a trip with brother, Anjanadri and Onake Kindi

..continued from a trip with brother, Hampi-5.

After a limited one day tour of Hampi we drove across Tungabhadra to Anegundi side. The plan for the morning was to see Anjanadri Betta and then go over to the prehistoric site Onake Kindi. We left the lodge early and as we approached the river we stopped to admire the view of the bridge across Tungabhadra. We had stopped next to a granite quarry barely half kilometer from the bridge entrance.  BTW, it's called Bukka Sagara bridge named after a village close by. The spot was secluded except for light road traffic. I launched my DJI Mini2 and got a few shots of the river and bridge. Due to the river, air is usually laden with moisture and photos turn out hazy.

Here's a view of the left bank which happens to be part of Koppal district. Further down the road  there's a fork, right goes to Gangavathi town, and left goes towards Anegundi, Anjanadri and eventually reaches Hosapete-Vijayapura highway.

We passed by Kadeya Bagilu, Anegundi and Rishimukha Betta. About 800 meters before Anjanadri we stopped at Pampa Sarovara cross. This spot is ideal to photograph Anjanadri in the mornings. During my previous visit Sridhar and I had stopped at the same spot. I launched DJI Mini2 and navigated it towards Anjanadri Betta. This is the bird's eye-view of the hill from the northeasterly direction. Anjanadri Betta is named after Hanuman's mother Anjanadevi. This hill is believed to be the birthplace of Hanuman. Anjanadri Betta was known mostly to local people until our honorable prime minister's mother Heeraben Modi visited it in May 2014. Since then Anjanadri Betta, Pampa Sarovara & Chakra Thirta in Hampi have been a frequently visited destination for tourists from northwestern states of our country.

A closer view of the summit. This is the eastern side. Right besides the edge is the ancient temple. Off late there has been a lot of construction work to create a safe flat space for visitors. That's convenience at the cost of natural beauty. Also, I heard that state government has approved a ropeway system supposed to commence construction in Sept 2025. Personally I consider it as a step towards messing around the sanctity & natural beauty of this holy & beautiful place.

The south-south-westerly view. Here you can see the temple perched close to the cliff. I've visited this place five times. The most memorable visit was the one first time. It was a Saturday, almost evening. It We had climbed bare staircase, seen the sun sink into the hazy horizon. At the temple we had had a peaceful darshan of the deities. I'd seen the head Baba have tea and asked him if we too get tea. Without hesitation the Baba asked one of his juniors to fetch tea from the kitchen. That was one of the best cups of tea ever.

Pushpa and I had come here again in Aug 2017. During that time, it was an uncomfortable climb due to crushed stones littered on the steps.. side walls were being constructed. The next visit was in Dec 2024, this time there was fabricated steel roof for the staircase and a huge vehicle parking lot. So many changes in 12+ years. As if that's not enough, now there's a plan for ropeway system. Aagh!

After a couple flights, I pack up my DHI Mini 2 and head towards Anjanadri. We park Deepak's Brio at the parking place and pick a road side eatery dishing out hot idli and paddu. At home we have a 7 paddu pan. Here I saw a 27 paddu-pan. The sight of the eatery guy pouring out dough and prying out paddu was a captivating sight.

The final destination of our trip Onake Kindi was just 3 km away. Onake Kindi is a natural fort meaning it a natural rock formation with a clearing in the center. For us, the only way to reach the clearing is through a narrow passage which is well concealed. This picture was shot pointing at the entrance but a stranger won't even be able to spot the passage. Back in the 2010s there wasn't any tourism board here. Now we have one, seems like a recent addition.

The gates were locked. I wanted Deepak to see this historic site and didn't mind waiting. We saw a man riding a moped, I waved at him and asked about the caretaker. The man happened to be a friend of the caretaker, they spoke on the phone and we were assured that he would arrive in few minutes.

A handsome peacock was browsing the paddy fields silently. There's a lot of wildlife around here.. leopard, porcupine, bears, otters, board, jackals and hyenas to name a few. This place is a paradise for bird watchers.

While we waited, we sent the DJI Mini2 on another flight and got a few aerial shots. There's the Brio parked in front of the gates, the solar panels and the footpath vanishing into the rocks.

