Amazing collection of Kites!

Kite or insect?

Some very interesting Kites from China. I am sharing some pictures of kites taken by my cousin who went to China recently.

Some of these Kites look so uncannily real!

A paper kite or a bird?

Beautiful Kite

Another beauty

Gliding Kite

Kites

A long tailed Kite!

Suryanarayana temple, Lakkundi, Gadag, India

Suryanarayana temple,
Lakkundi, Gadag, India

The Kasivisvesvara temple in Gadag beautifully connects with another temple, the Surya temple, this temple is dedicated to the Sun God. The architecture is beautiful. Gadag has so many precious ancient temples that it does certainly warrant a visit, especially if you are fond of ancient temple architecture of South India.

Exquisite doorway to the Surya temple

Work on the doorway

Intricate work

Work on the pillar inside the Surya temple

Decorative work on the Surya temple

Intricate work

Surya temple, Lakkundi with the open terrace

More of the beautiful work

11th century Kasivisvesvara (Kashivishvanatha) Shiva temple at Lakkundi, South India

Kasivisvesvara temple, with the Sun
temple far right, Lakkundi,
Karnataka

In continuation to my earlier post on the beautiful ancient temples of Lakkundi, I am posting another beautiful temple from Lakkundi.

This 11th century temple in Lakkundi, Gadag, is dedicated to lord Shiva. This temple is also known as the Kashivishvanatha temple.

This is one of the most elaborate and beautiful temples of Karnataka. The interesting part of this temple is how it connects to another temple, the Surya temple. The Surya temple is known as Suryanarayana temple, and as the name suggests it is dedicated to the Sun God. The interesting thing to note is that usually the Sun temples face east but Suryanarayana temple faces west. I will post some pictures of the Surya temple in my next post.

Kasivisvesvara and Surya temples are connected

Beautiful doorway Kasivisvesvara Shiva temple

Elaborate work on the doorway of the temple

Simple and beautiful work

Carvings on the wall of the temple

Motifs and decoration on the wall of the Kasivisvesvara Shiva temple

Elaborate work on the temple

Shiva inside an elephant with an Asura at his feet

Ancient temples in Lakkundi, North Karnataka, India

Exterior decoration motifs
at the Brahma Jinalaya
temple

Karnataka is known for its beautiful old temples. Some of the lesser  known temples are located in a place called Gadag. Gadag is a small village in North Karnataka and you will likely pass it on your way to Hampi from Hubli.

I could not visit Gadag during my last trip to Karnataka. But I certainly have it in my list of places to see. My cousin went there last year. She saw some absolutely beautiful temples during her visit.I wonder why not many people know about Gadag. I am sharing some temples from a place called Lakkundi which is around 11 kms from Gadag. Gadag is very well connected. A number of government buses ply from all over Karnataka to Gadag. Gadag also has a railway station.

Lakkundi has a Jain temple, Brahma Jinalaya, dedicated to Mahavira, it happens to be one of the oldest and largest Jain temples in Lakkundi. This temple is beautiful. I think the temple's name comes from Brahma's figure inside the temple. This temple dates back to 1007 AD, and was built by Attiyabbe, wife of Chief Nagadeva during the reign of Kalyana Chalukya ruler, Irivabedange Satyashraya. This temple's construction style is of the Karnataka’s Dravida style. This style flowered even more under Lakkundi's temple builders.

Brahma Jinalaya Jain Temple Lakkundi

Brahma Jinalaya Jain Temple

Neminatha-Jain Tirthankara, Brahma Jinalaya temple

Brahma's statue in the temple

A couple more temples that she visited were the Nanneshwara temple and Manikeshwara temple with a massive stepwell. In fact the temple looks smaller in comparison!

Nanneshwara temple, Lakkundi, Karnataka

Nanneshwara temple, Lakkundi, Karnataka

Manikeshwara temple with a massive stepwell, Lakkundi, Karnataka, India

Manikeshwara temple stepwell

A small temple next to the
Brahma Jinalaya temple