ADHVAGATI

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 D...

  Dharmapuri was always on peripheral vision , as one of the names that popped up on highway signboards during occasional journeys to Grandmother's natal village in Musiri District. Never a pit stop . But the name was  invariably commented upon : Dharmapuri : a City upholding Dharma......why, how, by whom ? Never found out !  Dharmapuri entered The Bucket List of Must See Destinations only when interest in Nolamba Architecture fizzed up a few years ago among like-minded friends. Dharmapuri had one treasure hailed as a cornucopia of refined Southerrn Nolambavadi Sculptural Art : Kamakshamma Temple , built in 9 CE , when Thagadur , ie ancient Dharmapuri, was an important junction on a busy trade route of Nolambavadi -32000 .  Nolamba-Pallava King Mahendra had also developed the settlement of Mahendramangalam, within Thagadur region , which is today  called Adiyamankottai . What is today called Dharmapuri , was Thagadur in Sangham Era - both the District and the ...