Temple Traveling: Kapaleeswarar Temple

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, is located in chennai, Tamil nadu. The form of Shiva’s consort Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal is from Tamil, (“Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree”). The temple was built around the 7th century CE in Dravidian architecture.

According to the Puranas, Shakti worshipped Shiva in the form of a peacock, giving the vernacular name Mylai (Mayilāi) to the area that developed around the temple – mayil is Tamil for “peacock”. Shiva is worshiped as Kapaleeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Karpagambal.

The present masonry structure was built during the Vijayanagar rulers of the Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE)

Infobits:

1. Temple opens at 5.00am and closes at 12.00 p.m. and again opens at 4.00pm closes at 9.00pm

2. Direct buses to Mylapore are available from all parts of the city.

3. Local trains are available for every 15mins.

4. It is around 6kms from chennai railway station.

Discovering Telangana: A Fort Less Visited ‘Khilla Ghanpur’

On a bright Sunday morning, when we hit the roads to explore places around Mahabubnagar little did I know that it would mark a beginning to quite a few things in my life…. like my first outing with my new buddies while pursuing post graduation, my first time properly exploring Palamoor and getting lost in its mesmerizing beauty and then writing about it in my very first blog!!

The secluded green valleys of Khilla Ghanpur hold Palamoor’s best kept secrets

A quick weekend getaway to Khilla Ghanpur is best enjoyed when the sky is overcast, which makes the 30-km journey from Mahbubnagar delightful.

So we started our journey after finishing quick rounds at the Hospital we work at, around 12 noon ( yes you guessed it right, we are Docs!) and picking up some snacks and drinks for our journey to The Khilla Ghanpur, located at a distance of around 26km from mahabubnagar. We managed to cover the distance in about 30 mins with loads of enthusiasm and predictions about the place as we didn’t have much idea about it. Ghanpur is a small village and the roads were pretty narrow so we decided to park the car at a safe spot and start our trek to discover the fort. We managed to reach the top in another 40 mins with an amazing drizzly weather to increase the beauty of the hike.

The varied hues of Nature and fresh air rejuvenated our senses.

It was a magnificent view indeed from the top of the rocks with remnants of fort wall, and a lovely pond underneath. We passed through a giant fort door, saw some great Flora and Fauna an absolute treat for a nature lover to finally reach the top. We were a little distracted in between though by a group of wild monkeys far away making gruesome noises. All this was soon forgotten after reaching the hilltop and capturing the scenic beauty of the less trodden fort in the memories forever!!

“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others” -St.John

Seethaphal

 A brief insight into the history of the fort…

The Ghanpur Fort is a hill fort built on a rocky hill by King Gona Ganapa Reddy in early 13th century. He ruled this area as a feudatory to Kakatiya rulers. Gona Ganapa Reddy is son of Gona Budda Reddy who was famous as the poet of Ranganatha Ramayana, a pioneering Telugu Literature. Khilla Ghanpur also known as Ghanpur, Ganapuram, was named after Kakatiya king Ganapathi Deva. Since this Ghanpur has a Khilla (fort). The name “Khilla Ghanpur” became much more popular. There are several towns in Kakatiya kingdom with its name as Ghanpur.

There are several caves on the hilltop and provide good opportunity for exploration.

The fort & monuments demand about 2-3 kms trek from Ghanpur village.

Khilla Ghanpur  was built by joining two mountains by Recharla Padma Nayakulu and Gona Ganapa reddy in 1224 A.D. This fort has witnessed many wars between Bahamanis, Vijayanagara Kings, Bijapur Kings and Qutub Shahi Kings etc. The cannons which still exist have been kept on the top most side of the fort.The fort is spread on rocky and hilly area of 4 Sq kilometers and though its dilapidated  there are several remains of the walls and building blocks inside the fort. The fort has beautiful rockscapes and greenery with 2 ponds which were used as drinking water supply for the fort army.

Take time to do what makes your soul happy..

