu a wide rocky grassland area. Like myth says still we can seen few steps of Bison on hard rock. We had spent some time on that rock & filled some water near by the stream and had little snacks to increase our energy level.

 

One of the greatest joys in the life of a backpacker is to walk along a ridge line. That line that marks the very top of the mountains where you can climb no more and you get to enjoy the thousands of feet of space below. It is to experience the world from the top, to truly bask in the adventure of your life, this is what it is all about, and for me perhaps the greatest part of what we did.

 

Throughout the last section, we have been blessed to walk along some of the best most unseen grasslands, and certainly most rugged ridge lines. We passed a variety of Biodiversity rich Shola-grasslands, the surrounding mountains form a micro climate that all made a very nice walk…The attraction of these mountains cannot be expressed in words. Be it trekking in the Shola forests, climbing those beautiful hillocks, crossing numerous streams or simply roaming the countryside and solely revel in nature's beauty.

 

The hike was delightful with varieties of flowers in bloom. There also many brightly colored insects in the forest, such as turquoise and colorful dragonflies as well as a number of species of large, unusually shaped and colored beetles. It’s also home to many wild and endangered species of animals and varieties birds rarely found elsewhere. After a long walk inside the canopy of grass we reached the edge of the Grassland and few minutes downer walk we saw some ruined existence of houses and forts which belongs to the Ballalaraya.

 

Thick fog covered the whole area and all turned into more dramatic beauty on a span of time. Finally we made successful to find 3 beautiful unbeknown caves in the edge of the the rocky cliff. We had a beautiful vista from the top of the cave which was greatly soothing and gives a peaceful mood. It made us to forget all our worldly worries.

To be continueed...

Sangameswara -Koodli

 

In this rainy season I & Rajesh sir visited some places in Shimoga district. Koodli was our last targeted place as his plan we reached Koodli by late noon. First we stepped to Chintamani Narashimaswamy temple.

The temple architecture reminds one of the Chola kingdom style but less impressive. Behind the Chintamani temple there is Brindavan, which seems to be Samadi place of priests who have passed away. It is adorned with Tulsi enclosure and is worshiped by priests even today.

 

Left side to Chintamani temple there is another beautiful Hoysala temple known as Rameshwara temple. An inscription in the temple indicates that in the year 1313, the Hoysala king, Veera Ballala III provided grants to the temple is situated at the conluence of Thunga & Bhadra rever.

Behind the temple a  small roofless temple with Nandi denotes the exact point where the two rivers meet, and is considered to be very sacred. At Sangama lord called  as Sangameshwara.

Below the steps adjacent to the river bed there is a small temple at the confluence point of Tunga and Bhadra. When I reached to river bed it started pouring heavily. I took shelter under one big Aswatha tree and enjoyed the beauty of two mighty rivers and An exquisite view of the 'Sangama' makes the place more exotic..

Tunga flows from the western ghat from northwest direction and Bhadra from southwest  meet to give rise to the Thungabhadra River. Because of heavy rain the water level and water force also very high.

 

There are two Mutts in Koodli, one belongs to Advaita philosophy Shankar Mutt and other one represents Dvaita philosophy Arya Akshoya theerta Mutt. Shankar Mutt is also known as the Koodli Sringeri Mutt. It received patronage from the Wodeyars. A well maintained cows stable is undertaken by Arya Akshoya theerta Mutt.

Koodli is located on Hole-Honnur route proceeding to Chennagiri and Chitradurga. It can be approached from Bhadravathi as well as Shimoga, almost equi-distance. Overall the visit to Koodli gives one a feeling of religious fervor but devoid of much hassling of a crowded atmosphere

Flooded Tunga River-View from  Pillangere Ranganathaswamy temple

Gangadhareshwara temple-Turuvekere

 

When I visited the incomparable temple of Lord Gangadhareshwara located in Turuvekere, I was wondering why this grand temple is being ignored by the public and remains almost unknown to most of the people. The temple is very artistic and the temple complex is beautiful and attractive. This temple built by Mahadandanayaka Somanna and the exact date of its construction has not been ascertained.

When we reached the Gangadhareshwara temple, the temple was closed so we could only view the architecture and sculptures from the outer side. The entrance is dominated by a huge and attractive Nandi which is around 7-8 feet in height sculpted from locally available Blackstone, well known as Turuvekere Kallu, the lifelike image with finely carved beads, bells and garlands has retained its brilliance. The sculpture of the sacred bull Nandi is being polished to such an extent that one can see the reflection in it. Also, the idol is very much intact and not being ruined anywhere. 

