Virupaksheshwara Gudi and Veerabhadreshwara Gudi, Lakkundi

Lakkundi is known as the place of 101 temples and 101 wells. In Hindu tradition, a shrine must have a source of fresh water, be the source a river, a stream, a pond, a lake, a spring, or a well. The source of water could be inside the temple premises or close by, but water is needed, its a part of the ritualistic offerings to the deity. There are examples where the shrines are situated inside the walls of a well, for example- Japada Bavi at Dambal. Coming back to Lakkundi, it is said that historically this place had 101 shrines & wells. In the present day, only 21 or so ancient temples and 10 or so stepped wells can be seen. The remaining seems to lost, probably buried under the houses or demolished and reused to build houses we see today. Even wells are not spared, fill up the hole and use that area to build a house!

June 15, 2022

The agenda of the day was to visit Dambal, Lakkundi and Annigeri. It was around 10-30 when I reached Lakkundi where the tour started at Kashi Vishveshwara Gudi followed by other temples. The tour concluded with quick stops at Virupaksheshwara Gudi and Veerabhadreshwara Gudi.

Virupaksheshwara Gudi is in the deep inside the village, about 250 meters from Lakkundi-Gadag road. The temple is surrounded by houses, some houses barely 10 feet away. However, the temple is maintained well, thanks to the courtesy of the villagers, especially the immediate neighborhood. This temple is a meeting place. People are here to while away free time too.

In plan its a merger of two rectangles- Sabhamantapa is one part and Garbhagudi with Antarala is the other part. The temple's façade is elegant, walls are more or less plain but the upper part is richly decorated. The side walls are same, plain walls with decorated tops. The door seen here is the only entrance, hence the interior is dimly lit.

View from the right. When I stepped in there were several people. Two of them lying on the floor, a nap inside the temple :) Another group were discussing some modifications to the grill work across the Antarala entrance. And then came a group of tourists. Suddenly it was crowded, chaotic.

The Sabhamantapa has a Rangamantapa, four grandly sculpted pillars. The Antharala entrance has a grand Thorana (arch). Between the two columns of the Thorana is a beautiful idol of Nandi. Originally Nandi was outside the temple in the open. The villagers moved it inside to protect it however the position of Nandi is blocking free movement in the Antharala entrance. Then we have the grill work to restrict entry. Since the temple entrance is always open, dogs or drunks might go into the Garbhaguri, hence the grill work. Hoenestly, the grill work is an eyesore but fabricators here lack the taste to create a decent one.

Nandi, meditating on his Lord, Virpaksheshwara.

Nandi and columns supporting the Thorana. See the poor quality grill work here. Hope these people won't damage the columns while making changes to the grill.

The deity, a small Lingu placed inside a pedestal.

This lotus is fixed into the Rangamantapa ceiling. Around the inner perimeter of the Mantapa are sculptures of scene from Ramayana. The temple has too many modern things fixed into the walls, columns and ceiling, one can't get decent pictures in here. 

Done seeing this shrine, I moved on to the last temple on my list for the day. Veerabhadreshwara Gudi was about a kilometer, off Lakkundi-Gadag road. The main road was in pathetic condition, battered and covered with pot holes. This road remains neglected ever since Lakkundi bypass road was made as part of Hubballi-Gooty highway, which is a bad thing for tourism.

Veerabhadra Gudi is situated behind a few shops, one can easily miss it. A local pointed to take the dirt path going in... the place was a construction site... buildings here and there... poor planning. The temple came into view. The entrance is a modern structure, the ancient temple is hidden nicely. I stepped into the premises... a beautiful temple in chaotic condition! I managed to shoot one picture avoiding the chaos. This is a twin shrine, a Dwikuta, both Garbhagudi facing east, placed adjacent to each other. The twin temple has four entrances, two in the front and two on the sides. 

The temple looks simple from here but when you take a closer look at the details, this was a grand one. The front wall has three stone mesh windows, very detailed sculpturing work. This temple's plan reminds me of Keladi Rameshwara Devastana which also is a twin shrines adjacent to each other.

The three mesh windows design is unique. Both shrines have a common Mukhamantapa and Sabhamantapa but separate Rangamantapa. The interior was visible, it was too crowded with so many things... a Hundi, a Pallakki, and few other things. It was little disappointing to see this marvelous temple being used like a store room.

This is the southern side, the side entrance can be seen here as well. As I went around the temple, I noticed the strange layer covering the walls. It was some kind of transparent paint, probably it was sprayed. Hope the paint doesn't have an adverse effect on the stone blocks. Whoever got this terrible idea!!

The door frame is quite simple, probably the builders were in a rush to complete the work. Its simple but elegant. The northern Garbhagudi entrance is seen here.

Close-ups of one of the stone-mesh windows.

This is a 7x7 matrix of stepped holes. Typical Chalukyan design. The matrix is enclosed with a flowery vine.

This is the southern Garbhagudi. Even the Antharala has a mesh curtain. If the temple caretakers store things else where and keep it tidy, one would see the real beauty of the interior.

I just remembered that a young dog was sleeping in the Sabhamantapa. It was avoiding the heat outside. The moment it saw me, it came out but stayed close.. it had guessed that I would be leaving in minutes, it can go in again and continue its nap. Yes, the moment I went towards the exit, it went in happily.

A stone's throw from the temple is the ruins of a stepped well. No sense of aesthetics while carrying out repair works. Civil engineers and builders learn to differentiate between a regular building and an historic one. The latter definitely deserves better construction, something close to the original.

My tour of Lakkundi concluded. With a plan to return to see two missed temples, I drove towards Hubballi looking for a peaceful spot to eat lunch.

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