ADHVAGATI

Pic 1. Aihole Durga( Fort) Temple Parashurama washed his bloodied axe in the river after his genocidal agenda of revenge and the waters ran a fiery red. If the Malaprabha is still running red, it is because of the silt and slush washed into it by the recent floods. We did not have time to stop by it and cry out " Ai ! Holey !" ( oh the river !) as a mythical lady is fabled to have done, spooked by the sight of all that blood. But there were ample occasion that day for us to go "ooh ! " and "aah" repeatedly as we visited temple upon temple upon temple.....till we were so "templed" out that even the rolled up Dosa on the dinner table started looking like a fallen dwaja-sthamba ! pic 2 :Dravida Vimana Though the riverbed has fostered settlements from paleolithic times and been a possession of ancient dynasties like Mau...

Scattered across Karnataka are hundreds of temples - big / small , popular /obscure -  all mostly situated in what in modern times have become "Small Towns" , whatever their status was when the temples were built.  The Hoysalas were obsessive temple builders . Having discovered the merits of Schist that can be worked on with ease , they seem to have found it difficult to stop themselves from chiseling away to glory !  It is interesting to note that in many sites , they built two important temples, one dedicated to their favourite Keshava and the other to Shiva.  In any given town, both temples surviving in good condition up to modern times  is only a matter of chance. For instance , in the very famous Somanathapura, the magnificent Chennakesava has survived  and is thriving gloriously in the tourist circuit ; while the Panchalingeswara , not very far from it , suffered like a poor relative, collecting dust and vegetation , till recently.  (Only now , t...

  The most recognisable landmark of Tirucchirapally is the massive rock outcrop , rising to a height of 83 meters from the flat land all around. Bald and smooth , this rock formation is believed to be among the oldest in the continent , older perhaps than the Himalayas , and rich in quartz and feldspar .  The Rock is generally referred to  as "Malai Kottai" , in conjunction with the Fort ( Kottai) built upon it by the Madurai Nayaka , Vishwanatha of 16th Century . But it was not as though the Nayakas  were the first to find a use for  The Rock . Before them, the Pallavas,  with their fondness for rock cutting technology,   had tried their hand at making  rock-cut shrines here.  However , the Ganapathi temple at the summit was left unfinished by them , to be developed by the Nayakas later into the very famous Ucchi Pillaiyar Temple .  The Pallava Cave But the Pallavas did finish one cave shrine  on the southern face of The Rock,...

Bengaluru to Kolar : 71 Kms.   Gold Fields brought the place much fame . But even without the gold, some medieval  kings thought much of the region, Kuvalala or Kolahalapura , with its rocky hills and fertile lands . The Western Gangas made it their earliest Capital . When Kings from down South pushed northwards with   land-grabbing intentions, they targeted Kolar first   No surprise that temples sprang up around the region, commissioned by one or the other of the title holders. Temple building must have been a status symbol thing then. Now we have a good variety fare to savour , thank you.   A Kolahala Temple run – covering as much as decently possible in one day . No rushing.   1. KOLARAMMA TEMPLE .   She started out as one  of the  7 Guardian Mothers - Protectors of the village .    The Western Gangas set up CHAMUNDA in a special shrine, in Kolar Town , surrounded by the other Mothers. H...