Ikkeri, Keladi, Humcha and Nagara fort have been on my list for years. Somehow the time came for the first two, Pushpa and I were travelling from Dharwad to Bangalore. I wanted to avoid NH48 because of the ongoing repair work, the drive between Hubli and Chitradurga has too many diversions and rough patches. So I decided to drive down via Sirsi and see few places on the way. Ikkeri was the last of the three places of our list.
February 22, 2020
After a lunch break on the outskirts of Sagar town, we drove into the town. It took 30 minutes to come out the labyrinth of narrow streets. As usual we must've taken the shortest route suggested by Google Maps. Ikkeri is about 4 kms south of Sagar. The temple is easy to find. There's plenty of parking space available near the temple but for a shaded spot you'll have to park 100 meters away. The day was bright and warm, this won't be a comfortable tour. No foot wear even around the temple, we had to taken them off at the gate. Super heated slabs greeted us to this monument.
The man in green shirt here is the temple's caretaker. The moment he saw my camera bag he said no shooting with DSLR, mobile phones are okay. I asked him of the instruction was put in writing no. Requested him to connect me to his officer. He called from his phone, my request to shoot with DSLR was declined. All of sudden ASI officers are behaving strange- only verbal instructions, nothing in writing. So I had to shoot with my phone. All these pictures are shot in Moto Z.
This structure is the Nandi Mantapa. It works like a screen for the main structure. Visitors approaching the temple will not see it straight ahead,, they'll have to go around the Nandi Mantapa and see the side of the main temple. I'm guessing the builder did this on purpose, to prevent ketta drishti ~ evil eyes. I could be wrong though.
Aghoreshvara Devastana is a protected monument. ASI board planted here reads as folows:
Ikkeri grew into a powerful independent kingdom with capital at Keladi under the early Vijayanagara chiefs. During the reign of Chaudappa Mayaka (A.D. 1499-1544), the capital was shifted from Keladi to Ikkeri.
The north-south orientated Aghoreshvara temple, built in granite, during the time of Nayakas of Keladi, is a classic example of the Nayaka style of architecture. Stylistically it is datable to sixteenth century A.D.
On plan it has a Garbhagriha, an Ardhamandapa and a large Mukhamandapa with separate pavilion for Nandi. Interiorly the floor in front of the shrine has effigies of three Keladi chiefs doing obeisance. The Garbhagriha contains a gigantic pedestal sculpted with 32 seated female figures. The temple has a metal image of 32 handed Aghoreshvara. In the Ardhamandapa is a small translucent Nandi carved out of white spar. Flanking the Ardhamandapa doorway, on either side are two niches, containing sculptures of Ganesa and Kartikeya to right and Mahishamardini and Bhairava to left. The front Mukhamandapa is supported by carved, pillars. Exteriorly the sanctum has a huge Sikhara in the Dravida order. The walls of the sanctum have double pilaster turrets. The walls of Mukhamandapa are pierced with three ornate doorways approached by balustraded steps. The northern main entrance is flanked by caparisoned elephants. The available space of the walls is provided with nearly twenty perforated windows with ornamental arches interspersed with figure sculptures. The Nandimandapa has a huge couchant bull with Yali-balustraded steps at south. The pavilion has lion-based pillars. Towards the west is Parvati shrine built on similar lines to the main temple with lesser dimensions and fewer sculptures.
Ikkeri being located in Western Ghats received lot of rain. The ancient builders designed buildings such that it stayed as dry as possible. Hence the sloped roof on all sides.
Looking back towards the entrance for a moment. A simple rectangular arch to mark the entrance. The ornate structure in the foreground is about 5½ feet tall. I have no idea what its purpose is. I sometimes feel its akin to Buddhist Stupas which are usually much bigger.
Nandi Mantapa as seen from Aghoreshwara temple steps. The flight of steps leading in are flanked by ornate balustrades (Khatanjali in Kannada). Being a long weekend, the place buzzed with tourists. The number of people inside the cramped Nandi Mantapa was crazy. The bad part was women with kids, they were forcing the toddlers to pass under Nandi's raised foreleg. It was clear the kids weren't enjoying the ordeal but the moms and aunts were ecstatic. Some older kids were placed on Nandi's back. Not to forget their photography.. all were selfie experts. What madness!
The caretaker's attitude- he was fine with people all over the monument but he had problem with DSLRs!!
Nandi idol is approximately 6 feet tall. Its made of granite, almost mirror like finish. One can describe this Nandi with the word caparisoned - be decked out in rich decorative coverings. Nandi is sitting looking towards Aghoreshwara with left eye and the right eye is towards Parvati temple which is right next to the main temple.
The bell chain around its body is magnificent. Every little detail is perfect. The three hanging bells are almost real. I'm sure live bulls were decorated with such fine jewelry back then. The jewelry could be made of brass, silver or gold too. Such was the respect oxen had. Same with elephants and horses.
This is the main door of Aghoreshwara temple, flanked by a pair of caparisoned elephants. This is a north-facing temple with three doors. The other two doors are on the sides. In plan the temple is symmetric.
