Bhimeshvara Temple, Nilagunda

Nilagunda was an important village with artistic activities during the time of the Chalukyas of Kalyana.  Nilagunda is famous for Shiva temple built by the Chalukyas of Kalyana and located on the bank of huge lake and surrounded by hillocks of sandstone amidst scenic beauty.

The village is referred as Nirgunda in its inscriptions there exists remains of few ancient tanks hence the name Nirgunda seems appropriate for it. The village was part of Vikkiga-70 which in turn was under Kokali-500. The numeric number against the region specifies the number of villages under its jurisdiction.  The earliest inscription found in the Bhimeshvara Temple here, dated 1087 CE, mentions land grant to five-hundred Brahmans who came from Dravidian lands. This land grant was of the village Nirgunda, present Neelagunda. Few years later, few more additional villages were also granted to the same Brahmans.

As there is no foundation inscription of the Bhimeshvara Temple, hence it cannot be said with surety that the village was formed by populating that with Brahmans from other places.  However, it might be that these Brahmans were called for some specific reasons and were settled at Neelagunda. Also it can be inferred that this event would have taken place during the rule of the Chalukyas of Kalyana as the antiquity of the temple in question cannot be taken back further than their rule.

The Bhimeshvara temple is seems to have been built in about 11th century A.D. The temple is in Vesara style. The temple consists of three Garbhagrihas, each with an Antarala on the north, west and south, opening into the Sabhamandapa and Mukhamandapa on the east with lateral steps at the entrance, and a shrine attached to the mukhamandapa on the east.

The walls have projections and recesses decorated with Vesara turrets on double pilasters and with Dravida turrets on single pilaster. The western cella has its superstructure intact and as a whole it is Tritala Vesara vimana. Each Tala is composed of composite Sala, Panjara and Kuta units. Under the kirtimukha of each sala is Siva as Nataraja, Mahesvunara, etc.

The shikhara has many carved panels on its top depicting Brahma, Shiva and various goddesses. There are few curious sculptures as well; the one showing a man wearing a foreign robe is of interest. The niches on south, west and north facade have Narasimha, Shiva and Subramanya respectively. There are many small panels carved just above the Adhishthana of the base. There are depicted Kamadeva-Rati, Rama-Hanuman and various dancers, Yakshas etc

Very imposing Sculpture of Shiva and Parvati of about 5 feet in height is situated inside the Mandapa. Shiva is seated with his wife Parvati on his lap with sympathetic smile on her lips such sculptures are rare. His front hand is held up in Abhaya mudra which is a symbol for protection. His last hand is wrapped around a much smaller version of His wife Parvati.

When the husband and wife are together in sculpture Shiva is generally larger. There is a lotus flower carved into the front of the base. This reflects our ancestors used sculptures to develop a close relationship with the gods depicted.

The sanctum hall doorway is carved with five Sakhas and at the base are Saiva dvarapalas flanked by female Chauri-bearers. Similarly the doorways of the northern Garbhagriha and the west Antarala are finely carved. In the center of sanctum hall is a pedestal on which is found a Shiva Linga called Bhimeshvara.

The sabhamandapa has four ornate pillars on the raised floor at the center. Its interior niches accommodate sculptures of Ganesa, Mahishamardini, Saptamatrikas and seated Yaksha. A small bull is kept in front of the west Garbhagriha, in the Sabhamandapa. This is one of elegant temples of the Chalukyan period.

The Garbhagriha doorway is finely carved with scroll work and has Saiva dvarapalkas holding Trishula and Damara. The Antarala doorway is profusely carved with dvarpalas at its jambs. There are two Dvarapalika sculptures which fully decorated with different types of ornaments with fine hair dress. Ddoorway has Gaja-Lakshmi on its lintel and dvarpala at the jambs. The lintel has an exquisite representation of the Hindu Trinity, Shiva with Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya and Nandi are in the middle, Brahma with Sarasvati on the left and Vishnu with Lakhsmi on the right.

