Samudra Manthan at Pattadakal

On the pillars and walls of Virupaksha Gudi at Pattadakal are sculptures depicting several legendary stories. One of the most interesting ones is the relief sculpture of Samudra Manthan or Amrit Manthan, the story of churning the ocean to obtain Amrit, the nectar of immortality.

The story goes like this: Durvasa Muni gives a sacred garland to Indra, the king of Devas. Indra carelessly places it on his elephant. The sacred garland falls to the ground and the elephant tramples it. Durvasa is enraged and curses Indra & Devas which leaves them weak and vulnerable to their archfoes the Asuras. Desperate to regain their power, the Devas approach Vishnu. The solution is obtain Amrit by churning the ocean of milk. The task of churning was impossible for Devas alone and it needed Asura's help. The Devas devise a plan, forming an alliance with the Asuras with a promise to share the reward equally.

For the act of churning Mount Mandara is used as the rod and Vasuki the serpent is the rope. Mandara is placed in the ocean, Vasuki is wound around Mandara, the Asuras hold the head side of Vasuki and Devas settle for tail side. As they pull back and forth, Mandara starts sinks because there's nothing to support it. To stop Mandara sinking, Vishnu takes the form of a tortoise and positions himself under Mandara. Vishnu assuming the tortoise form is known as Kurma Avatar, one of the Dashavatara. The churning is resumed. The first outcome is Halahala the toxic precipitation. Shiva steps in and swallows Halalala and holds it in his throat making it blue giving him the name Neelakant. The world is saved. With the continued churning the following is obtained: Kamadhenu the wish fulfilling cow, Airavata the white elephant, Uchhaishravas the divine horse, Parijata the wishing tree and Lakshmi. In the end emerges Dhanavantri holding the pot of Amrit the nectar of immortality. That's as far as Samudra Manthan is concerned. What follows is the conflict around sharing the divine elixir. The wily Devas, with Vishnu's help hoodwink the Asuras which is a story for another day.

In the sculpture, the top section is an act of churning curds in a pot. I have no clue who the characters are. In the middle is Samudra Manthan, and the bottom section is Devas holding Vasuki's tail.

The neighboring column in the same temple has an illusionary sculpture. See the top section, you'll see three men standing closely. When you look at it intently you'll notice there are only four arms and four legs. It's a clever little sculpture, isn't it.

In the mid and bottom sections are battle scenes, archers shooting at each other. Again, I have no clue who these characters are. If you identify them, do share in the comments section.

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Ravananugraha

Of the dozen temples at Pattadakal, three of the temples have a hundred stories sculpted on their walls and columns. There's one stand-alone pillar which tells the story of Ravananugraha. The story goes like this: Ravana after defeating his half-brother Kubera, looted Kubera's city Alaka and also took Kubera's flying chariot Pushpaka Vimana. On his way back to Lanka, Ravana sees the beautiful mount Kailsa and tries to fly over it but fails. Nandi who's present there tells Ravana that no one can fly over Kailasa because it's Shiva & Parvati's abode. The proud Ravana mocks Nandi and Shiva. Nandi is enraged and curses Ravana that he would be destroyed by monkeys. The outraged Ravana, using his might of twenty arms, tried to uproot Kailasa. As the mountain begins to shake, Shiva knowing the reason, presses his big toe and traps Ravana with crushing force. Ravana realizes his folly, begs for mercy and prays to Shiva. Known for his forgiving nature, Shiva forgives Ravana and gifts him sword Chandrahasa. Coming back to this sculpture, since it shows favor to Ravana it's called Ravananugraha.

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serenely seated sculptures

These two photos were shot on Dec 16, 2011 at Pattadakal temple complex. These sculptures are situated on the upper part of either Virupaksha Gudi or Mallikarjuna Gudi, two of the larger structures at the complex. The first one, a four-armed figure seems like Shiva at the first glance. However, upon seeing closer, there's a Shankha in the rear left hand. The norm in our idols is Shiva holds a Trishula and has Rudrakashamala, while Vishnu is seen holding Shankha & Chakra. Coming back to this sculpture, I feel it is Harihara, the combined form of Vishnu and Shiva. What do you think.

