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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stone face

Stone face simply means "a face that reveals no emotions." And here we have one such face in stone! Despite staring at it repeatedly I couldn't discern any hint of any emotion.

This picture was shot on Aug 29, 2023 at Upper Shivalaya, the temple at the highest elevation at Badami. Do you think it's easy to sculpt this face? Would it be easier to sculpt a face with an expression, or without expression?

Stone is associated to humans in more than one way. When a person is super high on drugs, state of that person is called stoned. Obviously there wouldn't be any emotions. Then the other one is stone-hearted.

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Tattukoti group of temples, Badami

On the northeastern side of Agastya Tirta is a group of four temples called Tattikoti temples, also referred to as northern Bhootnath group. All four temples are south-facing, are in a completed state and seemingly well preserved. There are signs of repair work in the recent past i.e. by the ASI. As per the booklet on Badami, these temples are said to be built in XI or XII Century CE during Kalyana Chalukyan rule. This picture below was shot from the other side of Agastya Tirta i.e. from a spot close to Cave-4.

Aug 29, 2023. My friend from Hyderabad, Srinu and I were on a tour of the Badami Chalukyan realm. We started the tour from the rock-cut temples and then drove to the northern side. We parked Srinu's car near the entrance of Bhootnath and Tattikoti groups, that's the farthest one could drive here. I have to mention that all these temples are inactive i.e. there aren't any deities and no rituals take place.

Architecture of all four temples is same. The Shikharas over their sanctums are Kadambanagara, also called Phamsana. As per iconographic study, these temples are dedicated to Yoga Narayana. As you see the exterior walls are plain, devoid of decor. Nevertheless, these are well designed and built to last.

This smaller temple is behind the chief temple. It's porch is clearly visible. Going by the structure, the sanctum and the porch are connected through a vestibule. The seating platform "Sukhanasi" looks very inviting. One could take a break from the blazing sunlight in the porch.

Coming to the third temple, a Dwikutachala i.e. a two sanctum temple, east-facing and south-facing. The east-facing sanctum does not have a Shikhara. Not sure if it wasn't built or if it went missing at some point in history.

Another view of temple #3. In the background is temple #4.

This structure is slightly off in terms of design. Firstly, the porch is missing. Then, it has fiive Kadambanagara Shikharas, one above it's sanctum and four at each of the corners of the Sabhamantapa.

That's Srinu in front of temple #1.

View of Agastya Tirta and southern cliff from the porch of temple #1.

The southeastern corner of the porch. In the background is Bhootnath group which is much larger than this group and more interesting since it is closer to water and has rock-cut sculptures.

That's it from Tattikoti group. We head towards Bhootnath group.

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Gauri Gudi, Aihole

This photo of Gauri Gusi was shot on 16th Dec 2011 afternoon. That was 5th (possible 6th) visit to Aihole, it was a solo trip. I had spent just a few hours at Aihole, may be visited 2 or 3 temple complexes.

This temple though it looks small from here has a spacious interior. The temple structure has undergone massive changes. The lower half is original and the upper half is relatively new addition. In this view, the lower half consists of the platform, Sukhanasi and a few pillars. The upper walls made of smaller blocks are recent addition, may be 70 to 80 years old. If you look beyond the front wall, you can see how wide the temple is.

Oct 6th 2023. I was revisiting Gauri Gudi after 12 years, this time with my friend Sridhar from Bengaluru. We came here around 10-15, it was already bright and hot. The temple looked the same as before, no changes expect that one of the two notice boards and an information were missing.

Below is the transcript of the info board:

This Virupaksha temple with Linga in the sanctum has two male images in its Mantapa and one of them is popularly addressed as 'Gauri' and the temple has this name. But originally it was a Vishnu temple as can be seen from the profuse Vaishnavite icons here. The temple has a wide Rangamantapa and a vestibule. This is assigned to the 12th Century and in the Kalyana Chalukya style. The Rangamantapa ceiling has a deep Bhuvaneshwari design in the shape of a lotus.

This four pillared mantapa is the center of the Sabha Manatapa. Along the inner perimeter are raised seating platforms i.e. Sukhanasi. Of the four pillars, the front-right pillar is damaged, yet holding firmly. One important thing I wish to point out is that this is a south-facing temple and this hall has three entrances on its southern, eastern and western sides. However, the eastern and western entrances have been blocked by neighboring structures which are homes.

This hall (Natya Mantapa) is connected to the sanctum (Garbhagudi) through a vestibule (Antharala). The very look of the pillars and the perforated screen of the vestibule says this was meant to be a grand temple. The white patches seen on the pillars, beams and walls is leftover lime. Village folks have a habit of whitewashing home and temples, they do the same to stone structures out of ignorance. Unlike mud plastered walls, lime weakens stone over time.