There are several small temples inside the fort like Veerabhadra Temple, Narasimha Temple and Chowdeswari Temple.

People believe that there are two secret tunnels inside of the fort. One is connected with the village at the bottom of the mountain and the other one is connected to the Panagal fort. After Buddapuram war,this fort has witnessed a historical wedding of  Kakatiya’s last king Pratapa Rudra with Gona Ganna Reddy’s daughter.

Some of the beautiful Landscapes:

So that’s a take on its past but right now it’s a quiet and serene place which was a treat for the wanderlust in me and my buddies.

Perfect getaway from Mahbubnagar..

Yayie!! We did it…

Docs..

After spending a wonderful evening, when the sun was setting, we headed back to our car as the clouds were also getting darker indicating more rainfall. We Had dinner at our local favorite hotel 97 on the way back and reached our place to end the eventful day.

Guest post by Dr. Meghana Subhash

Temple Travelling: Kadiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

Kadiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple is located in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is said that devotees who offer prayers here get relieved of their sorrows, sufferings and sins. 

History:-
The town got its name from Khadri, in Sanskrit, meaning Indian mulberry. It is believed that Lord Shri Khadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy came out of this tree. The main deity in this temple is Ashta Bahu Shri Narasimha who has eight hands clawing open the body of Hiranyakashipu.  This was one of the ten avatars or reincarnations of Lord Vishnu.

The specialty of this temple is that after the daily obeisance known as Abhishekam is performed; the Lord Narasimha is seen to be sweating despite being wiped clean by the temple priests.

Narasimha means ‘Man Lion’ as that was the form taken by Lord Vishnu to kill Hiranyakashipu who could not be killed otherwise. It is merely a mention on how truth can overcome evil despite the difficulties. He is envisioned as a half man with the torso and lower body and the face and hands, that of a lion.

The scriptures say that Lord Vishnu, in one of his incarnations as Lord Narasimha , in his rage descended down on to earth as Ugrarupa to kill Hiranyakashipu, who wanted to avenge the death of his brother Hiranyaksha . Hiranyaksha was killed by one reincarnation of Lord Vishnu as Varaha. He took the people to task and tortured the sages and the common people for praying to Lord Vishnu. The sages appeared before Lord Vishnu to end this terror. In the meanwhile Hiranyakashipu got a boon from Lord Brahma after praying fervently for a favour. The boon was that it would be impossible for any human to kill him. Ultimately, Lord Vishnu had to reincarnate as Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashipu, as he was about to kill his own son for showing allegiance to Lord Vishnu.

It is said that Lord Narasimha emerged from the Khadri tree to act his part in killing Hiranyakashipu at this place. The temple was built by one Ranganayudu, a Palegar of Pathariapattanam.

The Rangamantapam has been ornately carved with scenes from the Ramayana and further down, the Lakshmi mantapa has depictions of the Mahabharatha. There are inscriptions on what the rulers have given to the temple. The carvings and scriptures have started fading due to the vagaries of climate and weather.

Infotips: The temple opens at 6:30am until 12:45pm and then it will be closed at 12:45am and  it starts at 16:30hours in the evening and continues till 20:30hours in the night. The temple remains closed from 12:45 to 4:30pm in the afternoon.

Temples of Pattadakal: ‘Enchanting Beauty and Magnificence’

Pattadakal is located on the left bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalkot district and is 22 km from Badami, 10kms from Aihole and 400kms from Hyderabad. It was once the capital of the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka between the 7th and 8th centuries is the cluster of ten beautifully carved temples which represents the high point of an eclectic art which achieved a harmonious blend of architectural forms from northern(Nagara) and southern(Dravidian) India.UNESCO in 1987 included Pattadakal in its list of World Heritage sites.

Beautiful Sunset at the Pattadakal group of Monuments.

Pattadakal Temple Cpmplex

Kashivisveswara and Galaganatha temples & Sangameshwara temples Pattadakal.

