Sangameshwara Gudi, Yevor

Venkatesh Bappargi, my friend from Wagangera messaged me on Whatsapp about his visit to Yevor Sangameshwara temple. He was on duty along with colleagues at Yevor, they took a break, rested at the temple and went around taking few pictures. Three things done- rest, deities' darshan and some pictures for memory. I'd to research little in Google Maps to get a proper understanding of the temple complex layout.

The temple complex consists a water tank, a mantapa with inscription and four or five temples. Of the temples, one is Trikutachala and remaining are Ekatachala. A temple with single Garbhagudi is called Ekatachala and those having three are Trikutachala. The temples seems to be built over a century or two since there are significant changes in the temple designs. 

Here's the sat-view of the temple complex from Google Maps. I've marked the spots to make identification easy.

A - Kalyani ~ stepped water tank
B - Ekatachala
C - Mantapa sheltering an inscribed slab
D - Trikutachala
E - Ekatachala
F - concrete structure

Floral motifs on the tank walls, the trapezoidal flower, an elegant design, is a common sight in temples of North Karnataka. That's the concrete structure - wondering why they had to build it so close to the tank - senseless builders! 

Zooming out & panning to the right, the other flight of steps comes into view. Sad to see the damage done by God knows who.. trying to imagine this tank in its original condition.. truly ancient builders were masters.. see the perfect straight lines and right angles.. as though they weren't created by hands but by power of mind. On the other side of the tank are two temples- one Ekatachala and one Trikutachala.

We are going around the tank.. water is fresh and the tank is deep. Think this is a well rather than just a tank. Its a practice to offer prayers or initiate rituals while the person is still wet, hence these types of tanks with seating arrangement.

For some reason, local people have covered the temple Shikharas with lime which is harmful to stone.

Different forms of Ganesha, all rituals start by praying to him first. If you take a look at the corner sculptures, they seem to be couples engaged in sexual activity.. kama-kreede. And right next to it is a man in meditation. Wondering what's that supposed to convey.. ancient builders never did anything random.

With this view, we have covered all sides of the well. That's a Ekatachala temple without Shikhara. This is a open temple without walls except its Garbhagudi. Such temples were usually used for meetings. On Google Maps this temple complex is marked as Basaveshwara temple. Unfortunately Venkatesh did not have individual names, said its called Sangameshwara Devastana. He'll inquire whenever he visits Yevor again.

The four pillared mantapa with its inscription. The slab is inscribed on both faces, script and language is Kannada. The Basava seems like part of the original design.

Right next to the Mantapa is the Trikutachala. Its walls are made of pillars, similar to the Thousand Pillared temple of Warangal. The Shikharas are stepped.

Another view of the walls and a Shikhara. In the foreground, is a broken idol of a standing elephant.

The Trikutachala temple entrance. Metal grills to keep out vandals, painted sculptures, cables hanging about.. aagh!

A fluted pillar on the right as you enter the temple. This design is very unique. Notice its base, as if a bunch of smaller pillars are held together by a slip band. Also the shorter pillars design is something new to me.

Going by the size of this hall and the vestibule, this seems to be part of the Trikutachala. These turned pillars would be mirror finished originally. The whitish coating on the pillars are remains of lime.. people's senseless deeds! The pillar design reminds me on Banashankari Devastana of Amargol.

The sculpted concave dome. This is a basic version compared to the much more complex versions seen at other Chalukyan, Rastrakutan and Hoysala temples.

A blooming flower on a beam. Simple yet beautiful.

A Garbhagudi. An elongated Shivalinga on a pedestal.

The other Gabhagudi has three Lingas on a single pedestal. This deity reminds me of Tryambakeshwara Gudi of Kavital in Raichur district. The middle Linga is completely covered in Bilva Patri leaves.. Shiva's favorite.

This must be the interior of the temple marked as E. The circular wedge between the pillar and beam-holder seems like an independent object. Basically the entire structure is an assembled structure with no binding material. I feel its designed to be earthquake proof. So are many of our temples. Call them hi-tech piles of dressed stone blocks.

Ganesha.. sadly damaged. The garlanded slab on the left carries an inscription. The pillar in the foreground also carries an inscription. Every time I see ancient sculptures my wish to travel back in time becomes stronger.. a hopeless wish :-(

Deity of this temple- a Shivalinga. That's a piece of cloth covering the area around the Linga. Nice creation by some Bhaktini.

This is the temple marked B. The walls are tightly packed columns.

The little temple's deity, a Shivalinga and its Basava. Normally Basava's face Shivalinga but here its opposite.

Not sure where these miniature temple Shikhara were found. Lovely creations.