Coming to the second picture, first I felt it could be Vishnu. A closer look revealed the third eye on his forehead. So this is Shiva. It appears that Shiva has pinned down a child like figure. It's known that Shiva crushes Apasmara, the character filled with negativity. Is it possible this too is a scene of Shiva crushing Apasmara?

A revisit to Pattadakal and Aihole is pending for almost two years now. When I go there again, I'll spend half a day at Pattadakal and inspect sculptures closely. I'm sure to discover some more gems.

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Kumbhakarna park, Penukonda

Kumbhakarna park was discovered in the late 90s or early 2000s during one of the journeys between Bangalore and Kurnool. Back then Bangalore - Hyderabad highway was a two lane road with a few railway crossings. The railway crossing near Penukonda can't be forgotten, because of the pothole ridden stretch and those terrible speed bumps. Amidst that chaos, a nice little park was being made in a space between two hillocks. At that point, the idea was unique and we had stopped to check out. Luckily, I had my camera and we had taken a few shots of the giant sculpture of Kumbhakarna.

In the mid 2000s Bangalore - Hyderabad highway was widened to a six lane road flying over all the railway crossings and bypassing some of the bottlenecks. The new road bypassed Kumbhakarna park as well. So if someone wanted to see the park, they had to leave the highway and suffer that nasty stretch of road. Somethings don't change.

January 13, 2019
Almost two decades later, after ending our stay at Hyderabad, Pushpa & I were heading to Bangalore by car. I was curious about the park and also wanted Pushpa to see it. Here I was looking at Kumbhakarna again. The first thing I noticed was the change of color scheme; back then it was grey and ochre, now it's colorful. The change was like moving from Eastman to color photo. Overall the place had transformed from a construction site to a fairly well maintained park.

One may wonder why Kumbhakarna park was situated in a remote place. This spot is about 6 kms from Penukonda which was the second capital of Vijayanagara empire. The ancient monuments of Vijayanagara, be it Hampi or Lepakshi or Penukonda or Gummanayakana Kote, are hundreds of relief sculptures depicting scenes from Ramayana. The stories etched into stone have kept the religious / cultural sentiments alive. I guess some political leader from this region wanted to create a monument, and the idea of Kumbhakarna theme park was born. In my opinion, this park was intended to be fun for kids and adults alike.

I think we had to buy tickets to get past the gates. Apparently, the restaurant was functional but refreshment was not on our agenda.

For some reason access to the space inside the sculpture was prohibited that day. I guess it was under renovation.

The scenes of Rakshasas trying to awaken Kumbhakarna are amusing. Kumbhakarna was so big that normal Rakshasas had to use ladders and ropes to climb on to his body. While some Rakshasas was bringing pitchers filled with drinks and plates loaded with food. While many toiled, two Rakshasas helped themselves to a part of the grand feast, which is amusing.

The normal Rakshasas are life size. Based on that scale, we get an idea of Kubhakarna's size.

The creators have even paid attention to jewelry. It's my observation that Telugu people have a liking for grandness. I felt that during our visit to Warangal fort and Ramappa temple. The grand arches at Warangal fort, and Ramappa temple themselves are examples of megalomania. Perhaps, the word megalomania is too strong a word but you get a sense.

Creating that expression of deep sleep, that too at this scale, is not an easy task. The master sculptor deserves appreciation. I don't remember seeing any board here crediting the sculptors.

The Rakshasas spared no effort to awaken the giant. Prodding him with spears, blowing horns and beating drums next to his ears, tickled his nostrils, tugging his hair, they even made an elephant prod giant. They also brought fresh food and drinks hoping the aroma would do the trick. Our legends are truly marvelous!

Yes, the restaurant was temporarily closed.

Also, there was a tower, maybe 20 feet high. I think we climbed up for a better of the sleeping giant. I don't think we shot any pictures because the trees were blocking the view. With that we decided to end our tour and resume our journey towards Bangalore.