That's the clearing. Like I said it's a naturally protected place. This place, is private property owned by a high profile person of this region. A part of the clearing is a date farm. During my first and only visit back in Sept 2012, the palm were small, maybe 4 to 5 feet high. The trees have grown quite well in the past 12 years.

The tree under which the caretaker spends most of the days.

Just as we completed the flight and packed up Mini 2, the caretaker arrived. I remembered he was one of the two people we had met in 2012. His arrival coincided with the arrival of a group of tourist. This spot has caught the imagination of tourists. Guess it's good for the local economy.. keeps the taxi guys and tourist guides employed.

Within Onake Kindi there are three distinct spots to be seen, two of them have multiple painting clusters and one has one large painting. We start with the main painting which is in the mouth of a low cavern. That's Deepak checking out the figures in the largest cluster.. human, oxen, dogs, and other beasts. There are overlapping scenes of hunting.

Looks pretty chaotic, right?

The star attraction is the huge hooded serpent. The artist wanted to create an illusion of a snake emanating from the depths of the cavern. Seeing these artworks after a decade, I feel the ochre paint has faded slightly. Close by on one of the rocks is a elliptical pit (see inset) which would've been used to grind the medium. I'd read that the medium was a finely ground mixture of minerals, juices of certain leaves, blood and water. We'd discovered more than one such pit within Onake Kindi during the first visit. In fact we were fortunate enough to have picnicked here.

There's another painting here in the cavern which is intriguing. I have no clue what this represents but there are other blogs describing this as some kind of spaceship. Perhaps it is some kind of vehicle for space travel. Taking of prehistoric paintings and outer-space, one must check out the prehistoric paintings at Badami. There are depiction of a astronaut like humanoid and a saucer like flying object.  Then there are a host of creatures which seem very alien to us. Do check out the post.

The other tourist group, the caretaker and us had grouped here. Somehow we picked up a conversation and I happened to show my blog post of 2012 on Onake Kindi. The caretaker recognized himself. Honestly speaking, I'd forgotten his name. He reintroduced himself as Dhawalappa.

The tourist group too moved on. We took our time. Deepak spotted an Indian Silverbill perched on one of the thorny shrubs. If one sits still and concealed, one could get to see many types of avian creatures. 

The other spot and its lone painting is seen in this collage. The painting is high up and on the underside of that jutting rock. It's a good fifteen from the ground. The painting depicts seems to depict a gigantic human with short arms. There's no way one can reach that spot without things like ladders or poles. Wondering how the ancients managed to create the artwork.

Lastly we come to the second cavern. Unlike the earlier one, this is elevated and has a clear view of the entire clearing. Deepak's looking at the hunting scenes. Men astride horses and a wild beast seemingly a tiger can be seen here.

Dhawalappa and I catch up on the last visit. He sees the pictures again. He remembered our visit well including our homemade lunch even before seeing that particular phots. In the photos was Dhawalappa's colleague Narasimhalu. Apparently after a work related misunderstanding with the farm owner Narasimhalu quit the job and relocated to another place. Dhawalappa left us and asked us to look around the place leisurely.

We spent a few more minutes looking around. Deepak liked this place's ambiance. Left alone he might've spent the entire day here. However, we had to return to the lodge, we had overshot the checkout time.

We head back to the road, took Dhawalappa's home address, promised him to send his pictures and bid farewell.

We check out and head straight to Ashok Lodge & Restaurant, Kamalapur. Normally I do not eat much before a journey but today's going to be an exception. I wanted to taste Savaji food. The restaurant owner had had me hooked after saying that they cook fresh fish from the dam. Yes, it was the best fish fry and fish curry I'd had in the past decade. Later I'd mentioned to my friends that besides historical monuments and natural beauty at Hampi, there's another attraction. Yes, fish dishes at Ashok Restaurant.

The return journey was smooth, we reached home around 4-30 pm or so. I helped Deepak clean and wash his Brio, a small preparation for his return journey to Bengaluru. I wished he stayed another day or two more but he had some work to catch up. This would remain one of the best journeys

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Chintamani temple complex, part-2

...continued from Chintamani temple complex, part-1.

