The Hindu : Karnataka News : Trust to renovate temples at Angadi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Others

Trust to renovate temples at Angadi

By Our Correspondent

A view of the ruins at Angadi

CHIKMAGALUR, NOV. 24. There is now hope that the ruins of Angadi will be restored to their past glory as a local organisation has decided to obtain official permission and raise funds for the project.

D.B. Subbe Gowda, chairman of the Hoysala Moolasamsthana Sri Kshetra Angadi Jeernodhara Prathistana, told The Hindu that it had been decided at a meeting of the trust here recently to prepare an estimate and approach the State and Union governments for permission to take up restoration work.

Angadi, which means a shop, is a sleepy little village in Mudigere taluk.

It was originally called "Sasakapura or Sosevur" by the Hoysalas, who built a mighty kingdom that played a decisive role in the history of south India.

Anecdote

There is an interesting anecdote about the dynasty and how it got the name Hoysala.

It is said that Sala, the progenitor of the Hoysalas, was walking through a forest with his Jain Guru, Yogendra Sudatta, to worship goddess Vasantika Devi when a tiger came their way.

Taking an iron rod, the teacher handed it over to Sala saying, "Poy, Sala" (Strike, Sala). Sala killed the tiger.

This story is narrated in several records with a few differences in detail. While the Hoysala crest in many temples depicts Sala killing a tiger, the seal on copper plates and coins shows a dead tiger and a rod. Sala was perhaps the first ruler of the dynasty. Not much is known about him.

Five temples

Angadi has the ruins of five temples. Two of them, identified as Jain basadis, are said to date back to the 10th Century. One of the basadis is called "Makara Jinalaya," built by Manika Poysalachari. It has a mammoth idol of Shantinatha in the seated posture.

The larger of the two basadis is called Neminatha Basadi and contains images of Neminatha, Chandranatha and Gomateswara.

The three other temples are dedicated to Keshava, Patalarudreshwara and Mallikarjuna. The carvings indicate that the structures belong to the early period of the Hoysala Empire.

The image of Keshava is a testimony of good workmanship. But the temple needs immediate attention as several stones have been removed.

The temple of Vasantika Devi or Vasanthamma, which is now a tiled modern structure, was renovated at a cost of Rs. 4.85 lakhs. It has huge figures of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) in stucco, wearing crowns.

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