There are four subsidiary shrines around the western garbha-griha in the sabha-mandapa. Two are flanked on the either side of the western garbha-griha, one housing Ganesha and other Mahishasura-mardini. The other two shrines are on the southern and northern walls, one having Sapta-matrikas and the other has an image of yaksha which, probably, originally was on the Shikhrara of the temple.

The central ceiling of the Sabha-mandapa is executed in two overlapped lotus fashion. On its vertical panels are carved Ashta-dikpalas (eight directional guardians) with their respective mounts. The temple Vimana has interspersed projections and recesses.

The projections are decorated with shikharas of Vesara style supported on pilasters while the recesses are decorated with Sikharas in Dravidian style supported on a single pilaster. Channabasappa puts this temple in the Vesara style category. However the Stupa on the Shikhara top is square in shape which puts it’s under the Nagara style.

Gazetteer mentions that this temple was never completed, the tower over the west shrine being unfinished and some of the blocks along the base being left plain. But this is not the case, the tower of the west shrine is almost complete however there is no tower on top of the other two shrines which appears left incomplete.

Madaga Falls at Masur

One of the finest old tank, situated between fort hill and forest, and feeds to irrigate more than 10000 acres of land. The tank is quite an ancient one but has come under rejuvenation during various periods. It is known as Madaga Lake is a beautiful huge lake in a place called Madaga near Masur, Hirekerur Taluk.

 The river Kumadvathi which originates in the Agastya Parvata near Humcha in Sagar flows north near Shikaripura continues towards Masur and forms this huge beautiful lake.  A small waterfall is formed at the out flow of this Lake.

 The 20 feet height 30 feet wide waterfalls plunges into a deep pool and further it continues and joins to River Tungabhadra near Ranibennur. We can actually get down to the bottom of the waterfall and have a beautiful view of the falls. We need to do a bit of rock climbing to reach base. The roaring sound of the falls which created fumes all over were relaxes my body and soul. To have a look at the full majesty of the falls you need to visit the place in rainy season.

This place has a beautiful story behind its formation. Few centuries back there lived 2 big Land Lords - Mallana Gouda from Masur and Puttana Gouda from Rattihalli. Since there was no irrigation in this land, once they both decided to help the people of this region by building a big lake and irrigate the surrounding area. There were no equipments like JCBs, it was all by the human labour, both the land lords, pulled hundreds of people to build the lake and it took few years to form mountains and finally built a big lake. But unfortunately, there was no source of water to this lake, they waited and waited but there was no trace of water to this lake, everybody was very sad and worried.

 Finally they decided to enquire an Astrologer (Bhavisha Kelsidru) then they came to know that, to get water to that lake they have to sacrifice the life of the youngest daughter-in-law Kenchamma (not sure daughter-in-law of Mallana Gouda or Puttana Gouda) It became a very tough decision for them, but looking at the benifit to many people, they took the painful decision to sacrifice the life of Kenchamma. To execute this they made a plan to have a fair in that lake place and have a gold/silver idol of Kenchamma at the centre of Lake.

The ruins of an old fort can also seen, the western face fort-hill offers a commanding view of the surrounding plains. 

Kenchamma was not aware of the plan. After the fair got over, everybody went back to their homes. Then Mallana Gouda / Puttana Gouda asked Kenchamma to go & get the gold/silver idol of her from the lake (plan was to sacrifice her life during this time) It was God's blessings the moment Kenchamma reached the centre of the lake, water flooded in to the lake & Kenchamma was washed away. Since then, Madagh Masur Lake is always filled with water with no scarcity of water. Hence this lake is also called as Kenchamma Lake, there is a Temple of Godess Kenchamma in the centre of the Lake. This temple is only visible if there is a continuous draught in this region for 7-8 years. Hence there is one more temple of Godess Kenchamma on the bank of the lake.

The Hill Temple of Karinjeshvara

Sri Karinjeshwara temple is situated at a place called Karinja of Kavalamudur village in Bantwal taluk. It is located at a distance of 35 km from Mangalore and 14 km from Bantwal. The Karinjeshwara temple stands high on the hill amidst beautiful surroundings.

