Amruteshwara Devastana, Annigeri

Annigeri is a place of historical importance because of its connection to the poet Pampa and Amruteshwara Devastana built in the 11th Century CE by the Western Chalukyan kings. Pampa, addressed with the honorary title Adikavi, was born into a Brahman family at Annigeri. Pampa is known for his works namely Vikramaditya Vijaya and Adi Purana, written in champu style which is a mix of prose and poetry. While Pampa's name lives on, the beauty of Western Chalukyan edifice Amruteshwara Devastana continues to amaze people.

June 15, 2022
The day started with a tour of monuments of Dambal followed by the temples of Lakkundi. Both Dambal and Lakkundi were places of importance during Chalukyan times hence the number of monuments there. My tour of Lakkundi was aborted since I was running out of time. On the way back to Dharwad, I decided to make a quick stop at Annigeri to see Amruteshwara Gudi. The temple is situated in the older parts of the town, asking for directions and reaching can be slow since I had to negotiate the narrow lanes. One good thing is there's ample vehicle parking space on a normal day. On festive days its a different story.

The temple is situated in a well built enclosure. I start the tour from here- the temple's southwestern corner. This east facing temple is in a completed state with a Shikhara over the sanctum. The smaller Shikhara crowns the portico of the southern  entrance which is one of the four entrances.

A closer view of the Shikhara which is a Kadmaba Nagara type. The exterior of the temple's rear part features miniature pillars and shikharas, hardly any of the walls are plain. The temple's middle and front walls are less ornate but elegant.

The rear view of Shikhara. It is a 3-tiered tower. Each of the tier is similar but shrunk proportionately. Along the center line are Kirtimukhas. There are very interesting details in the Shikhara which could be shot only with a telephoto lens. Unfortunately ASI has imposed a ban on DSLR photography. Tourists can shoot only the exterior, that too with mobile cameras only. To shoot with DSLRs one has to obtain written permission from ASI. Tourist unfriendly policy!

This temple is situated in a rectangular enclosure with two entrances. The main entrance has a pillared Mantapa similar to that of fort gateways. The smaller entrance is close to the main entrance but a much simpler arrangement. In this picture below, both entrances are seen.

As you see I'm going around the temple clockwise. The structure is symmetric. The portion of the temple seen here is the Garbhagudi, Anthrala and Rangamantapa. Since photography of the interior is banned, I'll share what I can recall. The doorframe on the Antharala entrance is five tiered, This particular piece grabs all eyes, its massive and highly ornate.

Within the enclosure is this small, simple structure which is said to be dedicated to Vishnu.

Despite the simple exterior, this little temple boasts of turned pillars adorning its façade.

Side view of the Kadamba Nagara Shikhara. When seen from south, west and north, the Shikhara looks similar. The eastern side has more detailed features.

Coming to the front portion of the temple.. the contrast is obvious. These walls are plain, only the doorframes are ornate. The space enclosed within these plain looking walls is a Sabhamantapa which was added much later, probably during Hoysala or Vijayanagara time. At the eastern end of the hall is the idol of Nandi. The original structure had two entrances, eastern and southern sides. The extension bit has three entrances- north, east and south.

For a minute lets turn our attention towards the northern wall of this enclosure. This wall seems to be made during Vijayanagara time. That's my guess based on my memory of seeing similar walls around the temples of Hampi.

This is the doorway in the northern wall. I'm not sure if this finish is original or after restoration. The finish is rather poor, especially the alignment of the top pieces.

The eastern entrance of the extended portion. The finish is rather crude yet it has beauty. The entrance is crowned by an idol if sitting Ganesha. The idol is mutilated, try to imagine its beauty in original form. The dark colored plump Ganapa would be a feast to admiring eyes.

This is the portico of the eastern entrance. This being the main entrance of the temple, this is where the caretaker and priest spend most of their time. A comfortable platform to sit on, sheltered from sun and rain, its nice to sit here peacefully. Also, from here the main entrance of the enclosure is also visible.

The temple's entrance and the enclosure's entrance are opposite each other.

The pillared gateway of Amruteahswara Gudi. This is most likely built during Vijayanagara times. If one has been to Hazara Rama Devastana in Hampi, a similar gateway can be seen there, of course it's finish is better. On the left hand side are two inscription slabs. Probably the slabs are records of this temple's grants, donations and construction.

The inner space of the gateway. This should be a twenty pillared structure. One must be wondering about the beam placed across the passage. Its a solid granite block, unshakable. Anyone entering or exiting the enclosure has to bend at the waist and knees to pass it. I asked a local about its purpose. The answer was that people must bow down before entering. Well, I'm not sure that's the reason.

View of the portico from the gateway.

There are three more inscription slabs between the enclosure entrances. Probably there were many more, some could be kept in archaeological museums.

The smaller entrance, in the passage sits an idol which looks like Ganapati. Anyone entering the passage has to slow down... calm down and enter.

A rather dissatisfied tour of the temple due to the restriction on photography. ASI guys can be a pain when it comes to DSLRs, the staff act as though they own these temples. Their rule is unacceptable because its only verbal, there's nothing written, no public notice. Anyway...

Within eyesight from the temple's entrance is this two storey structure. The lower portion has ancient turned columns. There are six or eight such columns. The upper storey is a relatively new construction, probably 40s or 50s. One of the local folks said that this was the temple's entrance. Probably there was another enclosure, the walls might have been removed to ease traffic movement.

There are few other temples here namely Ramalinga Gudi, Banashankari Gudi, Gajina Basappa Gudi, Hire Hanuman Gudi, Puradhireshwar Gudi and Kambada Hanuman Gudi. The one I really wish to check out is Gajina Basappa Gudi- the word Gajina means 'made of glass' -this makes it interesting. I'll stop here during my next journey towards Gadag/Lakkundi.

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