The sculptural art of these temples is marked by classiness of the Chalukyan dynasty. Pattadakal emerges as a heavenly site with its superb architectural marvels in a picture-perfect lane.

Mithuna(Dampati) or gracious couple sculpture on Mallikarjuna temple

Beautifully carved Elephant Sculptures..

Mithuna(Dampati) or gracious couple sculpture on Virupaksha temple

An impressive series of nine Hindu temples, as well as a Jain sanctuary, can be seen there. One masterpiece from the group stands out – the Temple of Virupaksha.

Sangameshwara temple, Papanatha temple and Virupaksha temple Complex, Pattadakal.

Chalukyan rulers are great patrons because of them, their artisans did experiments and innovated a new dimension in temple architecture. . It is in their period that transition from rock-cut medium to structural temples took place.

Artist at work, Pattadakal, Karnataka.

Out of all, four temples are built in Dravidian style, four in Nagara style and Papanatha Temple illustrates a perfect blend of both styles of architecture.The important ones are discussed below in detail.

Virupaksha Temple

Virupaksha temple is the largest and grandest of all temples in Pattadakal built in 8th Century, built by Queen Lokamahadevi (Trilokya mahadevi)in 745 to commemorate her husband’s victory (Vikramaditya II) over the Pallavas of Kanchi. This temple has a sanctum, an inner passage, pillared navaranga and triple entrances from the north, east and the south porches. It has a massive gateway in front from the east and a small gate behind. There are inscriptions and imposing stone carved figures inside the stone mantapa. It has a beautiful Nandi Mandapam with a large Nandi statue gazing in the direction of the Lord. The Kailasanatha temple at Ellora was built based on the model of Virupaksha temple.

Papanatha and Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

Intricate carvings on the walls of the temple.

Intricate carvings on the walls of the temple.

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Mallikarjuna Temple

Mallikarjuna Temple is a smaller version of the Virupaksha temple and was built by Vikramadiyta’s second queen Trilokyamahadevi in 745. This temple is also was constructed by Rani Trilokyamahadevi to celebrate the victory (by Vikramaditya II) over the Pallavas. The Mallikarjuna temple was built immediately after and close to the Virupaksha temple (It has a similar plan), with a 4 storeyed vimana with a circular griva and shikhara. Mallikarjuna temple in Dravidian style. It is in close proximity with the Sanghameshvara temple in design, construction and sculpture, but smaller in size. The porch has a beautiful image of Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu and two female idols. Here are two grand images on both the sides of the entrance to the navaranga. The eighteen pillars of the navaranga have figures pertaining to Ramayana, Mahabharatha and those representing social conditions of those days. On the ceiling are beautiful figures of Gajalakshmi and Shiva-Parvathi with Nandi. On the external walls are sculptures like Shiva, Nandi, Lakulisha, Nataraja, etc.The temple is celebrated for its artistic sculptures.

Mallikarjuna temple

Mallikarjuna temple

Dwarapalakas on either sides of the Entrance to the temple

Papanatha Temple

Papanatha Temple is the only temple that has been designed on both north and south Indian styles of architecture. Containing a Nagara styled Vimanam, the temple dates back to 680 AD. Initially, the construction was started with Nagara style, but later it was switched to Dravidian style. The temple is famous for its sculptures that are imbibed from the scenes of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Papanatha Temple Gopura,Pattadakal.

Jain Temple

This Temple was constructed by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. Built in the Dravidian style, the temple comprises really beautiful sculptures. Perhaps, it was erected either by King Amoghavarsha I or his son Krishna II in the 9th century.

Kasivisvesvara temple

It was the last to be built in early Chalukya style. This temple was built by the Rashtrakutas in the 8th century.

Kashivisveswara and Galaganatha temples, Pattadakal.

Sangamesvara Temple

Perhaps the oldest temple in the group, Sangameshvara Temple was built by King Vijayaditya Satyashreya during 697 -733 AD. This incomplete temple appeals with its colossal structure.

