Hanuman seated on coiled tail

This picture was shot almost nine years ago at Ranga Devastana close to Elephant Stables at Hampi. The relief sculpture was on one face of one of the outer pillars. The sculpture is a depiction of Hanuman sitting on his coiled tail. It's a story from Ramayana.

After Ravana abducts Sita from Pachavati inside Dandakaranya forest, he brings her to his kingdom Lanka. Ravana keeps Sita at Ashoka Vatika as a prisoner. Meanwhile Rama and Lakshmana searching for Sita arrive at Kishkinda the kingdom of Vanara people. They become acquainted with Sugreeva the brother of Vanara king Vali. They also get acquainted with Sugreeva's colleague Hanuman. Due to a feud between the brothers, Sugreeva is in exile while Vali reigns. Rama and Sugreeva arrive at an understanding to solve each other's problems by helping each other. A search team of Vanaras spread out in different directions. Hanuuman follows leads and arrives at Lanka and happens to see sad and lonely lady in Ashoka Vatika. In a subtle way Hanuman approaches the lady and confirms her identity as Sita. Then he tells that Sita about Rama's rescue campaign and takes permission to return to Kishkinda. However before leaving Lanka Hanuman with an intent to get Ravana's attention wreaks havoc in the city. The Rakshasa soldiers were no match for Hanuman. Ravana's son Indrajit enters the scene. Using his special powers Hanuman is captured and presented at Ravana's court. However, the invisible force restraining Hanuman has expired.

Hanuman identifies himself as an emissary of Rama and asks to be treated with respect but the Rakshasas mock him. That's when Hanuman elongates and coils his tail into an elevated seat higher than Ravana's throne. Seated high up he then warns Ravana to return Sita.

So that's the story of Hanuman's coiled seat. What follows is more mockery; Hanuman's tail being set afire. Hanuman gives them a taste of their own medicine by setting fire to Lanka itself and returns to Kishkinda.

With a story behind every image, our ancient temples were like books to impart cultural values.

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four faces of a pillar

When you see places like Hampi, Badami, Aihole and the likes, one could photograph them at macro and micro levels, relatively. A scene from an elevated spot to a group of temples to an individual temple to a pillared hall inside a temple to a large statue to a tiny sculpture on a pillar. One could find countless subjects to shoot. Many a times, I've appreciated sculptures more on my laptop screen than at the site. At the site, a small image catches my eye, I look at it for a second or two, I shoot it and move on. At home I look at pictures of those tiny sculptures for minutes, trying to figure out so many things... what's that expression or the talent of the sculptor or the purpose of that image. One could get lost in that world of sights and thoughts.

Now, coming to a particular pillar in the VIII Century CE Chalukyan monument Durga Gudi at Aihole. There's a pair of heavily decorated pillars in the Mukha-mantapa. However, the middle part of the pillars is eye-catching. Plains surface with a circular image on each of the four faces. It's so elegant. The plain surface highlights the circular image. One might imagine that the other two faces have similar sculptures.

No, the opposite faces have blank circles. Why these are plain.. possibly incomplete. Was it meant to be polished to mirror finish. Or, was it like a blank canvas for another sculptor. I remember one of the guides say that blanks were left to invite foreign sculptors in a way of challenge or, a simple display of talent. There could be other reasons.

The more I look at these sculptures, the more I wonder how the sculptors achieved the forms, those straight lines, right angles, perfect circles, the precision, those expressions. It's a big question- how? And another question- why? Why these elaborate designs?

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Hanuman Mandir, Navalur

Even though Navalur is just four kilometers from our home, I'd never entered it until mid 2023. I started exploring roads & trails for cycling one day I rode into Navalur and found the place interesting. The original name of this village was Naviluru meaning a place of peacocks. With time Naviluru became Navaluru. A small group of hillocks here is called Navalur Gudda. On one of the peaks is an ancient shrine called Basavanna Gudi which I'd visited in 2009. Back then the hillocks were bare, hardly any vegetation. Few years later, Karnataka Forest Department afforested the hillocks, now it's a beautiful jungle, a home to wildlife. During our early morning rides around the Gudda, we've heard peacock calls many a times.

On June 7th 2023 during a ride I noticed this south-facing Hanuman Mandir. Temple renovation project had just commenced hence broken walls and the scattered rubble.

The temple's Shikhara got my attention. I realized that the structure was ancient. I guessed the Shikhara and the walls below must be 500 to 550 years old, if not older. Also there was an ancient memorial-stone in the gateway - another piece of historical evidence.

Fast-forwarding to June 2026. The temple renovation had been completed months ago.

