#ashokasays Did you know 320:
INCREDIBLE BHARATHA
Most of us know about Jog falls near Sagara in Shimogga district.
Mostly vehicles zip past heading to the roaring Jog Falls, around 30
kms from Sagara, and the serene backwaters of the River Sharavathi.
However on this picture perfect monsoon season I do not seek today to
talk about the
natural beauty of the Western Ghats but about a small but beautiful
temple built by kings of a forgotten
kingdom of Nayakas that had its humble beginnings here in the
countryside of modern
day Sagara and at its zenith encompassed Malnad, coastal Karnataka, and
parts of the Malabar Coast.
Ikkeri is a historical place located at a distance of 3 km from Sagara in Shimoga district.
The meaning of the word Ikkeri in Kannada language is Two Streets.
Ikkeri was the capital of the Keladi Nayakas for about 120 years. After Ikkeri the capital was moved to Nagara and then to Kavaledurga.
One of the very beautiful structures built by the Nayakas in 16th century is the Aghoreshwara Temple.
The Aghoreshwara temple in Ikkeri is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built using laterite and combining the influences of Vijayanagar, Hoysala, Chalukyas, and Deccan architecture, the temple is the sole survivor of a bustling citadel which once stood here.
The carvings and sculptures are a treat for the senses—elephants flanking the ornamented entrances, miniature towers running around the temple in a frieze, elegant gods and goddesses with dancers and musicians, perforated window screens, vegetal scrolls, makaras, birds and kirtimukhas.An exquisite Nandi statue in a mandap faces the north doorway which leads to a large hall supported by engraved pillars of varied shapes and designs. The original deity, with apparently 32 arms that had graced the ornate pedestal in the sanctum, was destroyed during an invasion and replaced by a lingam which is worshiped till today.
On the ceiling of the open hall adjoining the main shrine can be found a sculpture of Gandaberunda, a mythical two headed bird of unimaginable strength often illustrated carrying elephants in its beak and talons.
Incase you visit this place during the monsoons, the beauty of the place is surely seen to be multiplied. The rain caresses the red temple walls adorned with carved flowers and disappears in the cracks of the stone courtyard and the small tanks which drain from the shrines. The empty eyes of worn out figurines which line the outer walls gaze into nothingness pining for the days gone by, but all that survives is a faint memory of the artists and patrons, who preserved their dreams in stone, defying the tenacity of the unmerciful rain.
Ikkeri is a historical place located at a distance of 3 km from Sagara in Shimoga district.
The meaning of the word Ikkeri in Kannada language is Two Streets.
Ikkeri was the capital of the Keladi Nayakas for about 120 years. After Ikkeri the capital was moved to Nagara and then to Kavaledurga.
One of the very beautiful structures built by the Nayakas in 16th century is the Aghoreshwara Temple.
The Aghoreshwara temple in Ikkeri is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built using laterite and combining the influences of Vijayanagar, Hoysala, Chalukyas, and Deccan architecture, the temple is the sole survivor of a bustling citadel which once stood here.
The carvings and sculptures are a treat for the senses—elephants flanking the ornamented entrances, miniature towers running around the temple in a frieze, elegant gods and goddesses with dancers and musicians, perforated window screens, vegetal scrolls, makaras, birds and kirtimukhas.An exquisite Nandi statue in a mandap faces the north doorway which leads to a large hall supported by engraved pillars of varied shapes and designs. The original deity, with apparently 32 arms that had graced the ornate pedestal in the sanctum, was destroyed during an invasion and replaced by a lingam which is worshiped till today.
On the ceiling of the open hall adjoining the main shrine can be found a sculpture of Gandaberunda, a mythical two headed bird of unimaginable strength often illustrated carrying elephants in its beak and talons.
Incase you visit this place during the monsoons, the beauty of the place is surely seen to be multiplied. The rain caresses the red temple walls adorned with carved flowers and disappears in the cracks of the stone courtyard and the small tanks which drain from the shrines. The empty eyes of worn out figurines which line the outer walls gaze into nothingness pining for the days gone by, but all that survives is a faint memory of the artists and patrons, who preserved their dreams in stone, defying the tenacity of the unmerciful rain.
No comments:
Post a Comment