September 20, 2019
Our day started with a drive from Bangalore to Kolar, breakfast at a mobile eatery at Kolar and a short trek to Antara Gange. Now we were back at the town, we somehow chose to visit Kolaramma Devastana first. I followed the directions on Google Maps which took us through the narrow lanes of Kolar. I had least expected to see a crowded temple.. this is one of the ancient temples where rituals are sill performed. It was the last Friday of Shravana hence the crowd. People, especially ladies, come with lemon and ghee, make lamps with lemon skin and light them to appease the Goddess. This is one of the few times I had to deal with crowds at historical spots.
This is the gateway in the outer wall of the temple. This gateway reminds me of Vijayanagara temple gateways. This is actually a base of the high Gopura which is missing here.
A board at the temple entrance describes the temple features as follows:
Kolara or ancient Kuvalapura was ruled by Gangas in the early part of 3rd Century AD. Gangas were succeeded by Cholas followed by Hoysalas and Vijayanagra rulers.
The temple indicates two shrines in an ordinary structure in Dravidian style of architecture. This main temple faces east whereas larger shrine faces north. Both share a common pillared mantapa. The mahadwara has an imposing appearance with a well carved doorway. The lower course of the wall to the left of the Mukhamantapa has fragments of a number of Rajendra Chola's inscriptions. The walls of the main shrine are treated with slendu pilasters. The Adhistana mouldings and the pilastered outer wall of the Garbhgriha has Jagati and Tripatta Kumuda mouldings. The Adhistana mouldings and the pilastered outer wall of the temple are carved with numerous inscriptions in Tamil characters. A Bhutagana and lion friezes are depicted below above the cornice respectively.
Inside the temple are the images of Sapthamatrikas and the image of Kolaramma, in the form of Mahishasuramardhini with eight hands and a demon under the feet. In another room to the right have exact copies of the Saptamatrika images in brick and madder. There is a stone image about six feet high Kalabhairava, but people name it as Mukanacharamma owing its nose having been broken. The temple does not have any super structure.
The temple gateway, though it appears simple on the outside, is grand inside. The door frames are decorated richly with carvings of creepers. At the base of the frames are two pairs of beautiful young Shilabalikas greeting visitors into the temple. I think two of them are hunters since they holding bows in their hands. Wondering if they are sculptors imagination or replicas of girls who really existed. Their beauty is mesmerizing!
This is the inner gateway. There's an open space between the two gateways, the floor is granite slabs, during a normal day, one can sit here and relish the peaceful ambiance. The pillared mantapa has room for about 60 grownup people. Of all the pillars four of them are made of hard grey colored rock, it looks like the beige colored pillars were replaced with grey colored pillars. The pillar bases have rectangular faces at their bases and one of the bases has an inscription which looks like a signature of a sculptor (see inset). As per our understanding of the text it is 'Samanrukasiri'. In Kannada it is ಸಮನೃಕಸಿರಿ.
In the courtyard is a stone plague describing the temple as follows:
This L-shaped temple has two shrines, one for Durga (Kolaramma) and the other for Saptamatrikas. Both have a common vestibule. The Durga shrine has a wagon roof tower. The stucco figures in Saptamatrikas shrine are unusually large, the temple is of the Dravida Vimana style but in Ganga tradition (11th Century AD). Mahadwara has imposing pavilions in the inner side.
The temple contains several Chola inscriptions. The earliest belong to Rajendra I (1012 - 1045 AD).
This is the inner wall which encloses the temple tightly.
The space within the inner walls is really tight. Along the walls are long open halls for visitors to rest. The aisle goes around the temple but we could not complete the round because it was blocked by a crowd waiting for entry into the temple. So we just saw the outside of this temple.
This idol is placed close to the temple entrance, looks like a hero-stone.
One of the corners of the temple. These walls are covered with Tamil inscriptions. Every flat surface between the base to the top of mid-section has neatly inscribed lines of Tamil text.
Miniature pillars form a niche in the wall. The pillars seen in this temple are similar in form. If you take a closer look at the walls, the text can be seen. Click on images to enlarge them.
This is the east-west aisle. Looks peaceful for the moment. Else there's continuous flow of people going around the temple.