For the first time I saw the south-facing deity Hanuman. The stone sculpture is definitely ancient. The size and design is close to Hanuman idols consecrated by the XV - XVI Century scholar Vyasaraja. Perhaps, this idol too was installed during Vysaraja's time. In this sculpture, Hanuman is seen standing on a lying male character. 

As per the temple priest, the lying figure is Shanideva. I guess this is the reason why people visit Hanuman temples on Saturdays even though Tuesday is Hanuman's day.

Also, next to Hanuman's idol is a boulder which is also worshipped. According to the priest, and another person as well, a few years back a figure of Hanuman started appearing on the boulder on its own. When I glanced at the stone it was covered in flowers. Another time then.

The temple's sandstone arches gives a heritage feeling. On the two side walls of the Mukhamantapa are relief sculptures of entwined serpents.

These sculptures are a work of clever sculptors. The serpent pairs create a maze. Once could trace a finger from head to tail and vice versa.

A diagonal view of the exterior. The recently made front portion is an assembly of sandstone blocks. The rear portion i.e. the sanctum walls & Shikhara are ancient, and made of harder stone.

Rear diagonal views of the temple. Here you can see the small sculptures decorating the tiers. Also the rear wall has a niche with a miniature Shikhara over it.

Niche, miniature Shikhara and a Kirtimukha. The purpose of Kirtimukha is ward off evil eyes. One must read the story of Kirtimukha as told by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

A closer view of the 7-step pyramidal Shikhara. See the sculptures at the middle of each tier. The topmost tier has Kirtimukha.

A much closer view of the Kirtimukha and the brass crown.

This sculpture has Hoysala sculptors' touch, saying that because of the creepers flanking the bejeweled woman. I feel these sculptures were not a part of the original design. They seem to be inserted later.

Next we have a warrior armed with a mace. Could this be Indra.

Then we have a man-woman couple, can't say what they are doing. Here we have the same type of creeper seen earlier.

Here's a collage of four more sculptures. Let's go around clockwise starting top-left. A Shivalinga with two lady attendants. Sri Lakshminarayana. A female deity, unsure who it is. A dancing lady wearing heavy jewelry. These seven sculptures are from one face of the pyramid. I haven't seen the sculptures on the other two sides.

These sculptures are evidence enough to say Navalur Hanuman Mandir is ancient, probably six to seven centuries old. The additional historical evidence is the memorial stone fixed in the entrance.

It looks like this stone is in memory of a woman warrior. Can't say who it is but it's a member of a royal family.

The temple's gateway is still incomplete. Lastly, I must mention the boulder placed on a pedestal. I asked a villager if this boulder was a challenge to weight lifters. No clear response.

Besides this ancient temple, there are more ancient temples but the old structures have been replaced with contemporary structures. The other temple I happened to visit was the Ramlingeshwar Gudi which is about 300 meters from here. There the deity is a large pedestal mounted Linga which too is ancient.

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Down to earth Dwarapalaka at Mahakoota

Usually in temples the gatekeepers (Dwarapala) are warrior-like characters wielding spears or clubs, some are fierce looking too. However, there's one temple which has a simple looking gateway. This temple is at Mahakoota temple complex, a group of ancient shrines whose history goes back to the early Chalukyan times. The stone structures at Mahakoota date were built by Chalukyan builders but the shrines themselves are much older. Coming back to the topic of this post. here's that temple which I assume is Sangameshwara Devastana.

Let's take a closer look at the gatekeeper, a bald man sporting a long mustache. Posing with him is Sridhar with a similar mustache. When I shot these photos I hadn't paid much attention to the sculptures. Thanks to the similarity of the sculpture's and Sridhar's mustaches! Two down-to-earth characters here.

Now, I'm not sure if this sculpture is original or a cleverly camouflaged recent creation. If you go back to the first photo, the Dwarapala on the left hand side has been vandalized but it looks like a standard type of Dwarapala. What do you think.

Here's the deity, a big Shivalinga which I assume is ancient, meaning it was installed during the Chalukyan times. Shivaya Namah Aum.

Opposite the Shivalingu shrine is a honey colored Nandi idol matching in size. As I know there are two Nandi idols made of honey colored stone.

This is one of the most beautiful idols of Nandi in my opinion.

The unique Nandi is housed in a befitting Mantapa.

This temple and mantapa are situated in the southern most part of the complex. In the background, across the wall is a small structure which happens to be the gateway of Mahakoota. People coming from Badami enter Mahakoota through that gateway. Since that gateway is guarded by the emaciated pair Kaali and Kaala, I call it Kaali-Kaala gateway.