This is the center of Nrutya Mantapa ceiling. The multi-tiered lotus is a marvelous creation.

This concentric grill enclosed in a star like polygon is also on the ceiling. I wonder if this was an ancient ventilator to let out hot air. This is one of the kind seen at Aihole. At least I cannot remember seeing anything like this in other temples.

Nandi idol sits on the Natya Mantapa floor. Had this been a Shiva shrine originally, nandi idol would've been fixed into the floor between the Natya Mantapa and Antharala. For some reason the deity was replaced converting this Vishnu shrine into a Shiva shrine.

The rear view of Nandi seated over a pedestal.

Shiva Linga inside the sanctum. Shivaya Namaha. To my knowledge this is the only active ancient temple here.

From here the front entrance (southern) and side entrance (western) are seen. On the walls flanking the Antharala screen are niches without any deities.

Let's take a look at one of the four pillars of Nrutya Mantapa. These four pillar is made of a dark colored hard stone while the rest of the temple is made of sandstone blocks. Going by these pillars, this temple could be of Kalyana Chalukya period. Similar pillars can be seen at Banashankari Gudi, Amargol near Dharwad. 

A closer look at jewelry patterns on the column. The sculpturing is very detailed and delicate. If these columns were to be washed and scrubbed with coconut fiber they would have a glossy look, the details would be sharper.

This is one of the four faces of the pillar base. This sculpture depicts Vishnu, his icons Shakha and Chakra are visible clearly. Likewise most of the sculptures on the column are Vishnavite as mentioned in the temple description above.

In the western entrance passage is this large stone basin. It's made of sandstone and looks pretty ancient. This could've been used to feed water to cattle or horses. This picture too was shot during my earlier visit.

That's all from Gauri Gudi for now. We go across the road to see the group of five Jain temples.

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Jaina temple group, Aihole

Aihole has several Jain temples like the rock-cut shrine on the southwestern tip of Aihole hill, the twin temple inside Charantimath complex and a group of four temples opposite Gauri Gudi. There could be other Jain temples at Aihole but these are the ones I'm aware of. This blog post is dedicated to the last item i.e. the group opposite Gauri Gudi. I'd seen this group first time in Dec 2011, and again in Oct 2023, after almost 12 years. From the few pictures I'd taken during my first visit, I could see that the place hadn't changed much, which is good.

The four temples are placed around a small open space in U-shape. All these are sandstone structures, probably built during Badami Chalukyan times. The entrance to the group is on the northern side. As I sept into the open space, there are two temples facing each other. The picture below is the east-facing temple (#1) which seems like an incomplete structure. This Mantapa is the Natya Mantapa within the Sabha Mantapa. The seating platform seen here is present on the opposite side as well. There's no deity inside the sanctum. The sculpted icon of Mahaveera on the sanctum door frame is what indicates that this is a Jaina shrine.

What I wanted to highlight here is the Sukhanasi profile and the circular hole with a diaphragm. This reminds me of a cavity turn knob in modern machinery. The purpose of this cavity is something I need to figure out. One thing I can think of is to insert a lever and shift the seat i.e. to align it to the base.

This is the side view of the temple. It's a small structure but it was meant to be a grand one.

This is the rear view, the inner space of this part is the sanctum. As to the Shikhara, I'm not sure what the builders had planned. Maybe a stepped Shikhara.

Moving on, the next two temples (#2 and #3) stand next to each other, both north-facing. The format is more or less same... Garbhagudi, Antharala, and Sabhmantapa. This one has a narrow shoulder running around the temple so that one could go around it. However, the path is blocked on the right hand side. From the looks of it, this temple has been damaged, most likely by humans., several parts of the structure have gone missing.

Another view of temple #2. The Shikhara is a stepped pyramid. It's Kalasa is missing.

Moving on to temple #3. Again, several parts of the structure are missing. I feel this temple too has suffered damages, then the rubble has been cleared or used somewhere else. It's quite possible that temple parts have been carted away and used in foundations of houses here i.e. well before these monuments came under government protection.

The inner space of temple #3. That's Sridhar standing between the inner pillars of the Natya manatapa. Slabs from the roofs are also missing here.

This is temple #4, the largest of the four temples, probably this is the chief temple of this group. This east-facing temple is a Trikutachala meaning a temple with three sanctums. The sanctums are east, north and south facing. Of the four temples here, this temple is the most well preserved one. By it's looks, construction was completed and it has suffered some minor damages.

