Kalleshvara Devastana, Bagali - part 3

..Kalleshvara Gudi, Bagali - part 2

The previous part ended after a look at the ancient open well. The well is approximately 20' feet, water looked clear and there wasn't any odor. Having done with the main temple's interior as well, I wanted to check out the smaller temples now. There are eight or nine temples, few are open Mantapas actually but have shrines. This sixteen pillared Mantapa looks quite primitive, most of its columns are rough cut slabs. The roof has been repaired, good enough to prevent water seepage. On its sides are- a four-pillared mantapa and a cuboid shaped structure which is a temple without a Shikhara.

The temple without a Shikhara. In fact, in this complex of nine temple, only the main temple and Veerabhadra temples have Shikhara, the rest are flat topped.

The mantapa with a door jamb. Probably this is an incomplete temple. In the foreground is a large circle which seems to be the dance floor. Its possible the plan was to build a bigger temple. Had it been built, this floor and the matapa would've part of that temple. Or its also possible this was an open air dance stage. In the background are two smaller temples of equal size, both having mortar dome of mortar. The coconut tree canopy is a perfect backdrop.

I turn my attention to the exterior of the main temple. This is the holy gutter coming out of the east-facing Garbhagudi. Originally there was a pit or a stone tub for the Theerta (holy water) to collect. Even the gutters were decorative in many temples. Here we have a Kirtimukha and its end.

I moved from the side to the rear. Small sculptures on the upper part of the rear wall grabbed my attention. These sculptures were made on small areas seen below. Each of the sculpture carried an inscription which I assume are names of the sculptors. The first one is the triangular image with a female character which could be Parvati. There are two people sitting on her sides. On the top is a Kartikeya, son of Shiva & Parvati, astride a peacock.

The second one is also a triangular image with a circular nice in which a cross-legged sage is ascetic is seated. The man's facial features are not done yet. It was left incomplete intentionally. On the top-left are two small panels featuring a Shivalinga & Nandi, and a man apparently worshiping the Linga.

The neighboring canopy features a triangle with a Kirtimukha. The niche has a man engrossed in worshiping a Linga. The expression on the man's face indicates he is in bliss. Above the canopy, on the wall is woman striking a relaxed pose. This image is incomplete.

Next is a well built elephant. The image is not really proportional, its more like a cartoon. On the top is a roaring lion, a type of lion which is seen in Hoysala logo.

Of all the images on the eastern wall, I shot few of them. I moved on to the southern wall where there's a entrance to the temple. Here the topic is different. One can see erotic images.. men, women and animals engaged in sexual acts.On the left is a couple in a tight hug and a naked midget woman. On the right is a procession of a small group- a tall man and four short men. The tall man's enormous phallus is ejaculating. This is a very unusual image, never seen anything like this earlier. On the top-right is a couple about to get intimate ;)

Here we have at the top a man and woman engaged in sexual intercourse. The woman is holding on to a tree while the partner has entered her from her rear. One thing's puzzling though- the man seems to have two phalli! I was always think about the objective of sensuous images on our temples. Is is to break people's inhibitions or to ward off evil eyes on the temple?

A couple astride a tusker. The notch in the floor between the elephants legs is a nice touch. Is it made to drain rainwater? The ideas of ancient sculptors are simple but well thought of. Now if you look t the two circular niches, the man seems to be running away from the elephant. Lets go back to the previous picture for a moment. The two niches have a man and elephant. The man seems to be shouting at the elephant. Did his act irritate the elephant?

This is another unusual image- a man with an enormous phallus doing self-fellatio. Our temples never cease to surprise us. There's something new at every ancient temple. This image might be target for criticism or ridicule however before jumping to any conclusion one has to research further to know what lies behind it. Check out Don Shewey's article called Lingam. The article explains the significance of fellatio in Hindu and Christian legends.

This is a collage of two photos. The top photo has two sculptures which are related. On the left is a man beating a drum accompanies by a woman who appears to be singing. A couple is dancing to the music. It seems to be a kind of sensual dance. In the lower photo are two separate images- 1. a monkey couple engaged in sexual act and 2. woman and monkey trying some acrobatic sexual act. Try to imagine this for real :) Sexual act between animal and humans is called zoophilia.

This image shows a man and woman. The man is doing Namaskara while the woman is holding his phallus. The Sanskrit word for phallus is Lingam. Quoting a paragraph from Don Shewey's article: The term Lingam, in Sanskrit, means ‘sign’. Shiva, as the Absolute - that which is unmanifest, can only be perceived by the means of his creation - the source of life from which the world is issued. This is the principle upon which the veneration of the phallus is based in Shaivite mysticism. On the lower side is an image of a couple in a intimate position, passionately involved with each other.

Here are two more collages, mostly acts of sex including a zoophilia. The first image is a horse on top of a man (it looks a bearded man). Then a couple engaged in oral sex, the position popularly called 69. The next two are more natural and relaxing positions.

