In The Era of Fierce Loyalty and High Honour

 

AGRAHARA BACCHALLI : is an obscure little town in KR-Pete Taluk , Mandya District with a very small  Hoysala Temple of 12th Century  dedicated to  Shiva named Hunaseshwara . The gramadevata ( Village Guardian ) is Bacchalamma Devi , for whom  the hamlet is named. As it was an Agrahara during Hoysala times , created by grant of the King, it would have been a prosperous place once.

 Today, though not impoverished , it looks humble but  quite self satisfied with its fields, large tank and groves. Its two streets are clean ; people friendly and welcoming. 

The temple is not difficult to find in that tiny settlement . Recently renovated, it looks tidy and cheerful with shiny new icons in the subsidiary alters. The front pavilion with the signature  Hoysala pillars , ceiling medallion , Garbhagriha and the  tower are original structures. A short circumambulation will cover the entire edifice. 

The USP or STARS of the place are the unique GARUDA LENKA PILLARS and the long line up of VEERAGALLUS in the courtyard.

The Pillars :

Each of the three  smooth , cylindrical, stone pillars is 15ft high , capped by a tableau showing a few people on an elephant . Another person is  sitting on the head of the elephant facing the group.  He holds the hand of the first rider , with the other hand held aloft, somewhat like taking an oath. There are inscriptions at the base. The pillars belong to the reign of the Hoysala kings, Ballala I and Narasimha III . 

The people up there are Garuda Lenkas , a class of Elite Body Guards , sworn to Fierce and Eternal Loyalty to their King . 

Bound by  an Oath , the Garuda Lenkas  gave up their lives voluntarily,  to  follow their  King to the netherworld, in the event of his death ; or when they were unable to  prevent a grave injury to the King's person or status , or had to face defeat in a battle . 

Giving up one's life for a master is not a new  concept arising in the Hoysala Era.  The idea of Unflinching Loyalty  existed before too.   The Western Gangas had Bodyguards called Velavalis ( Always Shadowing Their Lord) and Jolavalis  (Those Indebted to Their Lord for Food - anna rna ) who were also  loyal to the point of death . Just as  fierce devotion to a Deity could incite the desire to sacrifice one's life in a still earlier era - this being particularly strong in the case of the Warrior Goddess Kottravai . Many nadukals ( memorial stones) in Tamilnadu depict arikandam and navakandam , ritualistic self beheading / cutting body parts , as part of  her worship. Dying for a Cause /"Death Before Dishonour" was a code followed in some European and Far Eastern societies too. And we can never be too sure if the servants who were entombed with the dead Pharaohs of Egypt were not also exhibiting such steadfast Loyalty after all , whatever the popular legends may claim. ! 

If  in the heyday of Gangavadi , the Velavalis were just dutiful servitors who sometimes died with the king , in Hoysala land, the tradition was honed almost to a  Fine Art ! They were honourably called Garudas Lenka , not the common Velavali . 

The word Lenka ( and fem. - Lenkati) means Personal Attendant or Guard. Garuda denotes the vahana bird of Vishnu , celebrated for speed and battling prowess . In  the Kurukshetra War , Drona is said to have devised The Garuda Formation for the Army , deemed to be invincible. (In our times , the  Counter Terrorism Squads of Karnataka Police Dept  are called "Garudas". )

During Hoysala reign ,  the Chiefs who took The Oath  wore a special anklet (kadaga) symbolising it, as a badge of honour and pride. They held important positions , were feted , honoured with grants and riches and memorialised in grand fashion. 

The grandest  Garuda Lenka memorials to survive intact are these three in this tiny hamlet . A large one, also inscribed,  stands in Halebeedu , but without a capital.  Yet another pillar , badly mutilated,  stands in Basaralu . 

The inscriptions in Agrahāra Bacchalli show that generations of vassals belonging to the Mugilu family, who were feudal lords of Kabbalu Nad , of Mahāsāmanta rank, followed their King in death obeying the high Code of Honour and Loyalty they were sworn into. The other family was from a Mercantile (setti) clan .

Certain unique expressions are used to denote the self sacrifice. For example : " Embracing The Garuda" ( garudanappi in old kannada ) is said to mean running into a naked double edged sword.

In one instance, ( according to the EC records) a loyal nobleman "embraced the Garuda atop an elephant" just to impress the King of his unflinching bravery ! Duly followed by wife ! His son was subsequently granted a title and some land.

The Hoysala Lenkas had their own retainers who were in their turn bound by honour to their master , thus creating a cascading hierarchy of loyalists , occasioning mass suicides in some instances !

Suicide may not be an apt word , because the act was hailed as having gained for them the ultimate glory of becoming "Beloveds of The Heaven- Dwelling Maidens in The Assembly Of Gods"

These high ranking Garudas were chosen and groomed personally by the Kings , it would seem from the language of the Inscriptions . The status would be similar to "Manemaga" (House Son) of Gangas . The bond of loyalty was also compared to that between a couple wedded in Holy Matrimony , wherein it was considered "ignoble for a wife to continue enjoying life after the Man who had fed,clothed and sheltered her was dead." ( from a medieval inscription).

Such extreme notions of fidelity and indebtedness are difficult for a modern mind to process , making the relics of Agrahara Bacchalli all the more mysterious , wonderous and evocative of the dramatic Past .

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It was around 4pm when we arrived there, the evening milking time . And some householders were doing just that outside their verandahs . They cheerfully called out for us to come in for  Kaapi made of fresh milk ! 

A lady who was watering her small patch of  lovely flowers , beamed when we complimented her for them and promptly invited us in for Kaapi . How many of us in cities would dare to invite utter strangers into our homes ?

Finally , a teenaged boy , from the "arrested development "spectrum, who was sent to guide us to the Bhairava temple we couldn't find , took great pains to show us a crevice through which we could peep into the locked shrine , insisted we take a flower from the balipeetam outside as prasad and  requested us to please come home with him to have Kaapi .

So much love was lavished on visitors who had " come all the way from Bengalooru to see OUR temple !" Some were literally broadcasting the News to each other across the road ! 

Since we were running short of time , we had to forgo the pleasure of having Kaapi with any of them but returned fully satiated by meeting past glory  and present humanity.