The Temple of Kalleshwara, Bagali, Karnataka

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I keep saying this, the temples in India were not just places of worship.

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As I wrote in my earlier blogs, they were the cultural moorings of life.

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The temples were also institutions of political and economic significance, especially so in the south, where the rulers built large temples full of grandeur as a reflection of their power.

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As the Mauryan Empire expanded under Asoka, the influence of Buddhism also increased. We find Asokan inscriptions and edicts all over the south of India except for the areas which are present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The geographical area known as Tamilakam also included the southern parts of Karnataka, Andhra, Pudhucherry and Lakshadweep.

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As Hinduism made a revival and the rulers returned to the fold, they built grand temples to declare their faith and also their power. Of course this was not a phenomenon restricted to Hindu rulers, rulers of other faiths too built their places of worship on a grand scale.

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In a predominantly agrarian society these structures also generated employment during leaner periods, became meeting places, were theaters where dance, music and other arts flourished, they had teaching facilities, lodging facilities and had a multipurpose role.

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We will not dwell too much into the tangled web of history during this period, that we will explore later in another blog, but only look at what pertains to the Temple of Kalleshwara at Bagali, District Davangere, ( Now a new district has been created District Vijayanagar) Karnataka.

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Built at an earlier period as compared to Hoysala temples, this temple is unique as it spans the period of two great empires of the south based in Karnataka.

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The Empires of the Rashtrakutas and their successors, the Western Chalukya Empire.

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The Rashtrakuta Empire was slowly losing its hold when the construction of this temple began. It is believed that work on the main shrine and the tower started during the reign of the Rashtrakutas. This portion has erotic carvings which are found in many ancient temples.

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The temple was completed and consecrated during the reign of King Tailapa II, the founder of the Western Chalukya Empire.

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The temple is at Bagali, near the town of Harapanahalli, in the newly formed district of Vijayanagar. Earlier it was part of Davangere district of Karnataka.

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It is a small place today and not visited by many people as it is a bit out of the way. It is not as well known as the temples at Halebidu or Belur.

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But this is a beautiful temple, a merging two different styles of architecture seamlessly. There are also signs of later day construction of a tower over the shrine.

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I had not even heard of this temple and the local person at Harapanahalli also knew little about this place except for saying there is an old temple being maintained by the Government. He was more interested in showing me the doves he kept as pets. But I had seen a board on the way, which showed there was an interesting place to visit nearby.

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I had no interest in doves, especially when kept as pets and not allowed to fly free, so off I went in search of The Temple of Kalleshwara.

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I was then posted at Bellary in Karnataka and I drove to Davangere and from there could visit both the temple of Kalleshwara and the temple of Harihareshwara at Harihar.

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From Davangere the temple of Kalleshwara is about an hour and half by car, though the distance is only about 51 km.

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As you near the temple proper, you can see signs of ancient buildings, many of which are in a poor condition.

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The temple itself when you first catch a glimpse takes your breath away. It is a beautiful temple set amidst a well-maintained garden by the Archaeological society of India.

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The design and architecture of this temple differs from the Hoysala temples. The carvings are not so abundant. The temple is much more spread out. The damage too is much less considering this an older temple to the Hoysala temple, this shows this was a region not so affected by the regular wars of that period.

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The temple of Kalleshwara has Shiva as the major deity, and the main hall has highly decorated pillars.

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There are also shrines for the sun god Surya and the Narasimha avatar of Vishnu.

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There is also a beautiful Nandi sitting and gazing at Shiva. There are detailed and intricate decorations and carvings on the doorways.

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There are also sculptures of Uma with Maheswara (Parvathi and Shiva), Mahishasuramardini, the form of goddess Durga in which she killed the demon Mahishasur. There are sculptures of the sons of Shiva and Parvathi, Ganesha and Kartikeya. There is also one of Vishnu resting on Shesha, the king of snakes who is Vishnu’s devotee.

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It was a peaceful place and spending time sitting inside the pillared hall as the stones speak to you their stories is a wonderful experience.

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There is an old well with steps to go down, not a proper step well and dangerous to go down.

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There is a large lake beside the temple, and there was no one when I went so I could peacefully move around the complex. There is still worship at the temple, so one should keep in view the sensibilities of the devotees who come there.

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I hope these photographs give a sense of the wonders of this temple.

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I returned back through Hospete driving alongside the Tungabhadra river the next evening and that was the icing on the cake. The river was full of water and the sunset brought me a sense of bliss and wonder. But that’s a story for another day.

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Namaste till next time.

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