Kalmeshwara temple, Jalasangi

October 4, 2014
Having done with Hanakuni fort, Srinu and I drive back to Humnabad town and then take Bidar road. Humnabad to Jalasangi is about 10 km, at one point we had to leave the main road, turn left towards Jalasanghi village. Distance between the main road and village was around 1 km.

This is the only such temple in this village, rituals are performed everyday.

The following description of Kalmeshwar temple has been sourced from Humnabad Town Municipal Council website: ಇದನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಜಲಸಂಗಿ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕಲ್ಯಾಣದ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಅರಸ ೬ನೇ ವಿಕ್ರಮಾದಿತ್ಯನು ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ಕಲ್ಮೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಾಲಯವನ್ನು ಸಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದನು. ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಆಕಾರವಿರುವ ದೇವಾಲಯದ ಹೊರಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು ೩೦ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ ಮದನಿಕಾ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಿವೆ. ನಾಟ್ಯ ಗಣಪತಿಯ ನಟನಾ ಭಂಗಿ ಕಲಾ. ಪ್ರಿಯರನ್ನು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಸುಂದರ ಭಂಗಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವೀರಭದ್ರ, ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಮೂರ್ತಿ, ದುರ್ಗಾ, ವರಾಹ ಅವತಾರ, ದರ್ಪಣ ಸುಂದರಿ, ನರಸಿಂಹ ಅವತಾರದ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳು, ಕಾವ್ಯಕನ್ನಿಕೆ, ಶಾಸನ ಬರೆಯುವ ಸುಂದರಿ, ಗಂಧರ್ವ ಕನ್ಯೆ ಮುಂತಾದವು ಗಮನಾರ್ಹವಾಗಿವೆ. ಆರನೇ ವಿಕ್ರಮಾದಿತ್ಯನ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಹೊಗಳಿ ಶಾಸನವನ್ನು ಬರೆಯುವ ಶಾಸನ ಸುಂದರಿಯ ಶಿಲ್ಪವು ಆಕರ್ಷಕವಾಗಿದೆ. ಶಾಸನದ ಅರ್ಥ ಹೀಗಿದೆ- ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ವಂಶದ ವಿಕ್ರಮಾದಿತ್ಯನೆಂಬ ರಾಜನು ಏಳು ದ್ವೀಪಗಳಿಂದ ಸಮಾವೇಶಗೊಂಡ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ತನ್ನದಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ರಾಜ್ಯಭಾರ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ.

Following is a rough translation of the description in Kannada: Kalmaeshwar temple was built during the reign of Kalyana Chalukyas by Vikramaditya VI. The temple has about 30 beautifully sculpted characters such as Veerabhadra, Dakshinamurti, Durga, Varaha, lady holding a mirror, Narasimha, Kavyakannika, a beautiful woman inscribing a plate, Gandharva Kanya, etc.  The lady is inscribing lines praising the brave deeds of Vikramaditya VI.

Some years back, north-eastern part of the temple structure had collapsed and it was restored. Hence part of the northern side is devoid of sculptures.

The temple design has several layers. In the upper half are most of the sculptures. Its quite similar to Hoysala temple design.

Here we have 3 characters, one woman and two men. Man in the middle is holding Chakra and mace, so this could be Vishnu. The man on the right is holding a Damaruga and trident - this could be Shiva.

Here are two curvy women. The woman on the left has let down her hair, she's barely attired except for jewelry and a serpent around her thighs. This is one of the most sexiest depictions of a woman I've ever seen! The woman on the right is equally curvy, she attired in lot of jewellery and has a bird perched on her left arm.

Two women and a man. The man with four arms is wielding a Chakra, a mace and a cup could be Vishnu, not sure. The two women could be Gandharva Kanya.

Whoever has created these sculptures.. thumbs up to them. I love the way the women are positioned, their anatomies captured perfectly.

In this picture the outstanding characters are the eight armed Natya Ganapa and the lady inscribing a plate. Ganapati's companion Mooshak is occupied with a snack in a cup :)

This is the first of this kind I've ever seen. This woman is holding the plate in her left hand and a scribe in her right hand. She's writing lines praising King Vikramaditya's deeds, the script is Kannada and 3 lines have been written. She has a ring around her thumb. In this temple there's at least one more woman with a ring on her thumb.

For people of Jalasanhi, Kalmaeshwar temple is a place to hang around since its right next to the village square. A crowd had gathered to check out Srinu's bike fixed on the rack on of his Swift. Srinu had a tough time keeping people from fiddling with his cycle. The boy in shorts is the grandson of the temple poojari, he gets his turn to perform rituals.

Makes me think why this spot was chosen for this temple. Well, we move on towards Humnabad, the next place on my list was Umapur, known for its twin temples dedicated to Shiva and a 6' foot Ganesha.
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