Journeys across Karnataka: Tarakeshwara Devastana, Hangal

Of the ancient temples of North Karnataka, Haveri district has a fair share in terms of number and uniqueness. Galaganatha Devastana has an unusual form, part of the temple is shaped like a pyramid. Close to Galaganatha is the magnificent Mukteshwara Devastana of Chaudayyadanapura. Then the simple but unique Sarateshwara Devastana of Naregal, unique because of its sloping roof. The list goes on, but the grandest of all temples is Tarakeshwara Devastana of Hangal. I'd seen it back in May 2011 but I wanted Pushpa to see it.

July 26, 2019
Our day started early with visits to three temples at two villages- Naregal and Balambeed, We arrived at Hangal around 11 AM. As we tried to find the way to the temple, we discovered that Friday was the market day. All the lanes and streets on this part of the town are jam packed with makeshift shops, their owners and customers. So we had to park our car on the main road and walk through the market. Pushpa was noticing the commodities, silently making a list in her mind :) The market extended right upto the temple gates!

So here I'm about to enter the gateway of Tarakeshwara Devastana, the temple originally built by the Kadamba kings in IV Century, and later modified by the Chalukyas. Normally, temples of North Karnataka do not have grand gateways but this temple is one of the exceptions. Three pairs of columns adorn the gateway. A small diversion from the topic. In this picture there are three people, each using cell phones, one is talking, the second is watching and the third i.e. Pushpa is shooting. Mobile phones, the all-in-one wonder gadget.

The temple premises is almost as it was eight years ago. The same mud wall & tiled roof house on the left, the bigger house on the right too hasn't changed, and the temple itself is there as it was. I like that!

This smaller temple on the right is Ganpati Gudi, built during the same period as the main temple. The large house seen here seems to be the priest's home. Probably generations of this family have been performing rituals here.

The temple's front view is dominated by the pillar which could be called the Vijaya Stambha. Had this been a temple dedicated to Vishnu, then the pillar would be called Garuda Stambha. At the base of the pillar is a beautiful sculpture of entwined serpents.

Close to the entrance is a board which describes the temple as follows:
The Tarakeshwara temple on plan consists of a Garbhagudi, Antarala, Navaranga, Sabhamandapa and a Mukhamandapa is a good example of the Kalyana Chalukya architectural syle. Originally the Navaranga and Pravesamandapas on north, south and eastern sides at present, the north and southern Pravesamandapas have been converted into Garbhagrihas. The Garbhagriha enshrines a tall Siva Linga on a Panipitha having Kadamba stylistics features. The decorative Pachashaka doorway fronted by an Antarala which has trellis (Jalandhras). The lathe turned pillars inside the Antarala has a decorative ceiling (Bhuvanesvari). The Sabhamandapa with four entrance ways is stellar shaped with Hoysala styled huge pillars therein support the upper beams. The Kakshasana has polished pillars those are in various shapes run all along the Mandapa. The subsiday ceilings (Bhuvanesvaris) found in the Sabhamandapa is plain while the centre one has the depiction of a flower-bud motif. The Mukhamandapa has also a Kakshasana. The exterior wall of the temple is decorated with pilasters and Devakosthas. Garbhagriha has four tiered Sikhara with Sukhanasi projecton. A tall stone pillar stands in front of the temple.
In front of the Garbhagriha is the Sukhanasi with four intricately carved pillars and a nandi placed in the centre. The Sukhanasi situated on the right and left sides has a Linga and Parvati sculpture respectively.
The main Garbhagriha enshrines a Linga which is called Tarakesvara, along with sculptures of Vishnu, Brahma, Kartikeya and Nandi. The exterior wall of the temple has bas-relief sculptures of Ramayana. The incompletely carved images of the Dvarapalaka are attractive. The Kadamba-Nagara Sikhara above the Garbhagriha has intricately carved decorations. It has a sculpture of hero fighting with a lion resembling the Hoysala emblem.

Here's a rough plan of the roof to get an idea of the size of the temple. The structure is approximately 147 feet long and 62 feet at the widest point. It has 3 sections connected by bridge like platforms. Each of the sections has a dome under which is a chandelier of that diameter. We started our tour from the eastern side, went around the temple in clockwise direction.

The temple is built on a platform, it has around seven entrances, one on the facade and four on the sides. Every entrance has a staircase of four steps flanked by a pair of balustrades adorned with a spiral and lotus in full bloom. The Kannada word for balustrade is Katanjana. This is a standard feature in many a Chalukyan temples.

As viewed from the other side. The front entrance has been barred for some reason. Visitors are expected to enter the temple from any of the side entrances. Noticed that some of the sculptures are broken, these acts of vandalism seem to be ancient.

The right hand side of the temple seen head on.. the right angle turns in the wall is an intriguing pattern. What's the purpose of this design? The walls have clearly defined layers.. the plain dressed blocks of the platform, a layer of rectangular floral motifs, a protruding layer of alternating notches, a layer of thick pillars holding up the layer of Rekhanagari Shikharas and the topmost layer consist of alternating twin pillars and blank rectangles. The rectangles were meant to for images but the work was never carried out. On the left hand side of the temple, the top layer consist of images from Hindu legends or just generic images from day to day life. Also, the top layer is the backrest for the seating platform inside the temple.

Here's one of the Rekhanagari Shikharas. These are scale replicas of actual temples. The gracefully curving slope of the tower and the well proportioned circular crown. On this temple are at least a hundred such Shikhara of same size and proportion.. as though they were made of the same mold.

This is one of the pillars inside the temple. Its predominantly octagonal with floral and geometric patterns. The patterns re so different yet they get along well. Amazing creativity.

We decided to see the exterior completely first and then see the interiors. This is one view of the temple where we get to almost every aspect of the exterior. The base, walls, an entrance with balustrade, the slanted backrest of Sukhanasi, the overhanging canopy to prevent rainwater entry, a corner wall made of closely placed pillars, a dome and finally the Shikhara.

This is one of the side entrances. The Katanjana here is again a spiral it looks significantly different compared to the one at the main entrance. This seems like a relatively newer design. The spiral is ribbed. Those graceful parallel lines are amazingly precise. Imagining the state of mind of the sculptor while carving it. A shapeless stone comes alive as it undergoes the operation.

This is another side entrance with the older type of Katanjana. This one looks battered. As you see this entrance is also blocked, visitors cannot enter the temple here.

View from one of the corners. The flow of layers from side to side is so smooth and precise. Every Kambha and every Shikhara are aligned perfectly. Amazing workmanship. Thinking of modern manufacturing methods, this looks as though it was laser-cut. The sculptors must have been in a different state of mind, must have worked as one single machine to accomplish this kind of work.

Lets zoom out a little and see how three such corners look like together. This time the roof is included as well. The same precision is seen here as well. A quick glance at the pillars peeping out of the dim interior.. they also stand perfectly aligned.

A closer view of the miniature pillar bases. Every minor detail has been worked out, no shortcuts. In the layer below, the first protrusion is slightly slanted, not sure if that's intentional.

Lets take a look at the topmost layer, the portion where work is incomplete, rather one gets to see the way the sculpting work progressing in stages. The extreme left (partly visible) is a blank face, then a almost complete image and the other two are in-between stages. If I could sit and watch the sculptors at work, I would've witnessed the transformation of a blank face coming alive with human forms. The chisel marks can be seen clearly. So this tells these were hand carved.

A glance at the interior. This is where the two wide portions of the temple get connected by a bridge. Its quite possible the temple was extended from here. Looking at the overall plan of the temple, it might have been extended two times.