A tour of Vatapi Chalukyan realm - part4

...continued from A tour of Vatapi Chalukyan realm - part3.

Day-2 of our tour started with Aihole hill, the history of this hill goes back to Stone Age. The western face of the hill is a long mass of sandstone formation in which are several shelters, both open & closed. The hill top is a plateau, not exactly level but a sloping flat surface, is a prehistoric burial site. In the burial site are ruins of 70+ megalithic tombs. The base of the hill below the rock formation is the remains of a VI Century quarry. One can rock-cutting marks at several places. Also there are sculptors names and work logs inscribed in stone. The sculptors had also made an open air bath place with a shower. From this side of the hill, river Malaprabha is in plain view. What makes this place special is attributed to the fact that Malaprabha flows in the northerly direction, in Hindu traditions such a place is considered sacred. This is the reason why Aihole was established here.

Right on the sacred bank of river Malaprabha are two groups of temples- Ramlingeshwara and Galaganatha. Also, the area next to Ramlingeshwara is said to be a prehistoric burial site. According to archaeological studies there were stone circles here. I did a quick check but couldn't find any stone circles. Hoping I'm mistaken about the exact spot and it is situated elsewhere.

This north-facing Thoranagallu welcomes visitors to Ramlingeshwara group. On the Thorana are Nataraja and two lions. This group consists of eight or nine individual temples, all dedicated to Shiva.

Here's a collage of four temples. The bottom-left temple is Ramalingeshwara Gudi, the main temple of this group. This temple is a Dwikutachala i.e. a temple with two sanctums. The temple's two Shikhara are square and stepped pyramidal structures. So are the Shikhara of other minor temples of this group. The two larger temples and couple of smaller ones are west facing. The remaining smaller temples are east facing.

That's Malaprabha waters flowing towards us, and then bends towards west. One can walk down the steps and out of the gateway to the shore.

In the past, the water levels have risen almost until the gateway. Pushpa takes a break from walking & standing, she's mediating on a stone seat at this sacred spot. Who knows that stone might've been some wise sage's meditation seat and only the fortunate ones get to touch them.

A serene moment.. except for the gracefully flowing water of Malaprabha everything is still. A few minutes later we saw a couple of peacocks on the sand dune island. Here I would to suggest the reader to take a look at the journey of Malaprabha Nadi and know some of the religious & historical places on its banks and in its vicinity.

A rock shrine dedicated to Hanuman and Nagaraja. On the right side i.e. next to Hanuman are two inscriptions, probably names of sculptors who worked here. Also on the same rock a few feet away is this 12 x 9 matrix of Linga. It's a Shaiva practice to worship a set of Linga at one place. Similar sets of Linga can be seen at Kotilinga at Chakra Tirtha and Hemakuta hill, Hampi.

Having spent a peaceful time here, we decide to head back towards Aihole village for a snack and then continue the temple run. I think we had mirchi-bajji & tea at one of the shops in the cluster near Durga temple complex. After the refreshing break we headed to the close by Huchichimalli and Ravalaphadi, the two are almost neighbors to each other.

Huchichimalli group consist of three Shivalaya and a stepped well built in the XI Century CE by Kalyana Chalukya kings. In the collage below, the top-right image is the main temple; the top-left is the smaller temple next to the main temple; both are west-facing. While the main temple has a Rekhanagara Shikhara the smaller temple has a square based stepped pyramidal Shikhara. The main temple has an inscription on its outer wall, and an interesting sculpture of Kartikeya on his peacock, in the Mukhamantapa ceiling. The other smaller temple, bottom-right image, is east-facing. The three stubby columns in front of it are called Poornakumbha sculptures. I think these columns are connected to cattle donation or cattle possessed by the temple.

The Kalyani (stepped well) has sculptures on the inside & outside of it's walls. such as Dikpalas, Mahishamardini, Brahma, Vishnu, Gajalakshmi, Kartikeya, stories of Panchatantra and Kiratarjuniya etc. In the below collage, the boar hunting (Kiratarjuniya story) and Ganapati images are part of the stepped well. The top two images, Kartikeya and an erotic scene are on the main temple.

