Prasanna Virupaksha Gudi and Lakshman Tirtha

Malyavanta Gudda is a rocky hill situated off Kamalapur-Bukkasagara road. The hill is mainly known for three things; Raghunatha Devastana, group of Linga and sunsets. Raghunatha temple is part of a walled complex of three temples and a pillared hall (Kalyana Mantapa). The enclosure has three entrances on the southern and eastern sides, both entrances have pyramidal towers (Gopura), the southern Gopura being the tallest. The third entrance, on the western wall, is a simple passage, basically a way to reach the Shiva shrine and group of Linga. The Lingas are situated on either side of a long fissure which is a source of fresh water. This source of water is called Lakshman Thirta. In the Hindu tradition, almost every shrine is situated close to a source of water be it a stream, pond or spring.

You can see water at the lower end of the fissure despite being the dry part of the year. The other aspect is every Linga is accompanied by Nandi.

Next to the upper end of the Thirtha is a shrine called Prasanna Virupaksha Gudi. I think originally it  was an semi open shrine meaning the only shelter was the natural rock formation. The walled structure is a later addition. However it is an ancient structure probably built during Vijayanagara times.

Close to the Thirtha and temple is a broken rock. Looks like the rock was used for construction here.

This is the rear of the temple which is part natural and part manmade. The interior of the temple is a small hall, its ceiling tapers down as we move to the innermost part where the deity is situated. So one has to kneel down inside. That's Sridhar kneeling down next to the Shivalinga (see left inset). A stone's throw from this temple is a big rock formation balanced on two points.

Talking about Sahasralinga, there are two more groups of Shivalinga at Chakrathirtha the place where river Tungabhadra turns northwards.

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Shravana Kumar panel at Hazara Rama Devastana

A vast number of temples erected or renovated during Vijayanara times have entire walls covered with panels of bas relief sculptures depicting stories from Ramayana and other Hindu legends. One such panel that caught my eye during my Dec 2024 visit was Shravana Kumar's story. The panel is situated in the northeastern corner, visible as soon as you step into the temple premises. There are four four panels on this slab with the story progressing from bottom to top. The bottom most panel shows Sharavan walking while carrying on his shoulder his aged parents in baskets hung from a long bamboo pole. The next panel shows King Dasharatha shooting an arrow towards Shravana. Dasharatha is hunting at night and capable of identifying and shooting targets in darkness. Shravan Kumar who is filling a pot with water from a pond is mistaken for an animal and shot by Dasharatha. In the next panel  are two scenes; the grievously injured Shravana tells the king about his aged parents waiting to quench their thirst then Dasharatha finds his parents delivers the sad news. The devastated parents curse Dasharatha that his life would end after being separated from his son. The last panel, not seen here, seems to show a shocked Dasharatha after cremating the aged couple and their son.

In Indian culture the name Shravana Kumar is synonymous to dedication to parents. Such values were inculcated into young minds through stories passed down from countless generations. There are dozens of moral based stories from our legends..

I must revisit Hazara Rama Devastana and find other stories.

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bas relief sculptures at Vijaya Vittala Devastana

Here are three bas relief sculptures on columns of Kalyana Manatapa inside Vijaya Vittala Devastana. There are several of sculptures on the faces of columns of the pillared hall. 

The first one depicts Matsya Avatar the first of ten avatars of Vishnu.

The second one shows two identical Vanara brothers Vali and Sugreeva about to start their fight. In this fight Vali dies but not by Sugreeva's hands. An arrow shot by Sri Rama pierces Vali's chest and eventually dies.

The last image is the scene of Hanuman wrecking havoc with Rakshasa soldiers in Lanka. During the mission of finding Sita, Hanuman had had several battles with the Rakshasas before setting Lanka ablaze and fleeing Lanka.

There are more such sculptures depicting characters & scenes from Hindu legends. I guess this was one of the educational methods employed during the ancient times.

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Watch tower of Dhandanayaka enclosure

One of the few surviving watch tower structures stands in the northwest corner of Dhandanayaka enclosure. The structure's condition is quite good. The structure stands on a large rock-bed and provides a solid foundation. It has only one entrance in the ground floor which is gated and locked. It would've been interesting to seen the interior. In the vicinity of the tower are several sculptures on the rockbed.

Here are two sculptures. Clearly the lower one is a grinding pit used for food preparation. The other one seems like a rod for tying animals like cow or oxen or horse.

A closer look at the rod, it's a rough job. Also there's another grinding stone close by.

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