Sanjeevini Anjaneya Gudi, Nagavi

July 2, 2016
This is the recently built arch of Sanjeevini Anjaneya Sukshetra. From here the temple is about 400 meters.

So this is Sanjeevini Anjaneya temple. This was recently restored by members of local Brahmin community. Its a simple structure built of Shahabad stones. Notice the flooring around the structure? Its natural formation.. a huge rockbed measuring approximately 20000 square meters. The temple stands alone in the open, away from the hustle bustle of Chittapur town. Local people come here to spend some peaceful moments.

This is the view from the entrance. Ancient pillars going strong. Wonder why our people paint them :( Wish they leave stones alone,

The interior is simple; a Sabha-Mantap and Garbhgudi. There's space around the Garbhagudi for Pradakshina.

A lotus in the ceiling. Notice the binding material between the blocks.. this was not the case of our ancient builders. Anyway, this temple has been nicely restored.

Niches in the outer wall.. one on the left is Islamic design. So these blocks are ancient too?

View of the entrance and the Deepastambha. At the centre of the Mantapa formed by four pillars, there's a small square for performing Homa ~ sacrificial ritual for fire god. One thing.. this is a south-facing temple.

This definitely is an ancient oil-lamp pillar. The pillar will be lit up during major festivals.. probably during Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami. The pillar design is common through North Karnataka and probably some parts of Maharatsra.

Lets turn our attention towards the 'flooring.' Like I mentioned earlier, this temple is situated on a rock bed measuring about 200 meters long and 100 meters wide. I've seen such a rock bed near Alampur village in Andhra Pradesh, Usually such rock beds are found near streams. Even this is the path of a stream. With a good rainfall water would be flowing here for months.

A close look at the rock bed.. there's a clear demarcation between each layer.

Looking back towards the temple. A crow quenches its thirst from a puddle. Probably it was hungry too.. that thought did not occur to me then :(

between the temple and the main road is another ruined temple with a mantapa. The Shikhara is stepped. Seems like Chalukyan architecture. All temples of this design on this site must have been built during the same period.

This is the side view. I liked the sloping parapet above the entrances.

Rear view of the temple. Its another simple structure yet its beautiful. This must be product of temple builders' experiment.

A stone's throw from this temple is am ancient wall which covers around 30 acres. The wall is not high enough to be called a fort but possesses the look of one. Inside the compound are several smaller walls.. probably this was a ancient township. There's so much more to learn about Nagavi.

Next we head towards Nagavi fort. Pushpa had read about Nagavi and also chatted with the temple priest. it seems the town within Nagavi fort was destroyed by rain of fire. Makes me think if a massive thunderbolt destroyed an ancient town..

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