KoraVangala Buccheswara - Stories of Happy-ness

Once upon a time - in 1173 CE to be exact - a certain Bucchiraja's wife Bachala Devi gave  birth to a son . Cause for  HAPPYness and celebration , of course. 

 For some reason, some people go slightly over the top in showing their HAPPYness and  gratitude to God . Distribution of sweets or feeding the public or presenting a gold crown to the God would not have done in this case , for he was Bucchiraja , Lord of Accounts and Public Benefactor , of Brahmana lineage , serving under Hoysala King Narasimha I . And the birth of his son coincided with the coronation of the next king , Veera Ballala II . So, not content with merely naming the infant Narasimha , Bucchraja " HAPPY in everything "  (exact words in the Inscription) , acquired lands and gardens for Iswara at Koravangala , 'presenting at the feet of Ballala Deva 200Gadyanas and land to pay for daily services, offerings , burning of perpetual lamp and purification ceremonies of the God, giving them to Devashakthi Pandita* of Dorasamudra'. The said God was Buccheswara , the Siva named after himself, consecrated in a little jewel of  a temple he caused to be built . Phew ! It makes the heart light and HAPPY to see a man making such a mega bash of a Celebration for son and king. 

The above details are recorded in stone for all prosteriety  to read and hail in Buccheswara Temple  in the hamlet of Koravangala ,'a part of Vadda Shanthigrama Agrahara in Sigenad' on Sunday , the 10th day of Sravana suddha masa of year Vijaya ....that corresponds to 21 July 1173 of common calender , which happened to be the pattabhisheka festival day of the new king. 

Ballala Deva II became one of the most celebrated kings of the  Hoysala dynasty , achieving many great victories. But history is silent on the fortunes of the infant Narasimha who shared in the  glitz and glam of the above party . We also do not know anything more of the life of  Bucchiraja, after that HAPPY day. But we can be sure the temple he commissioned, which turned out to be a thing of beauty,  gave him joy & HAPPYness  forever . It certainly has been giving joy and HAPPYness  to visitors to this day . 

Its is a compact shrine , very well preserved ,  with two sancta facing each other , to Siva and Surya , but with single vimana . The outer walls are encrusted with miniature towers of all styles in the upper band and images of deities on the lower band . The most eye catching designs are the vertical story bands , a device to make maximum use of available space. The sculpting is of a very fine quality .

Within the compound is a much simpler subsidiary shrine to  Bhairava . And a large Veeragallu , raised by the entire village , memorialising the martyrdom of  two brothers who lost their lives defending the settlement  in 1180 CE( gadikalaga veeragal) . Close to the temple is a large brimming tank. Temple and Tank together make a very pretty picture. 

Just across the road , on a slightly lower ground stand two more temples - but totally gone to seed. The front mantapas have collapsed and goats do rock-climbing on fallen walls to get to the grass sprouting on the ex-roof . 

Epigraphical records reveal that these were once Govindeswara and Nakeshwara Temples , built in 1175 by Govindaraja and Nagaraja respectively,who were also in the Service of the same king . Also,  brothers of the above Bucchi !  

They were four  : Bucchiraja, Govindaraja, Nagaraja and Kalamayya . Who , we hear from another inscription , did many  meritorious things bringing much HAPPYness and pride to their mother , Maakanavve . And what does the HAPPY lady do ? She gets that huge tank excavated "in order to  maintain the works of merit established by her sons" . The tank was named Makasamudra. ( now its just Kere). Tank building was considered a great punya ie philanthropic gesture , for it benefitted the whole society , making the hamlet  HAPPY. 

Temples and monuments too  must have their destinies written for them . Why else would the  Bucchi's lovely temple continue to thrive and shine while those of the brothers collapse into rubble ?.....  Or did their architect cheat them ? - not a HAPPY thought.

( Bucchesvara's shrine is a living temple enjoying regular worship. It is situated about 10kms from Hassan town and is a Protected Monument under care of ASI . )

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* The name Devashakthi Pandita denotes a priest of Kalamukha sect , a branch of Shaivism patronised by Hoysala kings - also many other Southern Royal families around that time . The Kalamukha sect was later subsumed by the Veerashaiva creed .