Chandramouleshwara Devastana revisited - 1

The first visit to this ancient temple was probably Dec-2009. I had been to Hubli to attend a family event with my relatives. On the way back to Dharwad we took a diversion into Unkal village and spent half an hour at the temple. The specialty of this temple was the four door Garbhagudi and a four faced Shivalinga.

February 18, 2020

This visit was mainly to show this temple to Pushpa and her friend Swati. It was 2-30 PM when we reached the temple. A hot day it was, sunlight was beating down fiercely. As we came in we saw a group of people with cameras and flash. It was a pre-wedding shoot of the couple. Strange that temple caretakers object to people who have interest in historical monuments but allow commercials shoots.

This is the main door of the temple. The facade is dominated by two columns, two meshes and two niches flanking the main door. The niches are vacant, probably the statues are placed in some museum.

The mesh work and the three-arch panel above the door frame create an elegant look. The top pnel seems to be replacement for a much more detailed sculpture. The panel is a mesh which allows light and air.

Before we step in, lets take a look at the temple plan. It is 'plus' shaped and aligned to the cardinal directions. The core of the temple is a chamber with four doors, so I'm not sure if its okay to call it Garbhagudi. One could do Pradakshina around the main deity, walk around the central chamber or walk around the temple itself. While the main deity (A) is a regular Shivalinga, the additional deity (B) is a rare Linga with four faces called Chatarmukha Linga. The main deity's Nandi is placed in the passage (D). This is a very compact temple without any place to sit inside. The only place people could assemble for a meeting is on the front platform.

The little Nandi in the passage between the door and central deity. The idol is placed on the floor just like that. I think originally the idol was fixed in the floor. When the floor was redone the idol was dislodged and placed over the floor.

On the left is the central shrine's eastern door. This is the passage which goes around the central shrine.

The deity as seen from the southern door. In this picture all the four doors are seem, the Linga is lit up by light from the eastern and western doors. Once I must come here early morning and check if morning rays touch the deity. The oil lamp kept in the glass enclosure is an old one. Its not easy to find such enclosures now.

This is the line of vision from the western door passing through the central shrine and out through the eastern door. This is a rare form, the Chaturmukha Linga which means the four-faced Linga. The Linga's Peetha (pedestal) is different too. Also, the Peetha seems to be part of the rock bed in the floor. Probably the rock bed is a natural formation on which a Linga was installed and temple was constructed.

Chaturmukha Linga as seen from the other side. The idol is placed in the passage between the western door and central shrine, like the Nandi on the opposite side.

We step to see the exterior. Pushpa and Swati found a cool spot on the southern side which was shaded by a large tamarind tree.  I started my tour the temple. The south-eastern corner is damaged, may of the sculptures have been vandalized. By the looks, it must've been done by looting soldiers.

The walls are classic Chalukyan architecture, covered with miniature columns and Shikharas. The walls distinctly have three levels- lower, mid and upper. Between the three layers are two lines of rectangular fins. Calling them so because they resemble cooling fins in electronic equipment.

This is the southern door of the temple. This is not connected to the inner space of the temple. This room was being used like a store. These two lazy creatures have made themselves comfortable, chatting away happily. I brought them here so that they can see this wonderful monument. Alas, ladies! The entrances have been decorated with detailed artwork. The pillars and meshes are amazing.

A peacock occupies prominent space on this pillar. The rhombus shaped flowers and deep grooves are marvelous works. The mesh is designed to allow light & air but block the view inside. The stepped openings have four-petaled flowers, some are missing. Looks like some vandals must have broken and stolen them.

The mesh on the other side is also damaged but still remains beautiful.

A closer look at the pattern. This is one of the finest works in this temple. The minute details are precise. How can anyone even think of damaging this?

The four-petaled rhombus. The worn sandstone kind of looks like wax. In fact, a friend of mine says that ancient sculptors shaped stones as though it was wax.

A canopy projecting from the roof. Every space has a unique form. Wonder what function this serves. The curved shape looks like playing cards spade.

This article will continue in Chandramouleshwara Devastana revisited - 2.
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Moorusavira Matha, Hubballi

Moorusavira Matha is a Lingayath monastery established in XII Century. Within the monastery's premises are the tombs of monastery heads over the centuries including the founder Shri Gurusiddeshwara Swami. The monastery's name is attributed to the visit of Sri Channabasaveshwara (Jagadguru Basaveshwara's nephew) with a group of three thousand Shivasharanas visit to here. The Kannada phrase for 'three thousand' is 'mooru savira'. Hence the name Moorusavira Matha.