Sangameshwara Temple (was called Vijayewara) is The oldest temple in Pattadakal, built by Chalukya King Vijayaditya Satyashraya ( 696-733), it has no sukanasika.

Tips from my perspective:

• It is open from Sunrise to Sunset.
• Entrance Fee to the Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar) – Rs. 10 per head. Others: US $ 5 or Indian Rs. 250/- per head.
• There are no Hotels available in Pattadakal. If you are planning to stay, the best option is to go to Badami where you can find a lot of options.
• Aihole is 10kms and Badami is 22kms away from Pattadakal.

Aihole: The Cradle of the Ancient Hindu Temple Architecture

Aihoḷe is a small village in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka and located 400 kms from Hyderabad. It is known for Chalukyan architecture, with about 125 stone temples dating from 5th century CE. It was the cradle of ancient Hindu temple architecture. Experimentation with styles was undertaken by the artisans of Chalukyan Empire. The artisans worked on the rocks to create the earliest rock-cut shrines. The artisans graduated to the full-fledged Chalukya style of architecture. The early Chalukyas inherited architectural styles largely from their neighbors to the north and south of their kingdom.

After visiting all the must see places in Bijapur. We started to Aihole which was 110kms from Bijapur(via Nh 133/SH66) road till Ameengal was good and the last 10kms stretch was not drive friendly. Within an hour and so we’ve reached our first destination. We got surprised by seeing flocks of tourists. Then we realised that it was Sankranti/pongal (An Indian festival) Holiday season.

The prominent temple groups at Aihole are the Kontigudi group and the Galaganatha group of temples, although historians have divided all the temples into 22 groups. Three temples are referred to as the ‘Kontigudi group of temples’. One of these is the Lad Khan temple (the oldest at Aihole is the Lad khan temple dating back to the fifth century, named after a mendicant that lived in this temple in the 19th century, another the Huchiappayyagudi temple and the Huchiappayya math.

Durga temple: With a Curvilinear Shikhara

It is the best known of the Aihole temples and is just along the entrance to the temple complex. It is apsidal in plan, along the lines of a Buddhist chaitya, a high moulded adisthana and a tower – curvilinear shikhara. A pillared corridor runs around the temple, enveloping the shrine, the mukhamantapa and the sabhamantapa. All through the temple, there are beautiful carvings. The temple appears to be of the late 7th or early 8th century.

Lad Khan Temple consists of a shrine with two mantapas in front of it. The shrine bears a Shivalingam. The mukha mantapa in front of the sanctum has a set of 12 carved pillars. The sabhamantapa in front of the mukha mantapa has pillars arranged in such a manner as to form two concentric squares. There are also stone grids on the wall carrying floral designs. The temple was built by the Chalukya kings in the 5th century. Ladkhan Temple is to the south of the Durga temple are the temples of this group. The Ladkhan temple, so named, as a general of the name had lived here, consists of a square mantapa, a mukha mantapa and the sanctum, built against the backwall. The central square has a flat roof. In the centre Nandi is installed, and just above Nandi, there is a damaged nagara shikhara, appearing to be a later addition. The period of this structure is about 450 A.D.

We had a quick tour of all the other prominent temples of Aihole which includes Suryanarayana temple, Triyambakeshvara Group, Gowda temple, Huchimalli (gudi) temple,  Kontigudi group of temples, Rachi gudi, Gaudara gudi, Badigere, Huchappayya (gudi) temple & Museum. Because of a huge number of tourist we skipped some of the other prominent temples like Ravanaphudi temple and meguti jain temple. I made my mind at that moment that I am not done with Aihole yet. 😛

All the temple complexes have different style of construction that indeed indicates that Aihole was the place for early experiments in Chalukyan style of Architecture. This place simply took us back into the time. Aihole is not in the list of UNESCO World heritage places. It has a great potential to be included as a UNESCO World heritage site. Then we left to Pattadakal(Yet to post) which was 11kms from Aihole.