Thanks to Venkatesh for letting me know about this lovely monument. Hoping to visit Yevor once, would be great to see in person.

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Navalingeshwara Devasthana, Kukanoor

August 15, 2018
After a two day-three night stay at Anegundi, we headed towards Dharwad. We left Anegundi early with a plan to visit Kukanoor and Itagi on the way. After Koppal, at Banapur, we took the right fork which goes to Yelburga via Kukanoor. The road was in good condition and barely any traffic, soon we were parking near Mahamaya Devasthana gateway. Navalingeshwara Devasthana, the temple of nine Jyotirlinga -is right besides Mahamaya temple. The entire temple complex was built during Chalukyan rule from VIII to XIII centuries CE.

The temple has at least eleven Garbhagudi if not more, nine Garbhagudi are dedicated to nine Jyotirlinga and one each to Kalleshwara and Mallikarjuna. Standing at the temple entrance, we are looking at two of the Shikharas. The temple architecture is Chalukyan, the stepped Shikhara which can be seen at Pattadakal.

The temple is poorly maintained, to be precise vandalized. Some ignorant people have smeared white paint.. who knows what fun they got by that act. On the other hand, well wishers have coated the temple interior with lime which actually damages the stone. Hope someone takes the initiative to wash it off.
Before we tour the temple, lets take a look at the list of Jyothirlinga-

1. Rameshwara at Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu
2. Mallikarjuna at Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
3. Bhimashankar at Pune, Maharashtra
4. Tryambakeshwar at Nashik, Maharashtra
5. Aundha Nagnath at Hingoli, Maharashtra
6. Ghrishneshwar at Verul, Maharashtra
7. Somnath in Gujarat
8. Mahakaleswar at Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
9. Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh
10. Baidyanath in Jharkhand
11. Kashi Vishwanath at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Of the twelve, nine Jyotirlinga can be seen at this temple complex. Lets start the tour of the temple. We started with Shri Ghushmeshwar, believed as the last or the twelfth Jyotirlinga. The original deity is near Ellora in Maharashtra. It is also called as Grishneshwar.

This is Rameshwar Jyotirlinga at Rameshwaram is the southern most of the twelve Jyotirlinga.

Next is Bhimashankar of Pune. These three Jyotirlinga are positioned around the central Linga whose name I cannot recall.

A damaged Nandi inside a Mantapa. The beautiful pillars have become an eyesore with the lime coating. Behind the Nandi is a doorway which connects to another part of the temple.

Here we have Tryambakeshwar of Nashik. Looks like a sculpted screen stood here originally. I'm guessing based on the elaborately sculpted arch seen here.

The Garbhagudi of Kashi Vishwanatha Jyotirlinga is shrouded in darkness. As seen daily rituals does not happen here, else the Garbhagudi would have been lit up by an oil lamp.

The next two Garbhagudi are also dark and no names painted, I do not know which Jyotirlinga these are.

This is Kedarnatha Jyotirlinga. It seems pooja is performed on weekly basis.

So we have seen eight Jyotirlinga shrines. Not sure if I missed the ninth shrine. Probably the Shivalinga seen in the first few pictures could be a Jyotirlinga.

Here we have a Nandi mounted on a pedestal. This design is commonly seen in Chalukyan temples. Behind Nandi is an inscription.

This inscription is in Kannada, seems like temple records from Chalukyan times.

There are two more inscriptions.

Close to the inscriptions are two more shrines dedicated to Mahakala and Markandeshwara.

A well preserved Nandi decorated with a chain of bells.

This is the present day entrance of the temple. The structure had been restored recently. On the right side is the outer wall built of sandstone. Most Chalukyan temples of VIII cntury are built of this stone.

Damaged sculptures.. Ganesha seems to have bent to right to escape the blow which damaged the arch around him. Slightly lower, on the right is a rectangle with diagonal lines within. I can't remember seeing such mural anywhere else.

Aagh.. pretty sure this is handiwork of some young people. Wondering what instigated them. Well, I'm trying to ignore the damage and admire the beautiful little window. Chalukyan temple builders loved to experiment window designs. One should visit Aihole and Pattadakal to see the experimental models.

Thanks to Chalukyan kings for creating this Jyotirlings center but present day people have neglected it. Wishing government takes interest in restoring and protecting such historic monuments.
From here we move on to Itagi to see the marvelous Mahadeva Devastana.