About 800 years ago, two Brahmin youth Karinjattaya and Ichlattaya brothers arrived at Kumbla county from Uttara Kannada for publicising Sanatana belief. At that period Tulunadu was ruled by Taulava King. Bhoota worship was the ritual in practice at that time in this region. The place where Ichlattaya settled was called Ichlampady and the other by Karinjattaya was called Karinja. In the middle of Karinja and Ichlampady in a scenic beautiful area was built a Lord Shiva Temple. These Brahmin without any descendants had given away their agricultural property along with the Temple to the Bunts who were helping them. The temple is split into two parts, one dedicated to the Lord Shiva, at the peak of the hill, and another dedicated to His Wife, the Goddess Parvati, and their Son, Lord Ganesha, a little lower down on the way to the Shiva Temple. This is the 7th temple built by Kalkuda. He had vowed to build seven temples overnight.

One has to get down at Vagga, 10 Km away from Bantwal towards Dharmasthala. The stop is also identified as Karinja Cross, where a beautiful entrance welcomes you to one of the calm and nice places of the coastal district. The road leading you to Karinja through Kodyamale Forest also enough to keep you spellbound. It is best experienced when we walk from main entrance till the Temple.

When we reached the temple, first we sight a huge pond in “Gada” (Mace) shape – Gada Theertha (Huge pond) at the bottom of the Karinja hill is 237 meter long, 55meter wide and 7meter deep size looks like a mirror with crystal clear water. After taking a dip in pond or at least after sprinkling water over the head we have to start climbing the steps through Main entrance. From the main entrance from the road you have to start stepping on the huge stone to reach this temple. In the starting point of Parvathi temple, you can see the Vinayaka Gudi.

Ugrana Guhe (Cave )

The journey on steep steps on a huge stone with the help of iron rods feels great. Be careful about the Vana Senas (monkeys). They are always up to something. They grabbed the Bananas that were carrying in our plastic bags that we wanted to offer to Lord Shiva.

One of the temple’s specialties lies in the age old practice followed by the temple authorities of feeding monkeys led by the Alpha-Male called the Karinje-Dhadda on daily basis on Naivedya Kallu. Legend says that when Rama and Seetha come to this place with the Vanara Sena after defeating Ravan, To mark this remembrance Ram Left His Sena here at Karinja. Everyday ‘Naivedhyam’ cooked of three ‘Seru’ (700 gram) rice is fed to the monkeys immediately after ‘Mahapuja’ in the afternoon. One can see monkeys waiting near Shiva temple to relish on the hot rice at sharp 12 noon. Devotees offering bananas and coconuts to these monkeys are a common sight at Karinja temple.

There mentions in various episodes of Mahabharatha about the three temple ponds namely ‘Gadha Theertha’, ‘Angushta Theertha’ and ‘Janu Theertha’ found in the temple premises. ‘Gadha Theertha’ located in the foothills is in the shape of a Gadha (mace). It is said that ‘Gadha Theertha’ was formed when Bhima threw his mace on the floor and ‘Angushta Theertha’ was created by Bhima’s thumb. Another pond ‘Janu Theertha’, which is said to have originated when Bhima knelt down on the floor, serves the water requirements of the temple through out the year as this pond never dries up.

 There are numerous evidences in the premises of the temple narrating several stories to the visitors about the life of the temple as it is believed that the temple premises has been the testimony for all the four ‘Yugas’ mentioned in Hindu mythology.

When you climb about 142 steps above the Parvathi Temple you find a massive door frame made up of a stone called Ukkadada Bagilu. It has a 0.3 cm cut mark on it, which is said to be created by the hitting of an arrow, when Arjuna tried to kill a wicked pig.

When Arjuna reached Karinja to seek blessings from Lord Shiva wanted to test Arjuna and came in disguise of a tribal head. When Arjuna aimed at the wild boar, even disguised Shiva aimed at the same boar. Both shot the boar at the same time, so both had a fight on whom to claim the boar. After a long battle Arjuna was defeated and Shiva and Parvathi gave him darshana. Goddess Parvathi blessed Arjuna with special powerful arrows.