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peacocks near Aihole

It was around 5-45 pm on 5th October 2023 while driving from Pattadakal to Aihole, I spotted these beauties browsing in an open field right next to the highway. Luckily it was still light and the young peacocks, probably siblings, were in the open, not even a twig in the line of sight. I pulled out my Nikon P900 swiftly and took half a dozen shots before they vanished into the neighboring field of grownup  sugarcane.

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Nara Bali sculpture at Aihole

A couple of months ago I was browsing through photos of Aihole trip with Srinu in Aug 2023. One of the photos of a sandstone sculpture at Aihole museum caught my attention. It's a rare type of sculpture to my knowledge, don't remember seeing it elsewhere. As you see here, the sculpture shows a Shiva Linga on a pedestal with a standing human figure next to it. Then there's another human figure featuring matted hair, skeletal body & limbs, sitting on the floor, some kind of weapon in right-hand and left-hand holding an infant by its leg. Surely this guy is not showing affection to the baby. So what's he up to is the question.

Google photo search gave me the answer. Apparently, this sculpture depicts Nara Bali (human sacrifice). Here, a devotee of Mahakali named Veerabhadra is sacrificing his son. The search result also mentions that it's a preta (hungry ghost) holding a baby. A preta is usually depicted in a skeletal form. So, is this preta sacrificing a baby despite its hunger?

While the picture above is the original, the next picture is digitally edited. The background has been removed using a mobile phone app. The wonders of digital technology!

Going back to the image, the human sacrifice part seems right but the details are yet to be discovered. Do share your thoughts and knowledge in the comments section.

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Ramlingeshwara Devastana, Navaluru

The name  Navalur is derived from Naviluru which literally means a place of peacocks. Navalur is situated on the border of Malnad and Bayaluseeme (hilly region and plains) besides a small hill range 6 km southeast of Dharwad. Back then Dharwad and Navalur were two distinct settlements but now the village is on the verge of being urbanized. Yet, the village retains the original feel. Memories of Navalur village go back to my childhood years.. railway crossing, mango & guava plantations, even grape orchards. With times the number of gardens has diminished. The railway gate made way for a flyover in the 80s. Changes are inevitable, yet Navalur retains a strong rural ambiance which is why I started frequenting the village for early morning bicycle rides which led to exploring the surrounding areas too.

At Navalur's northeastern corner is a temple dedicated to Hanuman. In the beginning I would just pause the ride for to take a look at the deity, a almost 6 feet tall stone idol. Once I happened to notice the deity sans flower decoration. The stone idol of Hanuman was so much like the ancient idols associated with the XV Century philosopher Vyasatirtha. That means, we have an ancient temple. Also in the temple gate is an ancient memorial stone (hero-stone).

Besides the Hanuman Gudi, there are a few more temples in the older parts of Navalur. The temples are Mallikarjuna Gudi, Banashankari Gudi, Dhyamavva Gudi, Basavanna Gudi, and a Jaina Basadi too. Then there's one Garadi Manae as well. Garadi Manae is a gym where wresters trained with the blessings of Hanuman. The more I learn, the more interesting Navalur gets.

June 16th morning I reach to Navalur Hanuman Gudi and start taking pictures of the structure. The stone walls, stone Shikhara and sculptures on the structure seem like XV or XVI Century CE. One of the temple visitors was curious about my shooting. I told him about my interest in ancient monuments which led to the person sharing a lot of historical information. According to him, Navalur was a fortified village, a moat ran around the perimeter as well. I had no clue a fort existed here!

The person, Shri Bhyrappanavar, asked me to go along with him to another ancient shrine dedicated to Shiva Linga. I guessed its location but I was surprised to know it was ancient. Well, here we are at the Ramlingeshwar Devastana.

A lovely idol of Parvati & Shiva.

It's an ancient belief that we must see Shiva Linga between Nandi's horns.

While Shiva Linga idol is ancient Nandi idol is a recent creation. The original Nandi idol was removed because it was damaged. As you see, the older temple structure has been replaced with a recently constructed building.

Shivaaya Namah Aum. Did you notice that the Jaladhari is towards the east-facing Garbhagudi door. Normally, you see it on the left or right but here it's in the front. I don't know why its positioned this way. The size of the idol is impressive, its about 4.5 feet high. To my knowledge there's no other Shivalinga as big as this one.

Going by the stone, the sculpture and the workmanship, this idol seems ancient. It could be 500 to 600 years old, maybe even older.

This is the best shot I could manage in the small space between the Shivalinga and Garbhagudi wall. The pedestal detailing is amazing. Don't know how many ancient people had dedicated their lives protecting and preserving this beautiful idol.

Also thanks to the person who financed this temple's renovation and maintenance.

Adjoining Ramlingeshwar Gudi is Durgadevi Gudi.