This is the only picture of the interior I shot. The columns are bigger compared to the other temples of this group. They are somewhat like the columns at Kunti Gudi complex. The interior was quite dim, it's only because of the glare barging in through the only door, the interior was visible. When I stepped into this space, I saw three or four men lying down, call it their late morning siesta. This person sat up and welcomed me. We exchanged a few words and I left them to their siesta.

Close to the entrance of this group was this stone seat. I feel this is a piece from the Sukhanasi of temple #1. Thankfully the separated piece is still here. Sridhar poses on the seat under the blinding glare of Suryadeva. Vibhuti on Sridhar's forehead is from Gauri Gudi, he had spent several minutes there before turning up here.

That's it about the Jaina group of temples. From here we went to Durga Gudi complex and then drove to a village called Shulebaavi to see the ancient Shuleshwara Gudi with a stepped well.

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Kappe Arabhatta Shasana, Badami

Dec 17, 2011. The entire morning was dedicated to seeing a natural wonder called Sidlapadi. I'd waited almost a year to see the naturally formed sandstone arch on Hiregudda, and the wait ended that morning. Thanks to my hosts' Ranganath Juttannavar and Dhariappa Dharegonnanavar's hospitality. Due to a prior engagement, Ranganath couldn't join us, Dhariappa and I had done the 4 km + 4 km trek on the deserted hill. We spent about an hour at Sidlapadi and also explored the immediate surroundings checking out caverns and smaller rock shelters, all the while on our toes expecting some wild creature to leap out from them. No such thing happened, we returned safely. Back at Badami, Dhariappa went straight to his college where he worked as a lecturer. That afternoon I caught up with Ranganath, and we did a small tour of the northern hill checking out inscriptions, all dating back to Chalukyan times. After the visit I did not follow up on the inscriptions and memories about them faded. After more than a decade I yearned to see Kappe Arabhata inscription again.

Aug 29, 2023. My friend Srinu from Hyderabad had come to Dharwad to spend a few days with us. I suggested a two-day tour of the Chalukyan realm. We reached Badami around 9 am, first we saw the rock-cut cave shrines and then drove to the northern fort side. We parked Srinu's car near Bhootanath complex and checked out the complex in detail. From the parking lot, Kappe Arabhatta inscription was just a couple of minutes walk. The inscription is situated on a rock face to the left of Badami-Mahakoota trail - a trail which has been used since the Chalukyan times or even earlier. Below is a picture of the place. The staircase, I guess is a recent creation. The inscription is on the left hand side under the overhang. In ancient times, caretakers were appointed for important inscriptions. The caretaker duty included reading out the message to people.

Kappe Arabhatta inscription which consist of text and a drawing. There are ten lines of text and a drawing of a wheel with ten petals. The wheel is ochre colored, looks like a natural paint made using certain minerals, blood and juice from crushed leaves. I believe this paint is ancient, probably applied soon after the text were inscribed.

A closer look at the text. Since I cannot red ancient text, I had to refer a few sources- booklet on Badami my the Dept of Archaeology. Museums & Heritage; and Wikipedia -to learn its meaning. As per historians, Kappe Arabhatta was a heroic figure from Chalukyan times, probably a great warrior. This inscription is dedicated to him, outlining his personality briefly. The inscription's transliteration and translation are given below.

Transliteration:
Kappe-arabhattan sishtajana-priyan
kashtajana-varjitan Kaliyuga-viparitan ||
Varan-tējasvinō mṛittyur-na-tu mānāvakhandanam
mrittyus-tatkshanikō duḥkham-manabhangan-dinē dine ||
Sadhuge sadhu mädhuryyange madhuryyan badhippa
kalige Kaliyuga-viparitan-Madhavanitan-peranallan ||
Ollitta keyvōrār-ppolladum-adarante ballittu kalige
viparita purakritamilli sandhikkum-adu bandum ||
kattida simghaman-kettoden-emagendu bittavol-kalige vi-
paritamg-ahitarkkal-kettar-men-sattar-avichāram ||

Literal translation:
Kappe Arabhata, beloved of the good people
avoided by evil people, an exceptional man in Kaliyuga
To the good people, good, to the sweet, sweetness; | causing distress
to the kali age, an exceptional man in Kaliyuga, | Madhava (or Vishnu), this man another is not ||
What is good those who do who the evil like that | strong
exception to (or opposite) the ancient karma | here samdhikkum it having come ||
Bound the lion harmful thing what | in the same way as releasing 
exception to or opposite the enemies | were ruined and died without foresight (or without doubt) ||

I think the literal translation is good enough and I'll not attempt adding anything more.

