Kopeshwar Temple in Khidrapur

Khidrapur happened because of a family trip to Sangli.

We had driven after a long time- from Hyderabad to Sangli stopping at night in Solapur. Located between the borders of Maharshtra and Karnataka, Khidrapur is about an hours drive from Sangli. It is easily accessible from Kolhapur too. Khidrapur is a quaint little village with sugarcane farms all around it.

The legend behind the temple is as gorgeous as the carvings in it- Sati's immolation in Daksha's yagya on insulting Lord Shiva and eventual anger in Shiva who beheads Daksha only to be pacified by Lord Vishnu to restore Daksha's head with a goat's head is the story behind it. Lord Visnu brought Lord Shiva to Khidrapur to pacify him. Hence the name Kopeshwar temple. Unlike other Shiva temples, Nandi is missing here as he escorted Sati during her immolation. We can witness Lord Visnhu too in this temple.

Though part of it was built in 7th century by Badami Chalukyas, it was completed in 11th and 12th century by Shilahara king Gandaraditya and Vijayaditya. But, like all the other temples in India, this too was attacked and parts broken by Aurangzeb! Even today, none of the 92 elephant sculptures in the vicinity have their trunks in tact.

At the entrance of Swargamandapa

Exteriors of the temple...

The temple, built using hard basalt rock, stands as an example of one of the richest (in terms of architecture) in Maharashtra in the banks of river Krishna. The temple is divided in to four parts- the Swargamandapa, the Sabhamandapa, Antharal and Garbhagriha.
The first part- Swargamandapa, with its' circular open to sky ceiling, is its' unique feature. Though it looks incomplete, it was meant to be so. Of the total 48 pillars in the Swargamandapa, 12 main pillars have the sculpture of a deity  (Ashtadigpalas and other Gods) riding his/ her vehicle. Interestingly, these deities look as if they are riding alone if you look at them from front but a slight variation in angle would reveal their consort seated behind the deity except Karthikeya.

Complete view of Swargamandapa

Open to sky ceiling

Sculpture of deities on pillars

Pillars in Swargamandapa

The Sabhamandapa has 60 pillars with 5 Dwarapalas on lower panels of the door. The pillars depict stories from Ramayana, Panchatantra and other motifs of peacock, flowers etc., Photography inside the Sabhamandapa is prohibited. 

The Antaral has beautiful Madanikas carved (sadly broken) and an exquisitely carved  Chandrashila before entering the Garbhagriha. The Garbhagriha has two lingas- of Kopeshwar and Dhopeshwar. 
The exterior part of the temple has innumerable elephant and madanika sculptures.

The broken elephant sculpture, deity on the pillar with consort and dwarapalas...

Exterior carvings, lattice window and madanikas...

Spokes outside Swargamandapa

Unfortunately, there was guide available when we visited and the crowd too was large. But it didn't stop us from savouring the beauty of the temple especially the Swargamandapa! On our way back, we stopped at another temple village Narsoba Wadi; more for the food at one of the 'bhojanalayas' called the 'Soman Bhojanalaya' that served authentic Maharashtrian thalis. This village is famous for its' Dattatreya temple situated next to Krishna river. 

Ellora Caves: Part II

Ellora caves are probably one of the largest rock-cut cave temples in the world dating from 600-1000 CE period. This post is exclusively dedicated to the 12 Buddhist caves found in Ellora. Read about the 17 Hindu Cave Temples in my earlier post here.

Moving from the magnanimous Kailasa temple, we had reached the Buddhist caves: Cave No. 12 being our first Buddhist cave to be visited thus. Cave No. 12 gave the impression of a three- storied (known as Teen Tal) dormitory with square-cut pillars on each floor. Unless one enters and peers into all the corners, it is difficult to find the way to get to the next floor. The Buddhist caves were simpler than the Hindu temples. They consisted of both Chaityas and Viharas. Chaitya was a rectangular prayer hall with a 'stupa' placed at the center. Viharas were the residences of monks. Cave 11 and 12 were the last ones to be built among the Buddhist caves; they depict Bodhisattva related iconography.

Cave No. 12

View form the third floor...

Cave no. 10 is one of the most important caves among the Buddhiat caves. Known as the Visvakarma Cave (one who accomplishes all) , this cave has one of the largest (15 foot) seated figures of Buddha. It is a chaitya hall which is also known as 'Carpenter's Cave' as the rock has been given a finishing of wooden beams. These give the impression of ribs of a creature. I made all efforts to click the most cliched images of the Buddha statue that I had come across whenever I had read about it. The hall has octagonal columns at the end of which is Buddha sitting in Vyakhyana Mudra (teaching pose).

Cave No. 10

Buddha in Vyakhyana Mudra

A playful squirrel kept us busy for a while outside Cave 10. having tasted ground nuts given by us, it kept following us and insisted for more.

A Vihara...

As we moved further, we were more awestruck by the backdrop against which these caves stood: the monsoon green hillocks through which little glistening waterfalls fell right in front of the caves. It added another dimension to the way we peered at the statues.