As seen from the other side of the aisle. Back in the ancient times, people would camp inside temples during their visits. Also, people traveling from Mysore or Bangalore travelling to Tirumala would have stayed at this temple for a day or two.
This is the north-south mantapa. The shadows indicate the precise placement of pillars. Miniature pillars seen on the walls are same as these pillars. These column design is quite simple compared to Chalukyan designs.
View from the other side. On the right side, a dark patch is seen which is where people touch the wall.. think there was an idol of one of the gods.
This is the temple Shikhara in Dravida Vimana style made of mortar. notice the overhang of the roof, rainwater would flow down smoothly away from the wall.
We must have spend 20 minutes seeing the inside of the temple. We decided to leave and came back to the outer gateway to check out the sculptures of a fish and lizard on the front wall. On the fish is a woman with her arm raised.
The lizard looks so real, the curves in the body and tail have been replicated so well. Even the ridge running along the middle is done superbly. Wondering the purpose behind this sculpture.. to ward off evil eyes?
This lizard remind me of large fishes on the walls surrounding Bahubali on Vindhyagiri hill at Shravanabelgola.
Done with Kolaramma Devi temple, we head towards Someshwara Devasthana. A two minute walk from here.
.........
Our day started with a drive from Bangalore to Kolar, breakfast at a mobile eatery at Kolar and a short trek to Antara Gange. Now we were back at the town, we somehow chose to visit Kolaramma Devastana first. I followed the directions on Google Maps which took us through the narrow lanes of Kolar. I had least expected to see a crowded temple.. this is one of the ancient temples where rituals are sill performed. It was the last Friday of Shravana hence the crowd. People, especially ladies, come with lemon and ghee, make lamps with lemon skin and light them to appease the Goddess. This is one of the few times I had to deal with crowds at historical spots.
This is the gateway in the outer wall of the temple. This gateway reminds me of Vijayanagara temple gateways. This is actually a base of the high Gopura which is missing here.
Kolara or ancient Kuvalapura was ruled by Gangas in the early part of 3rd Century AD. Gangas were succeeded by Cholas followed by Hoysalas and Vijayanagra rulers.
The temple indicates two shrines in an ordinary structure in Dravidian style of architecture. This main temple faces east whereas larger shrine faces north. Both share a common pillared mantapa. The mahadwara has an imposing appearance with a well carved doorway. The lower course of the wall to the left of the Mukhamantapa has fragments of a number of Rajendra Chola's inscriptions. The walls of the main shrine are treated with slendu pilasters. The Adhistana mouldings and the pilastered outer wall of the Garbhgriha has Jagati and Tripatta Kumuda mouldings. The Adhistana mouldings and the pilastered outer wall of the temple are carved with numerous inscriptions in Tamil characters. A Bhutagana and lion friezes are depicted below above the cornice respectively.
Inside the temple are the images of Sapthamatrikas and the image of Kolaramma, in the form of Mahishasuramardhini with eight hands and a demon under the feet. In another room to the right have exact copies of the Saptamatrika images in brick and madder. There is a stone image about six feet high Kalabhairava, but people name it as Mukanacharamma owing its nose having been broken. The temple does not have any super structure.
The temple gateway, though it appears simple on the outside, is grand inside. The door frames are decorated richly with carvings of creepers. At the base of the frames are two pairs of beautiful young Shilabalikas greeting visitors into the temple. I think two of them are hunters since they holding bows in their hands. Wondering if they are sculptors imagination or replicas of girls who really existed. Their beauty is mesmerizing!
This L-shaped temple has two shrines, one for Durga (Kolaramma) and the other for Saptamatrikas. Both have a common vestibule. The Durga shrine has a wagon roof tower. The stucco figures in Saptamatrikas shrine are unusually large, the temple is of the Dravida Vimana style but in Ganga tradition (11th Century AD). Mahadwara has imposing pavilions in the inner side.
The temple contains several Chola inscriptions. The earliest belong to Rajendra I (1012 - 1045 AD).
This is the inner wall which encloses the temple tightly.
Done with Kolaramma Devi temple, we head towards Someshwara Devasthana. A two minute walk from here.
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