12th century Mahadeva temple, Itagi, South India

-
Mahadeva temple Itagi,
South India
Sharing another temple from the Gadag, Lakkundi series. The Mahadeva temple  is equally spectacular. Located in Itagi around 35kms from Gadag, this temple is devoted to Lord Shiva.

Built in the early 12th century by Mahadeva, who was a commander in the army of Chalukya King Vikramaditya, this temple has some beautiful carvings. I wonder how the engineers and artisans in the ancient times managed to carve out such beauties, especially when there was no electricity or sophisticated instruments. It is amazing!

Mahadeva temple
Spectacular pillars




Around the temple


Comments

Technophilo said…
Surprisingly the Kalyani Chalukyas or Chalukya architecture is found on the banks of river Thungabhadra. Mahadeva temple is one of the prominent Chalukya architecture style temple is Itagi. Thanks for sharing about it.
June 2, 2013 at 4:56 AM
Rajesh said…
Beautiful temple.
June 2, 2013 at 6:33 AM
Namrota said…
Spectacular indeed!
June 2, 2013 at 8:24 AM
Nandini said…
Nice post with photographs.. thanks for sharing
June 14, 2013 at 8:38 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kash phool and Durga puja

-
Image
Kash Phool Ah-Kash! The appearance of Kans grass, Kash Phool (in Bengali) feels heavenly, not only because it so lovely, the white against the green, but it is also a happy reminder that the festive season is about to begin! Kash phool brings with it a change in weather, it starts to get a bit pleasant after the monsoonal downpour. Earlier, with so many open fields, one could get a glimpse of Kash any where, it is getting very difficult now with almost all the green spaces being taken away for real estate constructions :( With Mahalaya just two days away, Kolkata is in frenzy, with pandals gearing up to complete the decorations, people doing their last minute shopping; this weekend being the last weekend before Durga puja begins. It is true that it is almost impossible to move anywhere without getting stuck in traffic jams, but the mood is so positive, and optimistic that I don't mind .In fact, I don't want to go out of Kolkata during this time. I will miss it too ...
Read more

Ancient Ellora Cave temples; Ravan Ki Khai (cave 14) and Dasavatara (cave 15) cave temples

-
Image
Ellora Cave 14, Ravan Ki Khai Today's post is in continuation to my earlier post on Ellora . Caves 14 and 15 of the Brahmanical group may not be as grand as cave 16 , but they are beautiful and you can see some amazing sculptures and carvings in these caves. Cave 14 is called Ravan ki Khai because of the sculpture of Ravana shaking Kailasa (this happens to be quite a popular theme in Ellora.). This cave seems to be dedicated to Shakti worship because there are a number of female deities in this cave temple. A panel on the wall has seven (could not get a good picture). Cave 15 (Dasavatara cave ) is grand. It is called Dasavatara because of the various beautifully sculpted incarnations of Vishnu in this cave. There is a dance hall (Natya mandapa) right at the centre of the courtyard. The ground section of the cave does not have too many sculptures, but the upper level has quite a few sculptures. The first thing that you see in the upper level is Shiva’s chariot, a beautifu...
Read more

Daulatabad Fort-This 12th Century fort was perhaps one of the most fortified forts in India

-
Image
Daulatabad Fort Daulatabad Fort is located around 16km from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, India. Daulatabad, known as Devgiri then, was built in the 12th Century AD by Yadava King of Bhillama V. Devgiri  was taken over by Allauddin Khilji in 1226 AD followed by Sultan. Mohammed Bin-Tughlak who moved his capital from Delhi to Devgiri in In 1327 AD and named Devgiri, Daulatabad, the City of Fortune. This fort was very well fortified. It had triple rows of walls surrounding it. One could reach the top only through a narrow bridge. Surrounding the fort was a moat filled with water and crocodiles. On the way to the top, there is a very aptly named cave called Andheri, One can’t see a thing because it is pitch dark; once inside the cave it is rather difficult to make out anything. Thus must have been extremely confusing for the enemy. Even if someone were to stumble out of the cave, they would be easy target, and would get killed or fall from the many openings on the walls ...
Read more