After completing the crucial caves of the Buddhist era, we had headed towards the main entrance where we would be taken in a bus to visit the Jain temples. 

Temples and Step wells of Lakkundi

The numerous drives that we had undertaken between Hubli and Hyderabad in the last 10 years, never had we noticed this tiny village- Lakkundi until last year. It can easily be missed as there are no special sign posts that would guide you to these temples and step wells.

Located just 11 kms away from Gadag district in North Karnataka, Lakkundi is home to several temples and step- wells belonging to the Chalukyan period. The main temples are: Mallikarjuna temple, Veerabhadra temple, Lakshminarayana and even a Bramha Jinalaya. All the temples are located at different locations, scattered throughout the village. We had to drive through narrow by lanes to reach these temples that were almost desolate.

The first temple we visited was the Bramha Jinalaya. The ASI has established a museum right in front of the Jinalaya so we decided to visit the museum before entering the temple. Apart from few sculptures the museum doesn't hold anything much.


The museum

Early monsoon showers welcomed us as we entered the temple. It was good to see that there was no one around the whole temple except us. This Basadi/ Jinalaya was built by Danachintamani Attimabbe and is dedicated to saint Adinatha of Jainism. Under Attimabbe's patronage lot of other temples were constructed and she is said to have sheltered famous Kannada poet Ponna.

The Basadi was built using textured chloritic schist that differed in material and texture from the sandstone that was available in the region. Due to this, the architecture and carvings of this temple is said to be almost near perfection. The pillars are ornate with intricate carvings and an Old Kannada inscription can also be seen just before the Garbhagriha. The Garbhagriha of the Basadi has the idol of Neminatha Thirthankara and is worshiped even today.

Jain Basadi

Carving on the pillars

With the help of some locals, we then drove towards another temple- Kashivishwanatha temple. Though locked, a lady generously came forward to open it for us. This temple has strikingly beautifully carved pillars and entrances. The Southern direction too has a door with elaborately carved panels. They have carvings of leaves, flowers, animals and birds.
One important feature that amazed us about pillars is the carving of 12 star signs covering the pillars. Dancers, musicians and Darpanasundaris (dancers holding a mirror) can also be seen in other pillars.

Kashivishwanatha temple

The Southern door with carved panels...

The carved pillars...

The Nanneshwara temple that was behind  Kashivishwanatha temple was closed and nobody had access to the keys. So decided to head towards Manikanteshwara temple that also had  a stepped well right in the front. There was poojari in the temple who was more than happy to show us around the temple and the step well.

The temple that  is dedicated to Lord Shiva mostly has geometrical designs around the panels of the doors. The temple is very simple as compared to others but visitors never miss this place because of its' Kalyani (step well). This step well is popularly known as Musukina Bavi as for many years the well was hidden among thick canopy of trees. As we descended the steps, a whole new world was thrown open before us- rows and rows of steps leading to the well that was dry. We walked on the narrow steps, went around the whole well and were ready to head out thoroughly satisfied.

Manikanteshwara temple

Complete view of the temple and step well

We must have spent around 2 hours in this little village but were totally refreshed before heading out for another 10 long hours of drive!

Bhongir Fort

My first glimpse of the Bhongir Fort was way back in 2012-13 on my way to Warangal. The enormous egg- shaped rock formation that could be seen from the highway had made me promise myself that I would visit the place some day.

The entrance of the fort...

When we (my hubby and I) finally etched out the plan this monsoon, no one was more excited than my daughter. She was ready with her perfect khaki pants, pair of shoes, her own backpack containing all refreshments and energy drinks  and an umbrella (yes, an umbrella as it was one of those monsoon days)!

Half-way through the climb...

Bhongir is situated in Nalgonda dist., of Telangana state, around 40-45 kms from Hyderabad. Named after the Western Chalukyan king Vikramaditya-VI also known as Thribhuvanamalla, the fort is built on a monolithic rock. Its' named gradually changed into Tribuvanagiri, Bhuvangiri and is presently called Bhongir. Built across an impressive 50 acre area at a height of 500 feet over the hill, the trek to the fort gives a breathtaking view of the surrounding paddy fields, villages and also a serpentine railway track in between the fields. The moat that encircles the fort is believed to have a secret underground chamber that connects to Golconda fort situated in the city of Hyderabad.

Paddy fields...

The monolithic rock one needs to climb to reach the fort on top...

After embarking on the way through the little steps cut out on the rocky hills, we were thrown open to a vast area that overlooked the fort built on the egg- shaped rock formation. We took our lunch break in that sprawling open space with fresh breeze pushing us across from all directions. The climb to the top of the fort 'will drain out all the energy' (as narrated by father-daughter duo who managed to reach the top; I had decided to stay back as I was feeling sick) as there are no steps at some points on the rock. The traces of this was very clearly evident on my daughter's face who looked completely dehydrated:(

The fort on top...

Though we had also planned on travelling further and visiting the Jain temple at Kolanupaka, no one was in a condition to take upon that distance after completing this tiring trek.