When you climb another 118 steps passing through Ukkadada (Ukkada means the limiter border of a town and a turn pike or a toll gate) Bagilu, you reach Sri Karinjeshwara Temple. The “Shilamaya” Temple in such a high place has been regarded as the “Bhookailasa”.

Shiva temple is situated on the top of a hill, 1500 ft high from sea level, looks like temple is standing on a huge stone. The temple architecture is built by stones. From Ukkadada bagilu” around 145 steps it’s the main entrance to Shiva temple. The Shiva Sannidhi covered with “Shilamaya Shiva” Garbhagudi (shiva statue) “Metina Gudi” and a “Naivedya Kallu” (granite stone), and offers an enchanting view of the surroundings.

It is revealed that the place was called as ‘Roudra Giri’ during ‘Krutha Yuga’, ‘Gajendra Giri’ in ‘Thretha Yuga’, ‘Bhima Shaila’ in ‘Dwapara Yuga’ and ‘Karinja’ in ‘Kali Yuga’. Deemed as the temple located at greatest height among all the other temples of Dakshina Kannada, the shrine is situated on a monolith spreading over 25 acres. The temple is surrounded by picturesque green Kodyamale Reserved Forest adding to the serenity of the place.

The soil of the spot where the lake now stands is pathologically said to have spread over a distance of Seven Miles, which is known as “Kodia Malai”, now inhabited by wild animals and reptiles. You will find that the climb of 555 steps is worth and once you reach the peak you will get a beautiful bird’s eye view of the surrounding areas. With all its historical significance and beauty of nature, Karinja is one of the best places for a pilgrim centers.

Festivals:The biggest and most important event at this temple is Shivarathri, a four-day festival. On the first night of Shivarathri, there are elaborate poojas and homas (different types of worship rituals) at each temple into the early hours of the morning. The next night, the idol of Shiva is carried down to the Parvathi temple and husband and wife are united for the night amid more worshipping and festivities.

The next day, the Rathotsava (Chariot Festival), the two idols are paraded around at the Parvathi temple and then at the ground level, where they are carried around in a chariot (a Ratha). Later that day, the two idols are carried back to the Parvathi temple, where Shiva bids goodbye to Parvathi and carries on alone to his temple. The following night, the last night of the festival, Shiva is once again taken to Parvathi; they are taken for a "stroll" at ground level before they are once again returned to their respective places.

 A lake in the temple premises- ‘Handi Kere’ too has a mythological story attached to it. Handi Kere is supposedly formed when great archer Arjuna arrowed down a pig. The arrow marks are still visible on the rocky hill.

Information by–Vivek Kumar K

Shivaganga hills -Tumkur

Shivaganga hills is an ancient religious and picnic centre situated about 60km from Bangalore on the way to Tumkur, it has a monolithic black granite hill raising over 1380 meters above the sea level. The cave temples on the hill dedicated to Gavi-Gangadhara (Shiva) and his consort Swarnambha or Honna Devi are worshiped here. Gavi (kannada word) means cave. As the temple is situated within a cave like structure it is called as Gavigangadhareshwara. The inner sanctum is believed to be connecting to another Shiva temple, Gavigangadhareshwara which is at Bangalore.

The place is just fantastic, with breathtaking views from the high altitudes. Brilliant are the views of the surrounding villages, the nearby Pushkarini or pond, from the top of the hill. Most of the place is rocky, with railings to hold on to as you climb, and monkeys to make sure you don’t take any offerings to the deity on top!

The devotees who travel to Shivaganga bring along with them the ghee to offer to Lord Shiva. Shiva is in the form of Lingam at Gangadhareshwara temple. The priest applies the ghee and rubs it all over the Shiva Lingam. Amazingly, one can see the ghee turning back to butter, in front of them. Any answers to this in our modern science? No one has the answer to why this amazing change occurs.