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Chaya Someshwara Devalaya, Panagal

A short video received on Whatsapp was an introduction to this temple some time 2016. The video talks about the mysterious shadow through out the day behind the Shivalinga inside a Garbhagudi. Then it talks about how the mysterious shadow was unraveled by Mr. Manohar a lecturer of physics at Sri Venkateshwara Degree College, Suryapet. He relates the cause of this shadow to CV Raman Effect. After spending considerable time analyzing the phenomena and created a thermocol model of the temple to support his theory. The architect who designed this temple positioned the columns in such a way that sunlight entering the temple casts a shadow inside the Garbhagudi having the Shivalinga. The temple has a low surrounding wall to allow unhindered inflow of light. Due to the shadow, the deity is known as Chayla Someswara meaning Shadow Someshwara.

December 24, 2017
We reached Nalgonda around 9-45. Having taken a wrong route, our journey was slow and we were hungry. Found a roadside eatery serving hot idli and dosa, we had breakfast and decided to visit Panagal first. Panagal village is off Nalgonda bypass road, easy to locate. And the temple is a kilometer from the village amidst paddy fields.

We are entering the premises by its eastern entrance. The other entrance is on the opposite wall. While the eastern entrance has a simple mantapa, the western entrance had a two-level mantapa. It was around 10-30 when we entered the temple premises. The place was untidy, one more classic example of neglect. Have learned to pay attention to the subject ..comes by lot of practice.

This is Trikutachala meaning temple with three Garbhagudi i.e. sanctum sanctorum. Usually temples are north or east-facing but this temple is south-facing. The garbhagudi are facing east, west and south. As you see here, three temples have been merged into one.

It is said this temple was built in the XI and XII century CE by Kunduru Cholas. The temple has plain outer walls and stepped Shikhara.

The temple's rear side. Notice the lime coated wall? Our people have a mania for painting / whitewashing ancient structures not realizing they are harming the stones. However, there seems to be an attempt to clear the lime-coating. Thanks to that effort.

Coming back to the front which is lightly decorated with floral motifs. The temple's Mukhamantapa and Sabhamantapa have been merged into one and has Sukhnasi raised platforms for sitting.

The Garbhagudi are connected to the Sabhamantapa through vestibules. Each vestibule has two pairs of beautifully sculpted pillars. The Garbhagudi wall and door frame are also richly decorated. This is the west-facing Garbhagudi ..one with the shadow. Notice how pronounced the shadow is. I'm guessing its position and width remains same through out the day. The shadow is not of any single pillar but a combined shadow of the four central pillars i.e the pillars in the Sabhamantapa.

Chaya Someswara Garbhagudi as seen from the opposite vestibule. I was cribbing again, this time about these ugly metallic grills. What an eyesore. Even the opening behind the Sukhanasi has been grilled! Luckily, in spite of these extra fittings, the shadow doesn't seem to be disturbed.

The Garbhagudi interior, its floor is lower than the Sabhamntapa floor. Unlike most temples which have raised Garbhagudi, here its lowered ..part of the design to aid light & shadow effect? My guess is- the Garbhagudi level is lowered to an extent so that no light falls on it. In fact its quite dark while the walls are lit up. The shadow wall is whitewashed ..probably not the original design.

While shooting the previous picture, I saw an extra shadow. I was standing to a side, assumed it was someone else's shadow. I turned around, found Pushpa directly opposite the vestibule and asked her to move. Though she moved the shadow remained. So It was my own shadow. Amazing isn't it?

Those are the four central pillars which create one single shadow. Probably the pair of vestibule pillars also add to the shadow. The Garbhagudi seen in the background is east facing. Opposite the vestibule is a pedestal sans Nandi ..now its a pedestal to keep Vibhuti.

This is the south-facing Garbhagudi. Notice the lime coating. There was an attempt to remove the lime to free the concealed designs.

The brilliantly designed and sculpted pillars. How on Earth did the sculptors achieve that precision.

Every pillar is a complex object. I can't stop wondering how these were created.. wish I could go back in time and watch the creation.

The octagonal section of the pillar depicts stories from Hindu legends.

Warriors on elephants and horses around a pillar.

Lord Ganapati in a niche. Looks like Ganapati during Holi.

A close look at a Shikhara ..the stepped slope and the grand crown. This Shikhara reminds me of a temple on Hemakua hill at Hampi.

As seen from northwest side. The two inner corners of the Sabhamantapa are also kept open to allow light.

Here's a picture of the temple at Hampi which is might belong to the group of Jain temples. They are similar in size and design but unique. The main difference I'm focusing is the closed corner in this temple. I did not get a chance to see the interior of this temple, next time I'll make sure of checking out this temple in detail.

A smaller temple, not sure if its incomplete or ruined. also seen is the two storey mantapa gateway.

Wish local people take responsibility of this temple. This is truly an engineering marvel and deserves care. Also, those ugly fabricated metal railings need to be removed. Perhaps they can appoint a full time care-taker here.. two things get done - a job created and a monument preserved.

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