This place too is free from tourist crowds, one could spend time here peacefully. We sat in the Mukhamantapa for a few minutes before moving on to the monolith shrine Ravalaphadi.

Also called as Ravanaphadi, this VI Century CE creation is one of the oldest shrines. Generally temples are either north or east facing, however Ralaphadi is southwest facing. Apart from the rock-cut temple, there are three small structural temples and a small rock-cut cuboid niche with a Shivalinga in it.

Building a structural temple and carving out a rock-cut temple from a single stone is a different matter altogether. The design & sculpting a rock-cut was handled by the most experienced sculptors, I think. Ancient sculptors designed and carved them in such a way that it lasted for centuries. If you look at the canopy like projection over the entrance here, the section is quite thin - this is seriously a delicate work. The sculptors even made a balustrade for the steps.

Where there's Shiva, a Nandi has to be present. Here Nandi idol is placed outside but directly opposite to the deity. Nandi is made of sandstone, despite the roughness the necklace beads are so clearly visible.

The little structural temple with a pillared Mukhamantapa. Even here the steps have balustrade. The Shikhara of this temple is like a dome, a dome with a square base and a rounded crown. To my knowledge there's no deity idol in its sanctum. In the background, is the cuboid niche with Shiva Linga.

The interior of Ravalaphadi has four separate spaces; the central hall and around its sides are three sanctums. The sanctum straight ahead has an idol of Shivalinga on a pedestal - all part of the monolith. The left sanctum features a ten armed Nataraja (dancing Shiva) with Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya & Saptamatrika (seven mother of Shakti tradition). Besides the Nataraja, there are sculptures of Ardhanarishwara, BhooVaraha, Mahishamardhini, Harihara, Bhringi-Shiva-Parvati & river goddesses. On the floor of the central hall is a lotus. The ceiling has a lotus at the center and three concentric squares around it. Within the spaces between the squares are floral motifs and at the corners are fishes. Around the hall, on the sides just above the floor are Ganas and other Hindu characters. One could sit in here and study the designs for hours together and still miss something..

I wish to come here again in the drier months and explore the roof of Ravalaphadi, there might be sculptors' signature or work logs similar to the ones seen at rock cut Jaina Basadi. For now, we move on to the star attraction of Aihole- Durga temple complex. We spent most of the time at the main item of this complex the VI Century CE creation, the east-facing apsidal structured Surya Devastana which is better known as Durga Gudi. The name Durga temple is a derivative of Durga meaning fort. Around the inner wall are idols of Mahishamardhini, Bhoovaraha, Narasimha, Harihara, Ardhanarishwara, etc. We sat on the Sukhanasi in the Mukhamantapa for a while admiring the massive columns decorated with sculptures depicting celestial nymphs, amorous couples, and panels depicting stories from Hindu legends. At this point I felt, Pushpa might've hit saturation point, may be she won't be able to absorb any further. Honestly, I experience saturation while seeing sculptures after sculptures and then start losing interest. The same had happened during our visit to Salar Jung museum. However, that's not the case with prehistoric sites; I've exhausted my energy but never felt saturated.

The museum is opposite Durga temple but we opted out. The other temples of this complex are Chappara Gudi (named after its sloping roof), Nadyar Gudi, Suryanarayana Gudi, Ladkhan Gudi, Gaudara Gudi, Chakra Gudi, Badiger Gudi and two nameless temples. Also there's a stepped well and a gateway which is associated with Surya Devastana. We had to skip some of the temples because of ongoing repair work. In this complex, my favorite is Lad Khan temple. The structure is unique and it has a stone ladder. Like most temples here this has been named after the person who had occupied it last. It's high time this Shivalaya is given a relevant name... may be I'll call it Mahadi Gudi because it has a small room at the top. The stone beams placed on the roof are akin to wooden poles placed on a thatch roof hut. Now the question is what is the purpose of those beams?