A Trip to Chalukyan Temples: An Experience to be felt

The Chalukya dynasty  was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the “Badami Chalukyas”, ruled from Badami from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani until the end of the 12th century.

The rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to large empires with the ascendancy of Badami Chalukyas. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called “Chalukyan architecture”. Kannada literature, which had enjoyed royal support in the 9th century Rashtrakuta court found eager patronage from the Western Chalukyas in the Jain and Veerashaiva traditions.

Pattadakal Temples: A cluster of beautifully carved temples

Pattadakal temple

Virupaksha temple

 Badami:  Rock cut Cave Temples

Bhuthnatha temple

Vishnu sculpture in the Cave 3

Aihole: The Cradle of Indian temple Architecture

Durga temple, Aihole

Lad khan temple, Aihole

Mahadeva Temple, Itagi: Emperor among Temples

Doddabasappa Temple, Dambal: The dazzling temple

Lakkundi: Most Ornate temples

Jain temple, Lakkundi

Surya Shrine of Kasivisveswara temple, Lakkundi

Surya Shrine of Kasivisveswara temple, Lakkundi

 

P.S: This is just an introduction post of Chalukyas. Stay tuned to know more about the temple history, architecture, significance etc..

Source: Wikipedia.com

A trip to Bijapur: Agra of South

Bijapur now called as Vijaypuri city, is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of the Adil Shahi dynasty. It is located 530 km northwest of Bangalore and about 550 km from Mumbai, and 384 km west of the city of Hyderabad.

In an introduction to an album of Bijapur published in 1866, Philip Meadows Taylor wrote: “Palaces, arches, tombs, cisterns, gateways, minarets, …all carved from the rich basalt rock of the locality, garlanded by creepers, broken and disjointed by peepul trees, each in its turn is a gem of art and the whole a treasury.

We had a big urge for visiting Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal-Dambal temples from a very long time. We plan every time and fail every time. Finally on 14th January 7:00pm, we’ve decided to fulfill our desire of visiting all the Chalukyan dynasty(Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal) temples via Bijapur. So we started to Bijapur which was 380kms away from Hyderabad(Via. Zaheerabad, Humnabad,Jevargi, Sindhagi etc.,) which seems to be better than Kodangal road. We reached around 2:00am and took a room in Navaratna international hotel which was 1100rs/room for 5members which was quite comfortable for 5 of us.

Tuk Tuk near Malik e Maidan, Bijapur.

Day 2:

After having breakfast, we started exploring Bijapur according to our planned itinerary which includes:

Jami masjid: Largest and oldest mosque in the Deccan

We started our trip from this place since it is quite near to our hotel. It is the largest and oldest mosque in the Deccan. Ali Adil Shah I, after his triumphant victory over Vijayanagara empire built this mosque. The most beautiful feature is the dome of this building which is highly proportionate.  It is a big mosque with huge prayer hall. There is no charge to see this place. We spent a lot of time in this mosque by discussing about the architecture styles of Adilshah with a well knowledged old man. It seems that around 2500 members can pray at a stretch in this mosque. Then we headed to Golgumbaz.

he most beautiful feature is the dome of this building which is highly proportionate

The mihrab here is gorgeously painted.

 

Gol gumbaz: An Acoustic wonder

This is the most famous monument in Bijapur. It is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (ruled 1627-1657). It is the largest dome ever built in India, next in size only to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. A particular attraction in this monument is the central chamber, where every sound is echoed seven times. We’ve never seen such incredible acoustics. Another attraction at the Gol Gumbaz is the Whispering Gallery, where even minute sounds can be heard clearly 37 metres away. The stairs are narrow but the management have been maintaining the place very well with separate steps to go up and down. But we were unable to tolerate the echo sounds inside the dome so we were there only for 10mins. Over all it is the best and most enjoyable touristic attraction in Bijapur.