The ancient monuments of Penukonda are a underrated. I had made a couple of visits and saw the ruins of fort, the temples, Gagan Mahal, Saluva Thimmarasu Bandhikane and few other monuments. Also, I drove up the dirt track going up the hill to see the ruined temples and water tank. The Narasimha Gudi, stepped tank and colonnades atop the hill were a reminder or monuments at Hampi. During that visit, I was the only person out there, it was scary but beautiful.

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a load of pots sailing on the road

Aug 15, 2017
Pushpa and I were traveling from Anegundi to Dharwad, on the way, a few kilometers after Koppal, we took a diversion and visited Mahadeva Devastana at Itagi. After spending an hour or so at the amazing Chalukyan temple, we resumed our journey towards Dharwad. Between Itagi and Bannikoppa we saw a load of plastic pots 'sailing' on the road. It did looks like the pots were sailing until we noticed the wheels of the mini-truck.

In terms of mass, the truck seems to be within the permitted weight. However, in terms of volume, the load is thrice the width and twice the height of the truck. Legally speaking, is the goods carrier overloaded?

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Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art

After a week's worth of work at Dhagpo Shedrupling Monastery, I was ready for a day-trip to Manali. My colleague at the monastery Rajesh agreed to show me the tourist spots of Manali, and visit Shuru village if time permitted. And, this would be a biking tour.

Dec 5, 2019
Rajesh and I left the monastery around 10 AM on a Honda Hornet. Even in open sunlight at 45 kmph it felt cold but it was manageable. However, I was wondering how it would be after 4 PM. We reached Manali by noon, we passed through the market area and reached Hidimba Mandir. The temple was teeming with tourists yet the place felt peaceful. Then we went to Gatothkacha shrine followed by the museum. Lastly we went to Manu Mandir. Then we took a short break for lunch and stopped to buy a few shawls as souvenirs. That's it for Manali tour. It was a super tight tour!

For some reason this blog post was hibernating since 2020. Its hibernation ended with this post going live. Here are a few hurriedly shot pictures of the artifacts exhibited in the not-so-photography-friendly setup. The artifacts collection included kitchenware, models of a flourmill, models of Katkhuni houses, footwear, smoking devices, spinning devices and other stuff. I'll start off with this shield and pair of swords even though it wasn't displayed at the entrance.

Storage bins for storing food grains, water storage tank, and containers for churning butter-milk.

Wooden trays for preparing dough and wooden vessels with spout.

This sections has a stone vessels. Of the vessels, the Skaa has a detailed description, below is the transcription.

The use of the skaa is very simple but long time taking and very rare. The skaa takes about an hour to heat up. It directly placed on the fire. In the mean time a thick paste of powdered rice is prepared with water or milk. When the skaa reaches the appropriate temperature, the paste is filled into the holes. When the paste are about to be cooked, small holes appear on its upper surface. This dish is known as aaksu. A special needle made of wood is used to remove the aau from the skaa.

The aaksu are eaten with a blend of milk, sugar and ghee. The three ingredients are boiled together until they mix up thoroughly and become a little thick. The aaksu are dipped in this solution and are eaten.
This dish is rarely cooked in the area. It is mostly cooked during the phagli festival. The tradition and custom is to gift the aaksu to ones sister during this festival. So the brothers' families prepare aaksu for their sisters and then the aaksu are sent to the sister as a gift. Other wise preparation of aaksu is very rare among the people.

During a time all the families had a skaa in their house, but today it is difficult to find a skaa even in a village. Very rare families in the village have a skaa of their own.

This is a set of earthenware.

A wooden silo and circular grinding stone together form a flourmill. This seems like a flour mill designed for home use. Maybe it could be a common flourmill for a village. Here villages situated on mountain slopes are small, consisting of 20 to 50 houses. So, one or two such flour mills should be sufficient for such villages.

Slippers of Lahaul made of sheep skin, goat hair and straw grass.

A collection of hookahs.