Here we have a couple, sitting on their legs, the woman is performing fellatio. Next image is of a man performing fellatio on a well-built woman. Then we have two imaginary creatures- elephants with lions body, squatting on their haunches. There's something going on between them, they are not just sitting there. Finally, the sculpture which is the wildest imagination of a sculptor. A man with enormous (this is bigger than the enormous said earlier) phallus and testicles. The phallus is longer than the man's height. It's so long that it goes over his head and touches his buttocks. What is he upto? Trying to **** himself? This is an unbelievable sculpture!!

The erotic images of Kalleshwara Swami Devastana beats the images Tripurantakesvara Devastana of Balligavi.


this article will continue in the following post.. Kalleshvara Gudi, Bagali - part 4
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Kalleshvara Swami Devastana, Bagali - part 2

..continued from Kalleshvara Swami Devastana, Bagali - part 1.

In the western end of the fifty-four pillar hall is this pedestal mounted idol of Basava ~ Nandi facing Shiva Linga the main deity. The idol is realistic in terms of features and proportion. This resembles the Kilari oxen which are popular among farmers. Kilari oxen are usually white colored, tall and slimmer compared to other varieties. Nandi has its customary chain of bell and other jewelry.

The line of sight between Shiva Linga and Nandi passes through the four-pillared Mantapa. The pillars are identical at the first glance but they are unique in terms of  details. The middle portion of the pillar is turned and mirror polished. At some point of time, when this temple wasn't under ASI care, insensitive people have etched their initials on them. Wondering why people go the extent of damaging something that's so beautiful. This temple has many such wounds.

Four types of pillars seen in this picture. On the left hand side, the second and third pillars are the only two of that type. The base and lower part of the pillar have no sharp edges, all edges are well rounded.

Here's a closer view of the pillar with rounded base. I don't remember seeing this type of pillar in any of the other Chalukyan temples.

Here's a collage of pillars- star, square with notches and.. I'm at loss of words to describe them. There are so many varieties that one can do a thesis on pillar designs.

This pillar seems like a gear of some heavy machinery. The troughs and crests are uniformly made. If this is measured using a laser guided tool, the accuracy could be within a millimeter. Besides accuracy, the design has some delicate edges.. the sculptors have worked without any damages. The kind of concentration power they possessed is unimaginable.

The four pillars of the Mantapa are special because of this artwork on four faces of their square section. As you see, the Thorana and the idol within are held by slender connectors. The sculptor has chiseled out the material behind the Thorana. This is extremely delicate work. One wrong tap would've wasted the entire pillar. We have sixteen such sculptures here featuring Shilabalki and legendary characters like Mahishamadini and Ugra Narasimha.

It pains to see this damaged sculpture. The Thorana has been broken and God knows where it is now. It appears that every Thorana is flanked by a pair of pillars in the front view. However when viewed for a side, the corner pillar is common to the adjacent Thorana.

Another view of the Mantapa's pillar featuring two female characters. The temple priest Ajay Adigi strikes a nice pose.

 

The Mantapa's ceiling. Square on the outside and circular inside. The outer circle has eight Kirtimukhas. The next inner circle has four cubical projections spaced at 90°. The cuboids looks like jaws of a four-jaw chuck used in lathes. The inner circles within actually forms a dome. Each of the niche has miniature sculptures. Each of the inside facing square face has a sculpture. This is one of the most complex pieces of sculptures ever seen. The sculptor must be a master of masters of masters to have made this. Wish I has taken pictures from four sides. Often on trips I miss out seeing details due to time constraint. Back home close study of the pictures reveals missed out details.

Lastly I come to the Antarala of the east-facing Garbhagudi. The door frame is another brilliant piece of work. The frame features three pairs of Dwarapalas placed in niches.

The frame has seven layers and Gajalakshmi. Trying to imagine if a single person carved this frame or if was it a team of sculptors. Even to count the number of individual characters will need several hours. What kind of knowledge did the designers/sculptors possessed to produce such artworks. They almost could make stones come alive.

Above the frame is a series of small sculptures depicting the characters from the Devaloka including sages and rishis. The presence of Hoysala logo here shows this is a addition to the existing door frame.

The portion up to Gajalakshmi is Chalukyan and above it is Hoysala work. The sculptors must've replaced an existing piece to fit the Hoysala work. Structures of that time even allowed modification! Present day constructions don't allow such flexibility. Any modification will involve demolition and reconstruction. To cover the scare make-up is applied as if nothing was done.

This is the south-east corner of the main temple. The external walls (backrest of Sukanasi) are well finished. The edges are still sharp even after a millennium. On the right hand side is a smaller temple, I think its dedicated to Suryadeva.

Suryadevi Gudi is a simple box like structure but well built as per the norms of temple construction. Behind the Surya temple is a monolithic pillar. Not sure what its called.. Vijayastamba or Deepstambha. Also behind this temple is an ancient open well.

The stone lined walls of the well. One can walk along the well rim. A flight of steps descends halfway into the well. The projecting slabs were fixed to facilitate drawing water out of the well.

The well diggers had to dig through rocks to reach water source. In the present day its not really common to see wells with water. The well was free from any odor. Thanks to the people who have taken good care of this well, temple and all the plants.

This article will be continue in Kalleshvara Swami Devastana, Bagali - part 3, where we'll see the exterior of the main temple and the smaller temples in this complex.
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