A lovely painting of Durgadevi adorns the Garbhagudi wall. One must appreciate the efforts of the artist who painted it. A lady was in charge of this shrine. She has just completed morning rituals.

Like Ramlingeshwar, the deities here are south-facing. This is a rather curious feature of these two temples.

My heartfelt thanks to Shri Bhyrappanavar for urging me to visit this place. We exchanged mobile numbers before parting. I promised to call him to learn more about Navalur history. I head back to Hanuman Gudi for more pictures and then headed home.

Before ending this post I would like to mention my visit to Navalur Gudda in 2009 to see the ancient Basavanna Gudi. Back then the hill was barren. That shrine was ancient but the older structure had been demolished and a new building was being constructed. Unfortunately I didn't pictures of the deity. Presently, the hill has been taken over by Karnataka Forest Department, the entire hill is wooded and out of bounds. The jungle is home to peacocks and other wildlife now. Somehow, I was fortunate to have experienced a bicycle ride on Navalur Gudda, in Aug 2023 with Pushpa and my friend Srinu.

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Kaali-Kaala gateway at Mahakoota

Mahakoota is one of the religious centers whose history dates back to the VI Century CE, that is as per the temple structures are concerned. However, I feel its history goes back to the prehistoric times. By the way, there are two places named Mahakoota, both situated on the eastern side of Hiregudda, a couple of kilometers between them, one of them is relatively older. The older place is called Halae Mahakoota and the newer place is simply called Mahakoota. Now, we are at the latter.

At Mahakoota is a group of ancient temples, mostly dedicated to Shiva in the form of Linga. It's needless to say where Shiva is Nandi will be present. Nandi idols at Mahakoota come in different colors, shapes and forms, each different from the other. Of the many shrines here the most curious one is the underwater one. Under the wall surrounding the stepped tank fed by a natural spring. One needs to dive underwater and squeeze thro a narrow gap between stone blocks to see the Shiva Linga. Then there's another spring just outside the temple complex which people call Dakshina Kashi. All the structures, including the stepped tanks and a gateway were constructed during Badami Chalukyan reign. Today's topic is the gatekeeper couple in-charge of the gateway. When you see the couple for the first time, their emaciated, almost skeletal forms are bound to leave you flabbergasted, and probably make a lasting impression, unlikely to forget them for sometime.

Kaali  (ಕಾಲಿ) and Kaalaa (ಕಾಲಾ) are their names. Thanks to whoever made the effort of having their names painted.

Taking a closer look at Kaali. The character is so famished that it's literally skeleton covered in skin. Even the eyes have popped out and stomach is sucked in completely.

Kaalaa is equally famished and emaciated. I can't help but remember seeing an young man in this condition during my school days in Bengaluru. It was so painful to his parents or sisters holding him when he took awkward steps. Even walking a few steps was a difficult task for him. I don't know if he could speak at all. He was completely dependent on his family.. let's come back to Mahakoota. Here, Kaali and Kaala though emaciated they seem to be holding up themselves. Otherwise they wouldn't be in charge of this gateway. One other thing is the Swastika pattern mesh blocks besides Kaala and Kaali. Swastik is a symbol of good fortune.

To my knowledge, there's no other idol of Kaala and Kaali in other Chalukyan temples or complexes. Not even at Kadamba, Hoysala, Vijayanagara or other dynastic monuments. So I checked on the internet and found that Kaalaa is a form of Shiva associated to time, death and destruction of cosmos. Kaali is the female counterpart of Kaala. It also refers to them as Mahaakala and Mahakaali. In Kannada text they are ಮಹಾಕಾಲ and ಮಹಾಕಾಳಿ. However, the painted text below the idol are slightly different- ಕಾಲಾ and ಕಾಲಿ. ಲಿ and ಳಿ are pronounced differently. ಲಿ in English is 'li' but there's no English letter for ಳಿ, or it's base form ಳ. Also, if Kaala was meant to be time, Kannada text would be written as ಕಾಲ. Having said that, it's either that the painted text is wrong, or the search result from the Web is unrelated. I feel that Kaali (ಕಾಲಿ) and Kaalaa (ಕಾಲಾ) are completely different characters, enigmatic ones at that. Need to research more to demystify them.

Here's the full view of the gateway structure. Anyone walking from Badami to Mahakkota has to pass through this gateway. The ancient path, probably since the prehistoric times, connecting Badami and Mahakoota is still used.

The other side of the gateway, which looks like any other ancient gateway.

Close to this gateway, on the other side are two more ancient monuments which I learned about recently. I'm yearning for another trip to the Chalukyan realm to see those monuments and also walk the ancient path between Mahakoota and Badami.

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