As seen at Huchchimalli temple, there are six Poornakumbha here.  The verandah of this temple is spacious with a comfortable Sukhanasi. At the right side of the verandah is the stone ladder connecting this level to the roof. Presently the hole in the roof has been blocked to prevent tourists climbing on to the roof.

The inner space of this temple feels big despite the massive columns and the dimness. This temple has huge perforated screen windows of different designs. At the center of the hall i.e. directly in front of the Garbhagudi door is a 4' high Nandi idol made of brown colored stone. One needs to really see this temple for real to feel it's beauty.

For a change we decided to head out of Aihole, we really needed to take a break from temples. We took our car and headed towards Siddanakolla. There are two routes, one through the forest area road and the other from Siddanakolla village. I took the forest area route, a little round about but an enjoyable drive. Kolla is a cleft in a hill through which a stream or a rivulet flows. The spot where the cleft starts is sacred hence there are shrines. A few of the well known Kolla are Huligyammana Kolla, Naganatha Kolla, Shabari Kolla near Sureban and Varavi Siddeshwara Kolla near Munvalli. These are the ones I remember but there are many of them. Kollas attract crowds during festival days and Amavasya. Luckily no such day, Siddanakolla was peaceful like the previous times I'd been here.

This spot is the where the ground parts and continues until the base of the hill. During my previous visits, there was no waterfall, instead water used to flow out from under the rocks. I was happy to see the waterfall, it's clear and fresh. Apart from us there were two other small groups. This group of a man & his two grandchildren were from a nearby village. The kids were bathing in sculpted pit while the man washed clothes. There are three such manmade pits, connected in a series, to temporarily stock flowing water.

This west-facing two-storey temple is an ancient creation, probably V Century or even earlier. The deity is a black stone Shivalinga. In front of the Shivalinga shrine is Basavanna in a simple mantapa. Besides the temple is a damaged inscription stone. During my first visit I'd seen the last Sunrays of the day falling on the Linga. Apart from this temple, there are two more temples one them has a proper Shikhara. Sadly caretakers of this sacred place have painted the stone structures with lime which is harmful to the stone.

Besides the ancient temples, there are two recent buildings here; one is a Devi temple and the other is a Samadhi Mandir of an ascetic who lived here. The Swamiji's disciples continued maintaining the place. As I understand disciples take turns of being present here handling day to day affairs. In fact Anna Dasoha is one of the activities here, any visitor coming here in the day time can have a simple lunch of anna-saru. The two gentlemen on my left were the caretakers, they had prepared tea and offering it us which we gladly accepted. Meanwhile, the kids & their grandad had finished bathing and they were heading to the Devi Gudi.

At the temple, while the grandad was busy doing pooje the two kids had smeared each other's face with Vibhuti. The grandfather told us that they were cousins, made for each other. Surely these parents must been relaxed while these little monsters were away. We say bye to all the folks we met here and headed back towards Aihole.

This time we took the road via Siddanakolla village. On the village outskirts were these conical objects. From a distance I thought they were huts. No, they are jowar stalks bunched together in that cylindrical form to keep the stalks as dry as possible. Rainwater would slide off the sloped tops and fall away from the bunch. The jowar stalks are chopped and fed to cattle during drier months when green fodder is scarce. Most of the practices here are ancient, probably thousands of years old. Until the exposure to digital technology, life in remote parts of northern Karnataka was really close to the earlier life. In fact , there are ancient traditions which are practiced to this day. For example- during one of the festivals, village folk prepare food, carry them in vessels to shrines atop rock hills. After pooja and offering food to the deities, the food is served not on plates or leaves but on stone. People select flat smooth spots, wash them with water, serve food on it and eat. This is something I must learn more about... when, why, etc.

A few hours of the day was still left, we decided to visit Galaganatha temple complex which is in the neighborhood of Ramalingeshwara complex. Let's catch up again in ...A tour of Vatapi Chalukyan realm - part5.

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