The first half of Chintamani temple complex comprises of Kashi Paduke shrine, Rudrakshi Matha and  Lakshmi Narasimha Devastana among other minor shrines. Shrines of this complex are all ancient and most of them are active. After the morning rituals these shrines remain closed until the following day unless it's a festive day or when there's a request for a special pooja. Now we are well past the half way point of the complex. Here's an unnamed temple..

The boulders mark the arrival of the natural rock shelter which is connected to Rama.

I guess this mantapa was made for pilgrims' convenience. Just imagine this place a few hundred years ago.. a group camping in this lodge on the river bank, a makeshift kitchen, washed clothes hanging between pillars, mats spread on the floor, people resting and chatting while kids are scampering around.

Stepping out of the mantapa, we reach the most revered spot of Chintamani. The two blocks seen on the rock are Rama Padha ~ Rama's feet. Some say that this is the spot from where Rama aimed and shot an arrow at Vali the king of Kishkinda.

Next to Rama Padha is an engraved image of a bow & arrow points the direction in which the arrow went. Of these two Padha, the one on the left seems to be ancient while the one on right is relatively new. The new Padha is made of marble and has a lot of details carved into them. Also there's an inscription n Kannada.

The feet has embossed and engraved images depicting humanoids, serpents, sun, stars, geometric figures and other religious symbols. The Kannada inscription's transcription: ವನವಾಸದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಅನೇಕ ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳ ಪಾವನ ಧೂಳಿಯಿಂದೊಡಗೂಡಿದ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮನ ಚರಣಾರವಿಂದದ ಪೂಜೆ ದರ್ಶನಗಳು ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಎಲ್ಲ ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳ ಪುಣ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತವೆಂದು ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಾರಿವೆ.

Right besides Rama's feet is the natural rock shelter. At the entrance of the cave is a memorial stone honoring a couple. They don't seem to be warriors, rather they look like a married couple. Going by the look of the stone, it seems to be of Viajayanagara times.

That's Sridhar posing at the cave's mouth.

During my first visit here i.e. in July 2012, a local guy accompanying us told that Rama did penance here after slaying Vali. However, now people say that this is the place of Sugreeva and Rama's first meeting. That colorful painting wasn't there in 2012. Looks like it was made when Anajanadri Betta became popular and tourists started visiting in large numbers.

Our little guide looks at the painting of the meeting of Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sugreeva and Jambavan. Whoever painted it has created a master piece. I hope the artist maintain the painting since it is bound to fade with time.

That's the cave's mouth. This place is peaceful and quite cool even in hot summers.

The temple and mantapa next to the Rama-Sugreeva cave. It's the same one seen in previous pictures. This place gives a great view of Tungabhadra. I must visit this place during the months of August-September. That's when monsoon fills up the dam at Hospete and water is let out.

Having done with the temple complex, we descend into the river path and look back at the complex. Usually at this time of the year, gates at the dam are shut barring one or two gates to feed irrigational canals. Close by a group of women from Anegundi were washing clothes. We chose a spot to sit and wet our feet. Cool water is so soothing after walking around in blazing sunlight. Also the gurgling sounds of water flowing through rocks was music.

Another ancient mantapa, surely built during Viajayanagara times. It looks nice from here but the inside is untidy, littered with plastic bottles and clothes. Wish our people learn the basics of public etiquette. 

Turning to the right we can see Rudrakshi Matha.

Back at the complex entrance, Sridhar, I and our guide had sugarcane juice. It felt very refreshing and energized, ready to continue the tour of the day. Our next destination was Malyavanta Raghunatha Devastana.

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Chintamani temple complex, part-1

Dec 10, 2024. The day started with an early trek up Anjanadri Betta. Considered as the birthplace of Hanuman, Anjanadri hill is situated 3.5 km from Anegundi entrance. After spending 30 minutes at the hilltop and getting a relaxed darshan of Anjanadevi, we descended and had good breakfast of idli and paddu at a bandi eatery. Then we headed to Pampa Sarovara, the natural spring pond nestled in the slopes of Rishimukha Betta. It is beleived that Rama & Lakshmana had bathed at Pampa Sarovara during their stay at Kishkinda. The place is also connected to Shabari, and also known for Sri Vijayalakshmi Devastana. Then we headed to Anegundi with a sole objective of visiting Chintamani. Anegundi is an ancient fortified town situated on the left bank of Tungabhadra at the point where the river turns northwards. Here we stand at the gateway to the place. Take left to go to enter the river, and take right to enter Chinatamni temple complex.

