Starting the Journey...

India or Bharat. A land which has history of more than 5000 years. A land with Glorious past, vast geographical boundaries and diverse culture. A land which has heaven in the form of Kashmir, gigantic Himalayas in the north, the deserts of Rajasthan, the Arabian Sea in west, beautiful Kerala and Indian Ocean in south, Bay of Bengal and mountainous Assam in the east. At present, India has 28 states and 7 union territories. One of the states is – Karnataka.


Art, Glory, Administration, Discipline, Kannada, Scholars, Great rulers, Architecture, Gold, Temples etc. – all these words flash out of mind when we talk about the history of Karnataka. Ancient Karnataka had connections with the Indus Valley Civilization in 3000 B.C., this region saw the rise and fall of empires like the Nandas, the Mauryas, the Sathvanas, the Kadambas, the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas and later on the Sultans, the Moughals, the Nizams and finally the British. All of these empires left their imprints in culture, art, architecture, philosophy, tradition, literature, administration style etc. Today, as you travel to various parts of Karnataka, you could see different styles of ancient temples, art, architecture, literature and culture. You could see one of the finest hindu temples constructed during the Badami Chalukyan age in Bagalkot district, middle Karnataka. The Hoysalyan era produced some of the great and unique hindu architecture in Karnataka. These temples had some wonderful carvings of hindu gods and goddesses like Shiva,Parvati, Vishnu, Lakshmi etc. We find exquisite style of hindu temples at Hampi, east Karnataka which dated to the Vijayanagari era. These temples are now UNESCO world heritage sites. The Western Chalukyas had their own unique style of architecture which could be found at present day Dharwad district. You could also find one of the great muslim architectures in mysore.


This blog is my effort to take you on a journey to one of such places in Karnataka, which had glorious history, a place which saw flawless administration under great rulers, an era which produced remarkable saints, scholars and philosophers, and which was the capital of Chalukyan empire in 10th – 12th Century. Kalyani, or present day Basavakalyan. While going through this blog, you would also realize the meaning of this blog’s name – “Basavakalyan. A jewel going unnoticed…”.


Basavakalyan is one of the five talakus of Bidar district, which is located at far north-east of Karnataka. When you travel from Mumbai to Hyderabad by Natianal highway no – NH-9, and cross Maharashtra border and get into Karnataka, this is where Basavakalyan province starts. Basavakalyan town is approximately 17 Kms from this border, on the highway. Hyderabad is appx. 180 Kms from this town.











Whenever you go to Basavakalyan, these are few other places which you might like to visit as well. As you get into Karnataka state after crossing the Maharashtra - Karnataka border, after 3 Kms you can see a hindu temple named “Amrut Kund” in outskirts of village, named Chandikapur on the highway। This is an ancient hindu temple, which has a very beautifully crafted architecture. This is a holly place which is worshipped by thousands of hindu devotees, which visit this kund from across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. Shiva Ling and Idol of Lord Ramlingeshwara, are placed in the core hall of this temple. You can find idols of Lord Shiva, Hanumana, Ganesha in the temple which were carved centuries ago.

Am simply amazed by the geographic location of this temple. It’s actually situated in a small valley, which means there is no need to dig much for under-ground water. Apparently, this is the reason why you will also find a beautifully constructed bath place which is right in front of the temple, and the water level remains at constant height throughout the year. Simply superb! This temple is surrounded by lush, thick, green and cool trees and farms. This is the place to find peace of mind, at anytime of the year and anytime in your life.

Beautiful, ain’t it! Now, when you visit this temple also try to visit two nearby places which are worth visiting –
1. Sita chi nhani – in Marathi for Goddess Sita’s Bath place.
2. SomLing Temple - Approximately 5 feet and 8 inches tall Shiva Ling.

The place called “Sita chi Nhani” or Marathi for Goddesses Sita’s Bath place, is situated in the out-skirts of the same village, Chandikapur. This place is on the highway as well, but since its in the outer area, you will need to ask someone for the exact location. This place consists of caves carved thousands of years ago infront of a small pond, which is said to be the bath place. They say that this is the place, where Goddess Sita had halted for some time, during their journey back to Ayodhya from Lanka (now Sri Lanka), along with Lord Shree Rama and Lakshmana. This makes sense because, this place is geographically situated right on the path between Sri Lanka and Ayodhya in UP, India. Am not sure about this story though, but if the government or ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) could take steps in investigating this site, this should ultimately improve our historical knowledge.

Around 100 meters from Amrut kund, you will find an ancient and destroyed Hindu Temple – SomLing. This temple is situated in an isolated location, so will have to take help of local people in the village – Chandikapur. They say, this temple was destroyed during the Muslim era. You could find a 5 feet 8 inch (appx) Shiva Ling in this place, which is surrounded by ruins of the temple. You may not find, many Shiva Lings which are such tall. You could, find amazing carvings on the scattered parts of temple which gives a glimpse of the beauty of temple, which was once standing erect on earth.


Going ahead in the journey, you can visit a nearby village named – “Umapur”. Its appx. 3 Kms from Chandikapur on the highway NH9. As you enter this small village, you could see two marvelous temples (Chalukyan style).

These temples must have been constructed during 8th - 10th Century (ref - it was mentioned on a board situated in the premises, which displayed information about this temple). The body of temple has exquisite designs and carvings. You see Carvings of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha, Shiva Ling, NaraSimha and many many more. Animals like horses, elephants, snakes, bullocks, cows, lions, tigers etc also make the beauty grow. There is also an appx. 10 feet tall, Lord Ganesha’s idol inside the premises. Am not sure, but seems these temples were reconstructed recently by some archeological body.





Note - These pictures are dated - July 2008

References - http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://bidar.nic.in/


Thanks for reading this blog. Comments/Suggestions are most welcomed. In next post, I will take you through the beauty and charm of Basavakalyan town. The Anubhava Mantapa, Basaveshwara temple and the Basavakalyan fort.... Do read it! Thanks, Sandeep.