It is the largest dome ever built in India

View from the top…

Incredible architecture..

One more touristic attraction is The Archaeological Museum: It has several curious objects like inscriptions, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, and weapons etc., displayed.

Ibrahim Rauza: Inspiration for the famous Taj-mahal

This is the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (ruled 1580-1627), the fifth king of the dynasty.
It is one of the most prominent places to be visited in bijapur, It comprises two buildings, a magnificent tomb and a remarkable mosque enveloped by a garden. Facing each other, these twin buildings have a fountain in between them. This is the most ornate building in Bijapur. Cousins called the building as “The Taj Mahal of the Deccan”.It is said that the design for the Ibrahim Rauza served as an inspiration for that of the famous Taj Mahal.
The symmetry of the monuments was amazing, large well-maintained gardens, classic muslim architecture made my trip to bijapur more interesting than I’d originally thought. The Minarets and tomb are typical Muslim architecture, similar to the Taj Mahal and the Bibi ka Maqbarra. Though we visited this place in a wrong time, I loved clicking pictures of this marvel. Simply speaking it will be a delight to all those Photography enthusiasts, amateur photographers, and Professional photographers

This is the most ornate building in Bijapur.

The symmetry of the monuments was amazing..

Cousins called the building as “The Taj Mahal of the Deccan”

View from the gate

Malik-e-Maidan : Monarch of the Plains” or “Lord of the Battlefield

The largest medieval cannon in the world. It was placed on the Sherza Burj (Lion Gate) on a platform especially built for it. The cannon’s nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion’s head with open jaws & between the carved fangs is depicted an elephant being crushed to death. It is said that after igniting the cannon, the gunner would remain underwater in a tank of water on the platform to avoid the deafening explosion. The cannon remains cool even in strong sunlight and if tapped, tinkles like a bell. This relic has been well preserved. One has to climb one of the twin staircases on the fortification wall to reach the canon, now protected by iron railings.

Upli Buruj/Hyder burj:

Built around 1584 by Hyder Khan, is an 80 ft. This is a spherical structure with stone steps winding round the outside. After climbing the circular stairs we’ve reached the top there are two large cannons placed on this tower. And the top of the tower offers a commanding 360 degree view of the Bijapur city.

Top of the burz offers a 360degrees view of the city.

Circular stairs leading to the topp of the Upli burz

Large Canon

 

Jod Gumbaz: Identical domes

My friends weren’t impressed by the maintenance of this place so they didn’t get down from the car. I went alone and captured some pictures. You can skip this place if you have a limited time.

Taj bawdi:
It is quite near to Jod Gumbaz. This place lacks absolute maintenance. You can also skip this place.

Barakaman(twelve arches):

A mausoleum of Ali Roza built in 1672. Bara Kaman got its name because it was the 12th monument during his reign. It has now seven arches and the tomb containing the graves of Ali, his queens and eleven other ladies possibly belonging to the Zenana of the queens.

At 12:30Pm, we started to Aihole which was 110kms from Bijapur(via Nh 133/SH66 road. Road till Ameengal was good and the last 10kms stretch to Aihole was not drive friendly.

Tips and Highlights of the trip:

1. Entrance Fee for Golgumbaz was 5rupees, 25 rupees for camera , 30 rupees for parking. Parking fees for Ibrahim Rauza is 30rs.
2. Get ready to take a very narrow stairs around 5 stories to the top of Golgumbaz. Don’t miss this is an acoustic wonder.
3. Golgumbaz and Ibrahim rauza are the main highlights of this trip to Bijapur.
4. I would suggest to add Bijapur to your itinerary if you are planning a trip to Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal.
5. My suggestion for all those Hyderabadies who are planning to go for a heritage tour. Follow this road map HyderabadBijapurAiholePattadakalBadamiMahadevi temple ,Itagi(It will make you the drive bit longer)Hampi then back to Hyderabad.