Apart from Kappe Arabhatta inscription, there are two more inscriptions in the vicinity. One is on the rock face right besides the museum. The inscription is sheltered by a half Mantapa. The other inscription- inscription of Pulakeshi I -is situated higher up in the rocks, it can be reached by climbing up three or four staircases. I hope to see that during another visit to Badami.

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Shuleshwar Gudi and stepped well

Less than six weeks after the tour of the Chalukyan realm with Srinu, I redid the tour with Sridhar on October 5th & 6th. The tour was almost identical to the previous two, except that I made a few changes in the itinerary which was an attempt to optimize our foot movements. On the first day i.e. Oct 5th, we spent about 3 hours at Badami covering the caves temples and, structural temples & fort ramparts on the northern hill. Then we had Anna Prasada at Shivayogi Mandir and saw the Vibhuti manufacturing unit. After the short break, we moved on to Mahakoota, unlike last year this time it was almost peaceful. We had a good Darshan of Mahakooteshwara and other deities. Then on the way to Pattadakal we stopped at the twin-chamber dolmen near Pattadakal. Now I feel this dolmen is an ancient temple and not a grave as I believed earlier. We reached Pattadakal by 3-00 PM. First we saw the Brahma Jinalaya and then came to the main temple complex. This was probably my 5th visit yet I'd never made an attempt to touch the waters of Malaprabha. We spent about 30 minutes on the sandy riverbed, water flowed in narrow strips, we entered only the shallow parts. The day was warm & humid, the time spent in the river was truly relaxing. Back at the temple complex, we saw the temples at a slow pace. Around 5-30 pm we called it a tour, had hot tea and resumed our journey towards Aihole. We went straight to Aihole KSTDC lodge, checked in, bathed & changed into fresh clothes, had dinner and hit the bed. The following morning our tour of Aihole started with Ramlingeshwar complex followed by Galaganatha complex. Then we saw the rock-cut Jain Basadi, Huchimalli temple, Ravalaphadi, Buddha Chaitya, Meguti Gudi, Gowri Gudi and Jain shrines. Lastly we came to Durga temple complex. It was around 11 when we completed seeing Durga complex. The warm weather had sapped our energy and in no mood to walk around. However since it was too early to wind up, I suggested we see one ancient stepped well situated about 8 km away. It's a straight road to Shulebhavi village. The road to Shuleshwara Bhavi went around the village and with the help of people we reached our destination. That's Sridhar walking towards the stepped well & shrine.

As you see the structure is made of sandstone. By the looks of the stone and building design it is a Chalukyan creation. The sandstone structure and the well are adjacent to each other, the structure houses a temple. This is the formal entrance to the temple is south-facing but the deity is west-facing.

This is the Mukhamantapa, the portico. Unfortunately we couldn't enter the shrine since the gates were locked. probably the Pujari has completed morning rituals for the day and left. The structure looks original, I couldn't see any signs of repair except for the flooring slabs.

We walked around the temple to the open well. The steps starting at the temple door descended straight into the well. This well is on the similar lines as other stepped wells which facilitates one to bathe and enter the shrine quickly without any kind of distractions or disturbances. As examples I would like to quote a few examples- Japada Baavi at Dambal, Musukina Baavi at Lakkundi, the row of shrines at the southwest corner of Agastya Tirta at Badami, to name a few.

View of the well and temple. The structure is symmetric in elevation. The roof has sloping sides and a flat center. This design is close to Chalukya Shivalaya (formerly Lad Khan temple). I think this temple was designed sans Shikhara.

The deep green colored water is an indication of deep water. This well is situated in the middle of an agricultural plot and very convenient for the farmer. A pipe has been lowered into the water which in turn is connected to a pump. It's good that water is put to use. Probably that's one reason, the water is clean, no odor as such. I must mention about the ramp on the northwest corner of the well facilitated drawing water. The ramp was covered in vegetation and out of bounds.

There was no one in sight here, so no hope of getting historical information of this well. I feel this well might've been made at the behest of a rich land owner or an officer in Chalukyan kingdom. It was common that powerful people had temples built as a contribution to the society.

A thorny tree next to the drawing ramp was a weaver birds' colony. Most of the nests look completed, the extreme left nest is half done. And the one next to it was in the finishing stages.

The little bird, a Baya Weaver, is proudly perched on its home. If you look carefully at the nests above, the extreme right one has two bulges while the other have one bulge each. It could be like a single bedroom home and two bedroom home.

Hope to get some information about Shuleshwara Baavi in the near future. Before I close this post I would like to add that we saw a stone wall about 300 meters from here. The wall looked ancient, possible there was a fort here or may be a Desai Vada. We were too tired to go exploring. May be I'll check on that during another visit.

We head back to our lodge, bathe, rest, have lunch, check-out and head back to Dharwad.

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