| వివరణ12th century Mahadeva temple, Itagi, Karnataka India - 106.jpg |
English: The Mahadeva temple is located in the village named Itagi (also spelled Ittagi) in Koppal district between Hampi and Goa. It is about 7 kilometers southwest of Kuknoor, 40 kilometers east of Gadag-Betigeri city, and 65 kilometers west of UNESCO world heritage site of Hampi. It can be reached by National Highway 67 (east-west), or National Highway 367 (north-south).
- The Mahadeva temple is a complex of monuments that includes a major temple, several small shrines, a stepwell water tank, a matha (Hindu monastery) and a sala (school) from the 12th-century. According to an inscription in the Saraswati matha, the ensemble was completed in 1112 CE by Mahadeva Dandanayaka, a military commander under Vikramaditya VI (Kalyani Chalukya dynasty).
- The silpins (artisans, architects) of the 12th-century were so impressed by the ground plan, design, symmetry, the extent and the precision of artwork, and the aesthetics, that they called this temple as the Devalaya Chakravarti (lit. "emperor of temples") in Gadag-Lakkundi region.
- The main temple is dedicated to Mahadeva (Shiva). It consists of an open yet covered gathering hall on pillars (sabha mandapa, ranga mandapa partly restored after 1990) that can be entered from three sides (east, north, south). The fourth side leads into the maha mandapa, which too has two additional entrances (north, south). There is an antarala and a square plan garbhagriya (sanctum) with a Shiva linga. The mandapa are also of a square plan.
- The sanctum door has five parallel sakhas (layers, sections), each intricately carved with miniature motifs such as dancers, musicians, mithuna couples, flowers and such. The Dvarapalas are integrated into the door jamb, and on the lalita-bimba is Gajalakshmi.
- The Mahadeva temple has a vesara-style sikhara (spire) above the sanctum. The sikhara has four original talas (storeys) and restored sections. The sukhanasi projects to the east.
- The temple shows extensive signs of deliberate damage, mutilation of faces, limbs and beheaded statues. Based on the inscriptions here, the temples ensemble here was in good working condition till the time of the Hoysalas, and the damage and destruction occurred in or after the 14th-century. Nevertheless, the sections that have survived in this temple provide an exceptional illustration of Hindu temple architecture perfected by Kannada speaking people.
- The antarala reverentially includes reliefs of Brahma, Nataraja-Shiva and Vishnu.
- The pillars are lathe-shaped, then artistically carved into star-sectionals with cubical bottoms covered with legends from the Vedas, the Epics and the Puranas. These decorations include Nataraja, Ardhanarisvara (half Shiva, half Parvati), Bhairava, Gajasamharamurti, Lingobhava, Ganesha, Mahisasuramardini (Shakti), Kali, Sarasvati, Varaha with Bhudevi (Vishnu), Narasimha, Rama, Krishna, Pandavas and others.
- The sabha mandapa has eight framed niches that are deep and with evidence that there were once major statues in them, now missing. On the east side in this open mandapa is a Nandi.
- The eastern main door leading to the inner closed maha mandapa has nine concentric layers of finely carved sakhas that are three dimensional (instead of being reliefs). The artists not only crafted and polished the outer visible surface, they polished the not easily visible surfaces behind. These include scenes of amorous couples (kama), artha, dharma, dancers, musicians, festivities, prakrit (nature) and others.
- The ceiling predominantly has inverted lotus motif, with the exception of a Nataraja panel (damaged).
- The maha mandapa has 52 pillars, each intricately carved and polished. The mandapa volume is created by placing square spaces equally rotated to create a twelve cornered, symmetric-from-all-sides mandapa. The 52 pillars are of four types selected from the early Hindu texts on architecture. These types are arranged to create a further architectural symmetry within the mandapa, positioned to form circles within the rotated squares. Once again, like the sabha mandapa pillars, the lower square sections of the 52 pillars in the maha mandapa depict Hindu legends from the Vedas, Epics, Puranas and folklores such as those found in Panchatantra. Both Vedic deities (Surya, Indra, Brahma, etc) and post-Vedic prominent deities (Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakti) are depicted. Secular folklore such as the "lady teaching her parrot to talk" are depicted on these pillars. The surviving bracket figures (damaged) show the nine emotional rasas (aesthetics), such as adbhuta (marvel), sringara (erotic), shanti (peace, contentment), bhaya (fear), raudra (anger), and others.
- The maha mandapa also has inscriptions in Old Kannada and Sanskrit, which help date and understand the history of this temples ensemble.
- Outside the main temple are smaller shrines, a major stepwell (puskarni), remnants of a Saraswati matha and sala (monastery and school). Among the better surviving ones is the Murtinarayana temple dedicated to Vishnu (Narayana), and it is to the north side of the Mahadeva temple. Another is the Chandelsvara temple. Outside in the temple ensemble compound are defaced and mutilated Brahma and other large statues. The ensemble includes Dravida, Nagara and Vesara styles.
The Mahadeva temple is one of India's national monuments. It is protected and managed by ASI (N-KA-D295). |