After Jagadguru Basaveshwara quits the post of minister at King Bijjala's court and moves to Kudala Sangama for good, the king's army starts subduing the revolutionary movement of Shivasharanas. To escape the persecution, Shivashranas leave Kalyana along with their collection of literary work. Channabasaveshwara and his group with a plan to go to Ulavi (in the jungles of Uttara Kannada) come to Dharwad, where they stay at Ulavi Basaveswara Gudi. At some point of time before going to Ulavi, the group also happens to visit Shri Gurusiddeshwara Swami's monastery at Hubballi.

Moorusavira Matha runs educational institutions and conducts Anna Dasoha. However, the monastery is the news for wrong reasons for a number of times, thanks to the internal conflicts which spill out. Hoping the Matha members reform and carry out better social service.

February 18, 2020
My day started off by dropping Pushpa and her friend Akshita at Maharani's College near Siddharoodha Matha. I hired an auto-rickshaw, went to Sri Bhavani Shankar Devastana and then came to Moorusavira Matha. The last time I visited it was early 2010. The monastery seems to have changed little. This is the main building which houses the founder's tomb (Gadduge) and the seer's living quarters. The dominant feature of the facade are the building height wooden columns. Each of these columns are made of single pieces. This hall has a dozen such columns. Besides the wooden columns, the other attractions are the detailed wood sculptures and tasteful tile work on the floor.

In this building is the main shrine i.e. the tomb of Shri Gurusiddeshwara Swami. The small door is one of two entrances the underground shrine. Photography is prohibited in there. The tomb is enclosed in a stainless steel cage. Right above the shrine is the dome which forms the roof. Floor to dome is around 30 feet. Around the shrine is space for people to circumambulate and a also a seating platform. The shrine is decorated with fresh flowers and Vibhuti. An oil lamp is always burning. A young priest is present at the shrine when its kept open for Bhaktas. The shrine has a serene ambiance.

This is the open hall where Swamiji gives Darshan to Bhaktas. During my previous visit which was tie for late afternoon Pooja. Prior to the pooja Shehnai was played by two men. The sound was heartwarming. I think the vibrations of the music sanctifies the environment.

The central door links to the inner chambers. Above the grand door frame is a picture of Jagadguru Basaveshwara. On the platform is a throne like chair with red velvet and lions on its arm-rests.

The grand door jamb and the grand chair. The jamb is a heavy assembly of teak wood richly carved. Wonder who the artists are.

Lord Ganapati, the remover of obstacles adorns the frame. The seated Ganesha features four arms and a spiraled trunk. Ganesha's Vaahan Mushak is also present here. The tightly packed floral art is well done, the repetitions are consistent.

A quick look at one of the two lions on the arm rest. The creator had fixed glass marbles in the eye sockets which actually is effectively creating a pair of watchful eyes.

The building seems to be built early XX Century. The walls and floors are covered with expensive tiles. There are four windows which are covered with gold painted Jali (mesh).

Two of the four Jalis. The architect made sure the monastery had a grand look and had it built with good quality stuff so that it has a lasting grand look. Take a close look at the Jali on left hand side. At the bottom is a Shivalinga and Nandi, at its top is a Kirtimukha. I'm suspecting they are woodwork covered in golden paint.

The column faces are plain but the top portions exhibit rich work. For some reasons these beautiful wooden pillars have been covered in oil paint. They could've polished and left as it it.. nothing to beat the natural look of wood grains.

In the front yard is a life size statue of Jagadguru Basavanna riding a horse. Basavanna is depicted in one of the four ways-

• standing with one arm raised and index finger pointing skywards
• sitting on a chair with Aikya Mantapa in the background
• riding a horse in royal attire befitting a minister
• sitting cross-legged with scripture in one hand and right hand raised 

The white building is the second gateway of the monastery complex. Renovation work was going on. Somehow, both my visits have coincided with construction work. In the background is the clock tower over the main entrance.

This is the inner view of the arched gateway and clock tower. These buildings are let out generating revenue to the Matha. Yes, a Matha needs funds to carry out its responsibilities.

As seen from outside, on Victoria road. Moorusavira Mata's clock tower is a landmark in Halae Hubballi. During my last visit the clock was a simple white square with black numbers and hands. The present clock is not in tune with the architecture and it doesn't seem to be working. Hoping the sponsor gets it fixed.