The temple complex is an elongated premises consisting of temples and mantapas mostly built on the rocky shore. Straight ahead is the small structure named Ishwara Kashi Paduke, Further ahead is the multistoried structure of Rudrakshi Matha.

Also, there's a small structure on the boulder on the right hand side.

A board planted by Karnataka Tourism department describes this complex as follows:
The Chintamani temple complex is located in the southeast corner of Anegundi. According to the local legends, it is believed to have been established by a sage in the late 15th century, during the reign of Tirumalaraya. The tradition of matha (monastery) was ancient. The River Tungabhadra turns from the south to the north at this point, marking it as a sacred spot for many pilgrims. The Rudraksha Mantapa, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple and the Ganesha temple are prominent temples of this complex. There is a pedestal in the middle part of the garbhagriha and a carving of the Shivalinga on the lintel of the entrance. There are three arch carvings on the mantapa constructed with stucco. The mantapa is erected on square-shaped pillars. Nearly a one-foot height sculpture of a devotee with folded hands (Anjali Hasta) is found in front of the matha along the shore of the river. The terrace is lined with fertility stones - these have carvings of Nagashilpa (cobras in relief). There is a cave nearby which might have been a place of penance for the ancient sages. Further from this terrace is the Rama Pada, where footprints, said to be of Rama, are engraved in stone - this marks the spot from where he hid behind a tree and killed Vali. Further ahead is a cave, which is believed to be the first meeting spot of Rama and Anjaneya.

Side view of Rudrakshi Matha.

The arched gateway of Chintamani complex from Ishwara Kashi Paduke temple. All shrines of this complex face east and the river too.

The simple shrine with an open pillared hall on three sides.

The deity of this temple is a pair of feet, Paduke. Going by the name of the shrine these feet are Ishwara's.

Chintamani gateway, Ishwara Kasi Paduke and the little shrine atop the rock. Notice the window in the Paduke shrine's wall which gives a view of the river.

Here's the staircase connecting the river and Rudrakshi Matha. As I know during a good rainy season, the river swells raising the water level right upto the staircase here.

This is Rudrakshi Matha. As you see the structure has three levels- ground, first and second. The staircases on either sides of the building lead straight to the second floor, to the level where the Rudrakshi Mantapa is housed.

A unique temple indeed.

This is the Rudrakshi Mantapa. Long strings of Rudraksha are wound around the pillars and lintel beams. In the Hindu religious tradition Rudraksha symbolizes spiritual alignment, resonates with positive energy, and promote spiritual development. Inside the Mantapa are idols of Shiva Linga, Ganesha and Annapurneshwari. I regret not inquiring about the mantapa, must do it during my next visit.

The open space and pillared hall offers ample space for at least a couple of hundred people.

A splendid sight from Rudrakshi Matha.. Tungabhadra and Tara hill. The pillared hall sitting in the river is believed to be built in memory of the most popular king of Vijayanagara, Krishnadevaraya. It has 64 pillars set in a 8x8 matrix. It is said that Krishnadevaraya had mastered sixty four subjects required to be become an effective ruler.

Panning to the left.. Ishwara Kasi Paduke shrine comes into view.

This little structure is the highest point of Chintamani complex. Through it's narrow doorway one can see there's a platform. It seems to be a temple.

Moving on, we go deeper into the complex. This must be Sri Lakshminarasimha Devastana.

An ancient Brindavana. I guess all these temples are active, probably rituals are performed every morning, and surely there would be special rituals on festive days.

The path continues.. more temples to be seen. However names and histories of many of these temples are unknown. Perhaps, during my next visit I must make inquiries in Anegundi village.

Chintamani must be a bustling place during Vijayanagara times. This place with flowing water is an ideal place to perform rituals and ceremonies for deceased relatives. Of course, rituals for happy occasions would also be performed.

Here's a collection of Nagashilpa i.e. fertility stones. Maybe these are donations of people who wished for progeny or continuation of their lineage in the future.

There's more to see here. This article will continue in Chintamani temple complex, part-2.

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