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Lots of pilgrims travel to the place during their holidays just to watch the miracle happen in front of them. The ghee that turns to butter has medicinal properties in it.

You will be amazed to see the beautiful natural spring at Patalaganga on your way to the hilltop of Shivaganga. Inside some of the rocks, the underground spring is seen seeping at the entrance. Water level of Patal Ganga sometimes comes up to the knee height and is always cold. Water flowing is connected at Antargange which is quite far from the spot. You could find some small fountains or water bodies, that we were told, never dry up throughout the year!

Here are many spots on the Shivaganga hill where spring water is seen. People believe that spring water comes from the holy river Ganges. Lord Shiva and the river Ganga (Ganges) together are called by the name Shivaganga.

Olakallu Teertha is the spring water found on the hillock. Pilgrims step down the narrow stairs between the rocks to see the spring. People believe that only a pious person can get a touch or feel of the water within. Myself and my bro Ani, one of them luckiest person who were touched the water on that hole.

There is also a Lord Ganesha temple and 108 Lingams near Agasthya theertha. Nandi is a monolith placed atop on a huge rock. Beautiful scenery around can be seen from the top of the rock. It is a peak spot of Shivaganga hills. People who travel to this place during holidays should carry enough water because it is too hot on the hills.

Sculptures and carvings are seen on the walls and the pillars of the temple. Most of them have succumbed to the weather conditions and negligence. A few paintings have lost their heritage look after they were repainted. The only problem that travelers face is the menace of monkeys on the Shivaganga hills.

These hills have Ashtalingas (8 shivalingas) by name Gangadhareshwara along with consort Swarnambha, Shantheshwara, Omkareshwara, Revana Siddheshwara, Kumbheshwara, Someshwara and Muddu Veereshwara. 

 Ashta Vrishabas (8 bulls) by name Nandi Vrishaba, Makara Basava, Mahisha Basava, Gare Basava, Dodda basava, Kadale Basava, Giri Basava and Kodugallu Basava. Ashta Theerthas (8 sacred water springs) by name Agasthya Theertha, Shankara Theertha, Kanva Theertha, Kadamba Theertha, Maithla Theertha, Patala Gange, Olakallu Theertha and Kapila Theertha.

Queen Shantala’s suicide point or Shanthala drop is a spot which is 500 feet high from the foot of the hill. The Queen, at her young age, always used to practice the dance in front of her deity, Honnadevi. During King Vishnuvardhana’s reign, Shantala Devi had a great influence in the administration and religious reforms. King was a Vaishnava follower as he was influenced by the saint Ramanujacharya, but Shantala was a follower of Jainism Shantala was the Pattamaharani (Queen who had right to sit on the throne).

Shantala was in a big depression as she couldn’t give birth to a child who would become heir after King Vishnuvardhana. Only the Pattamaharani’s son could become a legal successor according to the rule. When Queen Shantala did not have children, the other queen Lakshmi was to be allowed to become the Pattamaharani because she already had a boy baby. But the king never agreed to this. He always believed that Shantala would give birth to a son anytime, sooner or later. Shantala could not tolerate this for long. She made up her mind to end her life near the temple of deity, Honnadevi.

So, one night when everyone at the palace was fast asleep she rode on a horse and reached Shivaganga. After she prayed at the temple, she jumped from the hill to end her life. She was in her early twenties when she died. It is also said that Queen Shantala Devi died after observing the Jaina practice of Sallekhana (fasting unto death) at Shivaganga.

On some days during the night, localities moving around near the Shantala drop have heard the sound of a woman's anklets. Even to this day, they believe that her restless soul wanders at this place, with deep sorrow.

Lord Shiva’s consort Honnadevi also a deity in the nearby temple. Queen Shantala of the Hoysala dynasty was a great devotee of goddess Honnadevi. Patala Ganga, the natural spring water is situated between the two temples.

During the reign of Hoysala rulers, King Vishnuvardhana had contributed a lot for the renovation of the Shivaganga temple. Later Kempegowda too had built a beautiful tower over the temple and renovated it again.