Models of buildings of Khatkuni architecture. During the nine-day stay at Kais, I had explored a couple of villages, many of the houses were traditional buildings made of wood, mud, stone blocks and stone slabs. Do check out this post to see those sights: a glimpse of Himachal rural life.

A model of rural home kitchen with traditional vessels and utensils.

A clay pot covered in a layer of insulation, and a lid.

This section displays hand operated spinning wheels, known as charaka in most Indian languages. Also on display was a handloom used for weaving clothes.

This picture was shot in the mid 90s by my brother during his two week stay at Shuru village. The wooden contraption is a handloom. My brother's host probably had a spinning wheel as well. Such a life they led, occupied all the time, through out the year.

These brass utensils are for offering aarti, a Hindu ritual of offering fire to deities.

Here are samples of kitchenware made of brass and copper. The bottom left wooden box seems like a spice box.

Here's a collection of sculpted wooden pillars used in buildings, could be temples or homes. These pillars remind me of the sculptures seen at Hidimba Mandir and Mataji Mandir at Shuru village.

Lastly, the bench at the museum entrance caught my eyes. Made of vast iron brackets, fabricated steel mesh and wooden strips.. it's such a lovely creation. Who knows how many years of sunshine, rain water and snow this bench has taken.

There were a many more interesting artifacts here but photographing them was a challenge. If you are Manali, do make time for the museum.

After Manali tour, Rajesh and I rode to Shuru village, located my brother's host Kishanchand, who was elated to be remembered by an old guest, took us home and introduced his family, their welcome was warm and affectionate. For that matter, the warmth affection I received at the monastery, by the monks, and Rajesh... no words to describe it.

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a bridge across river Beas

While browsing through my photo archives photos of Beas river brought back memories of my stay at Dhagpo Shedrupling Monastery at Kais village.

Nov 6, 2019
It was for an acquaintance turned friend Rajesh who made it more interesting by showing me around. One of the days, we had been to Kullu on work, on the way back I asked Rajesh that I wanted to get into the river, not the water but the riverbed. Rajesh found a way to reach the riverbed. The first thing I noticed was that all stones, big or small, were rounded. I could hardly see any rock with sharp edges. That's Rajesh finding a safe path to get closer to flowing waters.

In Himachal, main roads run parallel to rivers. Here, along the right bank of Beas is NH-3 and on the  left bank is a rural road connecting towns and villages. The monastery where I stayed was on the left bank, a few kilometers from this bridge. These bridges are important links. I'm not sure if they are designed to take dynamic loads of moving cars but it's a common sight to see small cars on the bridge.

The spot chosen by Rajesh was really nice. The sound of flowing water was soothing. However, I had to be careful, one misstep meant falling into chilly waters. Not to mention the current and submerged boulders.

Water was clean and clear.

That's my friend Rajesh, we are in touch and hope to visit his home town Dharamshala some time.

After spending some 30 minutes in the riverbed, we headed back to the monastery. Here's a shot of the bridge. It's just wide enough for a small car and a pedestrian to pass by. There are unspoken rules for motorists; only one car on the bridge at a time. For the sake of safety and time, everyone respects the rules here.

A couple of views from the bridge. Somewhere in the vicinity is a rafting start point. I saw a couple of rafts with excited tourists.

There's one raft heading downstream. Some reason, I don't even want to try it. Just once I had sailed in a coracle in river Kali near Dandeli. Unlike rafts, coracles are highly unstable and only a skilled and experienced pilots can negotiate them in rapids.

Rajesh on his Honda Hornet speaking to an acquaintance. On that bike, we rode up to the top of a mountain on which the monastery is situated. The top was covered in a fir forest, ground was covered in snow. The place had an eerie silence. Rajesh didn't want to risk going further due to predatory animals and we were just two unarmed men.