The front wall more or less flat. The walls are decorated with relief sculptures and perforated windows, The door frame is elaborate with a pair of the Dwarapalas at the base.
This is the north-eastern corner of the temple. The roof overhangs by 3 to 4 feet on each side. The overhang is needed for the heady downpour during monsoons. Perforated windows on side walls as well.
A row of lion heads (Kirtimukha) around the base of the temple.
The temple floor is 6 feet above ground level. The main shrine building in plan is '35 meters long X 19 meters wide' and the sub-shrine building is '12 meters long X 7.5 meters wide.' The side entrances' steps have spiral balustrades. The imaginary creature depicted on the balustrade has horse's body, and lion's head & legs. The creature is symbolizes great strength.
This the eastern door. The jamb is ornate and had Dwarapalas. For some reason the door frame has been painted red, probably during some festival.
In plan the building's rear half is narrower than the front half. The rear side of the building has these solid projections. There are some interesting sculptures on these projections.
Many of the human figurines are depicted with long hair, nicely combed. In this case even teeth are clearly visible. There's one such character in the balustrade.. hair nicely combed.
Two more images one woman and a round face with popping eyes in a circle. The rough finish and dried lichen blurs the images features.
This is the Garbhagriha gutter, a highly ornate piece of sculpturing this is. In fact this looks like a water tap. Below the gutter inside the niche is an elephant, it looks as though it is bearing the weight of the gutter.
All the while we walked on shaded floor. The sunlit stone slabs were so hot that it was little shock. Unable to bear the heat, fellow tourists run towards shade. I found a small patch of shade next to these bushes. It was much cooler there. The temple's rear view is quite a sight. There's a sub-shrine against the rear wall, can't remember if there was any idol inside it.
I'll stop here and continue the article in the following post- Ikkeri Aghoreshvara Devastana - part 2
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February 22, 2020
After a lunch break on the outskirts of Sagar town, we drove into the town. It took 30 minutes to come out the labyrinth of narrow streets. As usual we must've taken the shortest route suggested by Google Maps. Ikkeri is about 4 kms south of Sagar. The temple is easy to find. There's plenty of parking space available near the temple but for a shaded spot you'll have to park 100 meters away. The day was bright and warm, this won't be a comfortable tour. No foot wear even around the temple, we had to taken them off at the gate. Super heated slabs greeted us to this monument.
The man in green shirt here is the temple's caretaker. The moment he saw my camera bag he said no shooting with DSLR, mobile phones are okay. I asked him of the instruction was put in writing no. Requested him to connect me to his officer. He called from his phone, my request to shoot with DSLR was declined. All of sudden ASI officers are behaving strange- only verbal instructions, nothing in writing. So I had to shoot with my phone. All these pictures are shot in Moto Z.
This structure is the Nandi Mantapa. It works like a screen for the main structure. Visitors approaching the temple will not see it straight ahead,, they'll have to go around the Nandi Mantapa and see the side of the main temple. I'm guessing the builder did this on purpose, to prevent ketta drishti ~ evil eyes. I could be wrong though.
Ikkeri grew into a powerful independent kingdom with capital at Keladi under the early Vijayanagara chiefs. During the reign of Chaudappa Mayaka (A.D. 1499-1544), the capital was shifted from Keladi to Ikkeri.
The north-south orientated Aghoreshvara temple, built in granite, during the time of Nayakas of Keladi, is a classic example of the Nayaka style of architecture. Stylistically it is datable to sixteenth century A.D.
On plan it has a Garbhagriha, an Ardhamandapa and a large Mukhamandapa with separate pavilion for Nandi. Interiorly the floor in front of the shrine has effigies of three Keladi chiefs doing obeisance. The Garbhagriha contains a gigantic pedestal sculpted with 32 seated female figures. The temple has a metal image of 32 handed Aghoreshvara. In the Ardhamandapa is a small translucent Nandi carved out of white spar. Flanking the Ardhamandapa doorway, on either side are two niches, containing sculptures of Ganesa and Kartikeya to right and Mahishamardini and Bhairava to left. The front Mukhamandapa is supported by carved, pillars. Exteriorly the sanctum has a huge Sikhara in the Dravida order. The walls of the sanctum have double pilaster turrets. The walls of Mukhamandapa are pierced with three ornate doorways approached by balustraded steps. The northern main entrance is flanked by caparisoned elephants. The available space of the walls is provided with nearly twenty perforated windows with ornamental arches interspersed with figure sculptures. The Nandimandapa has a huge couchant bull with Yali-balustraded steps at south. The pavilion has lion-based pillars. Towards the west is Parvati shrine built on similar lines to the main temple with lesser dimensions and fewer sculptures.
Ikkeri being located in Western Ghats received lot of rain. The ancient builders designed buildings such that it stayed as dry as possible. Hence the sloped roof on all sides.
The caretaker's attitude- he was fine with people all over the monument but he had problem with DSLRs!!
This is the other side of the balustrade. The flower emerging out from the spiral is a nice touch. The stones which are exposed to rain have turned grey. I guess the grey matter is dried lichen.
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