Having done with our tour, I told the auto-rickshaw driver Lava (apparently his twin brother's name is Kusha) that we have a cup of tea. We found a small shop serving hot idli-chatni, in fact that was the only snack. We had idlis and tea. That was a nice break. We headed towards Siddharoodha Matha, Lava chattering all the way.
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Sri Bhavani Shankar and Narayana Devastana, Old Hubballi

February 18, 2020
My main work for the day was to take Pushpa to Hubli for her exam, it was the last paper. The exam center was walking distance from Siddharoodha Mataha. I parked my car at the Matha's parking lot, we had breakfast together and walked with them to the exam center which was about half kilometer away. Now I had three hours to spend. My plan was to visit a Trikutachala temple in old Hubli and Moorusavira Matha. I didn't want to drive in the narrow streets of old Hubli, planned to hire a rickshaw. I walked back to Siddharoodha Matha, found a rickshaw stand. I struck a deal with a rickshaw guy for a round trip. The rickshaw guy's name was Lava, he belonged to Patheghar community. Nice person. He was familiar with the temple, reached our destination easily. This is the Trikutachala's only entrance. The temple's original front yard was much below, it had steps at the entrance. The road level has been raised so high that the temple floor is below road level. The person standing at the entrance is the head priest of this temple.

I guess this hall can be called the Sabhamantapa ~ meeting hall. These are original material after treatment, probably sandblasting and water-wash. The steel grills are an eyesore but necessary to keep out vandals. The priest has done done a good job a caretaker of this temple.

The columns, beams, walls, roof and floor are all made of sandstone. This stone is available easily in these parts. The architecture is no doubt Chalukyan. The columns are simple but well made. The midsection of the column is interesting.. looks like a stack of torus. Torus is defined as a solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (e.g. like a ring doughnut). I really can't remember seeing this type of column anywhere else.

A door connects this hall to another hall which has four turned pillars of granite. Granite is much harder compared to soapstone. Granite can be polished to mirror finish but not with soapstone. These four pillars form a central Mantapa, its floor is slightly raised from its surrounding. I guess this hall can be called Nritya Mantapa. Stright ahead is the east-facing Garbhagriha which houses the deity of Sri Bhavani Shankar, a form of Lord Shiva. A small idol of Nandi sits in the Antarala ~ vestibule connecting the Nritya Mantapa and Garbhagudi.

Even though the temple looks plains i.e. the absence of grand artwork, basic requirements have been taken care of. For example- the multiple layers of door frame and floral art on the floor at the Garbhagudi entrance. 

The south-facing Garbhagudi is occupied by a beautiful idol of Sriman Narayana. The idol seems to be of Hoysala period. The four-armed idol features Chakra, Shankha, Gada and Pani. At his feet is Anjaneya. At the crest of the idol is a Kirtimukha.

In the passage connecting the south-facing Garbhagudi and Nritya Mantapa is an idol of Saptamatrikas.

On the other side is a pedestal with an idol of serpent god and a pair of feet. I think this is the priest's relative performing a ritual. Not sure who the feet represents. Since a pooja was being performed, I did not want to intrude it any longer, decided to step out and check the exterior.

The temple has some open space on the northern and western sides. These walls and Shikhara form Narayana's Garbhagudi. The walls are also quite plain except for the miniature columns. The flag atop the Shikhara is a nice touch, the fluttering saffron triangle makes gives a lively feeling.

This is the rear of the temple. On the right is the main Garbhgudi i.e. the east-facing one.

This is the Shikhara of the south-facing Gabhagudi where the idol of Narayana is seen. The horizontal protrusion to the right is an interesting feature which is quite common in Chalukyan architecture.

This picture has been included in this post for the sake of a ventilator with small circular openings. I did not notice it when I was inside. Probably the openings had been covered. On the opposite, there's another ventilator with square holes.

Shikhara on the east-facing Garbhagudi. I think this temple features Vimana Nagari Shikharas.

The ventilator between north-facing Garbhagudi and east-facing Garbhagudi. The column seen here seems has lost quite a bit of material, wondering if the erosion was natural.

Behind the north-facing Garbhagudi is a 3' tall column. One cans see such stubby pillars in many a temple but not sure of its function.

Shikhara over the north-facing Garbhagudi. The form of these Shikharas is designed to draw cosmic energy. Why should the Shikara be so complicated? Why not a plain one? Our ancient builders actions were based on meaningful theories and experiences. Their knowledge is beyond the glance, grasp of modern day people. May be there are few scientists who have some clue about ancient technologies.