On the Dec 5th we rode to Manali on the same bike. We visited Manu Mandir, Hidimba Devi Mandir, Ghatotkacha shrine and Himachal Pradesh cultural museum. Close to Manali is a village called Shuru, we visited it to meet up with an old acquaintance of my brother. Memories of the rural Himachali hospitality is still fresh and warm. The return journey to Kais was something else. In Himachal, sunset happens around 3-30. You must be wondering- how? Once the sun goes behind a mountain and if you are in the shadow, you can feel the temperature drop rapidly. We started from Shuru around 4-30 and reached Kais by 7-30. The entire journey I was shivering, trying to block the wind sneak into my clothing and helmet. With some 5 off kilometers to the monastery, we stopped at a teashop, the fire and hot tea felt heavenly. When we resumed our journey those five kilometers felt like ten. What an experience that was!

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Jatayu vs Ravana

This photo was shot on Aug 29 2023 at Pattadakal temple complex. This relief sculpture- Jatayu Ravana battle -is one of the several sculptures decorating the exterior walls of Virupaksha Gudi. Chalukyan sculptors have depicted good-bad pairs or positive-negative pairs.. maybe these are not the right phrases but they convey the message. Another sculpture in the vicinity is Shiva and Apasmara. Also in the vicinity is another sculpture of a male character armed with a spear, in the act of slaying. I'm still trying to identify the characters. For now, let's get back to Jatayu and Ravana.

After snatching Sita from Rama's hermitage at Panchavati, Ravana flees in his aerial chariot Pushpaka Vimana. The terrified Sita's screams are heard by Jatayu the eagle like demigod who was sworn to protect the trio Sita, Rama & Lakshmana. Jatayu takes off and attacks Ravana midair. However the aged Jatayu, despite fighting valiantly, was no match for Ravana's prowess. Ravana slashes off Jatayu's wings, injuring him grievously, thereby ending the battle.

Later, back on the ground, the grievously injured Jatayu is found by Rama and Lakshmana. Jatayu tells them to go to Ravana's kingdom Lanka and takes his last breath.

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a girl at Aihole

At times, my memory fails me. One such time is when I wrote the post of Aihole tour of Aug 2023 with my friend Srinu from Hyderabad. At the end of the tour of Aihole hillock, as we walked back to the main road I heard a feminine voice "hi." A friendly smile followed by another hi. Though I never expressed it to Srinu, this girl had made my morning. With her permission I took a photo and asked her name. I remembered it until last year but now.. just can't remember her name. I even missed adding this picture to that post.

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Buddha Vihaara, Kalburgi

Jan 29, 2011

Trying to recall memories of a trip fifteen years ago. The trip was with three of my maternal uncles covering the three northern districts Bidar, Kalburgi and Vijayapura. On the last day of the trip, the last destination of the day was Buddha Vihaara situated just outside of Kalburgi city. Back then, the Buddhist center was newly finished and open to the public recently.

Vihaara is a residence of Buddhist monks and nuns. This is the symbolic arch at entrance of the monastery. Flanking the arch are Buddhist Torana. Posted on the gate was a detailed instructions to visitors asking them to treat this as a solemn tour. Every visitor was expected to remain silent and behave with dignity. Photography was prohibited beyond this point.

Visitors had to take of footwear including socks and enter barefoot. Inside the campus, visitors had access only to the main hall and the walkway around it. The dome seen here is the crown of the meditation hall.

At the entrance of the hall was another set of instructions and supervisors made sure people remained silent. The circular hall was simple and bare except for mats / cushions for seating. I must've remained inside for about 15 minutes. I saw some people so restless that could not even remain seated for a couple of minutes. Honestly, tourists must not enter such a place if they cannot connect with its sanctity.

Kalburgi is the hottest district of Karnataka state. I remember seeing terrain devoid of greenery when we drove on the ring road. Here there's an attempt to grow trees around the Vihaara which was appreciable. Surely, after a decade and half these sapling would've grown up, a live green screen around the Vihaara.

In the mid 2010s, we drove through Kalburgi a couple of times but somehow never thought of another visit to the Vihara since we had tight itineraries both times. Perhaps it's time for another visit to this city and catch up with this monuments again. 

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