 

Gangadhareshwara temple has a Shiva Idol with serpent hoods carved in a single piece of stone and is considered an example of fine sculpting. The unique difference here, the Shiva Idol is carved with Ganga sitting on top of his head and one can see fountains of water being flowing in the form Prabhavali. It is the only temple which is having such depiction of Ganga and Shiva being together. Also, the Uthsava Murthy made out of Bronze is having an extra eye on the right foot, which also is a unique in nature.

The eastern door has some wonderful features. The large Grey bell which is around 2 feet in diameter hanging from the ceiling is hew out of stone, but when struck gives a clear metallic note. Just below the bell is the carving of Bedara Kannappa offering his eyes to Lord Shiva .The pillars have soldiers riding rampant lions and the images of Ganapathy, Bedara Kannappa and those of Girija kalyana are all chiseled into them.

Sand Dunes Temples…Talakad

The saga of temples in Talakad is supported by the rich history of the land of the ancient dynasties of south India, the Gangas (350-1050 AD) were one of the most illustrious who ruled over a greater part of Mysore, then known by the name Gangavadi. Along with the Kadambas, the Gangas rose to power and ruled over the southern part of Karnataka. They continued to rule over Gangavadi till the close of the 10th century. When the Cholas overpowered the Gangas during the 11th century, Talakadu was renamed as Rajapura. In 1117, Vishnuvardhana, one of the greatest rulers of the Hoysala dynasty seized Talakad from the Cholas and assumed the title of Talakadugonda. In commemoration of this achievement, he built the Keerthinarayana temple at Talakad.

 

Today, most of the magnificent temples of this ancient town are submerged in sand. The entire stone pillars (square at the base and fitted into a wheel below the abacus) lie scattered throughout the town. Among the temples of Talakad, the Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara, Vaidyanathee-shwara and Mallikarjuna temples form the pancha lingas. In honour of these five Shiva temples, a fair is held once in 12 years called Pancha Linga Darshana. The Pancha Linga Darshana is held on a new moon day during the auspicious month of Karthika.

Keerthi-Narayana Temple (1117 A.D), Talakad

Besides the Pancha lingas, there are many other magnificent temples in Talakad. The Kapileshwara temple is one such structure that has a Navaranga with pillars, pierced stone windows and ornamented creepers with dancing figures. Another magnificent structure is the Keerthinarayana temple, which is the only temple in Talakad to have been constructed in the Hoysala style of architecture. A greater part of this temple is buried in sand. Other than the sanctum sanctum, there is a Sukanasi and a Navaranga in this temple.

Inside the sanctum sanctum stands an eight-foot-tall statue of Keerthinarayana. Recent excavations in the temple complex have brought to light remains of earlier centuries. Among the findings are an intricately carved Mantapa (with carvings of Ugranarasimha) made of stone, which is about 12 foot tall. A thulasikatte, remnants of a Garuda kamba, 2 stone inscriptions and walls of an unknown structure were also found here.

The presence of a large mass of sand in Talakad amid lush green vegetation is something that is worth pondering. While geologists say that Talakad is filed with sand carried by the wind from the dry bed of river Cauvery, the locals still prefer to go by the age-old tale of Alamelamma and her curse.

Localite Rama Nayaka narrates the story rather dramatically. About 400 years ago, Srirangapatana is supposed to have been under the control of the mighty Vijayanagar Empire. Alamelamma was the wife of the king’s representative named Srirangaraya. Every Tuesday and Friday, Sri Ranganaya-kamma borrowed Alame-lamma’s jewels and returned it after the pooja. Meanwhile, Srirangaraya developed a tumour on his back, resembling the hood of a cobra (the disease is called Bennu Phani Roga or Raja Roga in Kannada). Srirangaraya, along with his wife, came to Talakad to worship Vaidyanatheshwara with the hope of being cured of his ailment.

 

Srirangaraya, however, did not survive for long, and his wife settled down in a small village called Malangi. During this period, the Wodeyars took over Srirangapatna, and started demanding the jewels. When Alamelamma could not bear it no more, she sent a nose ring to Srirangapatana and jumped into a pond in Malangi with the remaining jewels.

Before she ended her life, Alamelamma is supposed to have uttered three curses, of which one is “Talakadu Marulagi.” When translated to English, it means, “Let Talakadu be covered with sand.” The locals still believe that Alamelamma’s curse is the cause for the large mass of sand in Talakad.