On these Shikharas, the bottom layer has Kirtikumkhas. The function of Kirtimukha is to ward of evil eyes?

On the left is my rickshaw guy Lava and on the right is the priest's nephew. The temple visit was nice, we said bye to the priest and his nephew. Before we left, we were asked to visit Sri Dattatreya Devastana, a stones throw from here. It is said that the Chakra in the Shikhara has magical powers.

The main gate of Dattatreya temple was open but the Garbhagudi was closed. We paid respects from the outside and moved towards Moorusavira Matha.
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Kalleshvara Devastana, Bagali - part 4

..continued from Kalleshvara Gudi, Bagali part-3, where we saw sensual artwork among other sculptures. We continue seeing the exterior of the main temple. This southern side of the temple, as you enter this door, the Garbhagudi is on the left hand side. The crown over this door is brick & mortar probably added during Hoysala or Vijayanagara period. The lion is a nice touch to the crown.

The seven layer door frame dominates this side. Gajalakshmi adorns the forehead of the frame. The base has Dwarapalas on both sides. The middle layer i.e. the 4th layer looks like columns. If one starts counting the number of individual characters (humans, animals, theriocephalic creatures and hybrid beasts) it would take a couple of hours.

Over the door frame is a series of five images of which four are placed in Mantapas with triangular crowns. This is the first time I'm seeing triangular crowns unless I've missed noticing in other temples. This is a beautiful design. Each crown consists three equilateral triangles, one big and two smaller. The smaller triangles' sides can't be more than 3 inches wide. The precision is amazing. Our sculptures were not some primitive people, they surely possessed vast knowledge which included mathematics, anatomy and architecture. The first idol is Lord Ganesha. The second one is a musician playing a drum and the third one is an archer.

A close look at the seven layers. The middle layer looks like bamboo shoot. The outer most later looks like bones.. that's how I see it. It could be anything else. Do share your thought.

Moving to the let of the door frame are few tiny sculptures of Shivalinga and a standing character which could be Eshwara. The Shivalinga are covered with small spheres which could be Rudrakshi.

This set consists of sitting Ganesh & Mushak, Mahishamardini and three characters which I fail to recognize. The frail looking character is quite intriguing. It looks like an old woman. Scary looking old woman it is.

Here we have Gajasurasamhara - the scene of Gajasura being slain by Shiva. The other images also seem to be of Shiva the ascetic, Shiva & Parvati and, of course Nandi has to be present where Shiva is.

Here's an example of pre-sculpting outline. The sketch shows a man apparently poking a long object into the horse's head. This was seen on the northern wall of the temple.

This temple has lot of inscriptions. This was found on the wall next to the southern entrance (near the grand door frame). The text is italicized. Our ancient writers wrote italicized text, nice isn't it? The other inscriptions are small lines of text close to the images, probably signatures of the sculptors.

Lastly, this is a north-facing temple with a sloping roof and stepped-pyramid Shikhara is dedicated to Veerabhadra Devastana. The idol of Veerbhadra (a form of Shiva) is well preserved (see inset). In the front are two slabs with inscriptions and one hero-stone.

A closer look at the hero-stone. Its dedicated to two brave men who laid down their lives to protect cattle from enemies. In those times, besides land and gold, cattle was also precious. In fact cattle was currency in ancient societies. The bottom most panel shows the men defending their cattle from a an armed group. In the middle panel, they are being carried to the upper world by fairies. In the uppermost panel shows the two being accepted and given a place. That's how society showed gratitude to service and kept memories alive.

I would've loverd to spend more time at this temple but I'd to eat lunch and then reach Hubli by 5-00 PM. I was happy to have covered all the places on my itinerary. As I drove on the embankment, temple & fields on the right and water tank on the left, a ruined stone structure caught my eyes.

It looked a temple. The ruins is a dump yard, quite filthy there. Wish ASI had taken it under their care. At least fence it and keep out vandals.

I drove back to Harpanhalli, took Guttal road, found a nice tamarind tree by the road, parked under it, ate bread-cheese-tomato-cucumber and resumed my journey. The journey between Guttal and Haveri was slow, thanks to speed bumps every few kilometers. It was 3-45 PM when I passed through Haveri. By 5-30 I was at Siddharoodha Matha (Hubli). I was glad to have kept my word to catch up with Pushpa here.
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