GOPS CREATIV :: REDISCOVERING MY LOST PASSIONS
May 18
by GOPAN NAIR in Indian architecture & Heritage 4 comments tags: architecture, arsikere, belavadi, belur, Chandramouleshwara, gop.org, gopan, gopan g nair, gops, gops photography, halebeedu, halebidu, hindu, hoysala, india, Ishvara, karnataka, Shivalaya, shrine, sivalaya, temple, tour, tourism, veeranarayana

A SNEAK PEAK INTO HOYSALA HISTORY : BELAVADI & ARSIKERE

“Hoy, Sala !” in Kannada language means “Strike Sala !”, a dialogue that comes from Kannada folklore. As per the story, a young boy called Sala fought with a lion (or tiger) and saved his Jain Guru named Sudatta. The young warrior became the founder of an empire called ‘Hoysala’ and a depiction of this incident was adopted as the emblem of Hoysala dynasty. Hoysala Empire ruled the Deccan Plateau region of Southern India between the 10th and 14th centuries. They developed their own style of architecture and built a number of impeccable masterpieces around the kingdom, thus leaving their cultural imprint in and around the region. Several of these architectural wonders still exist in Karnataka, the most prominent ones are listed below in chronological order : Click the name of a temple to go through a photo tour. TEMPLE PLACE YEAR KING Chennakesava Belur 1117 Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleswara Halebidu 1120 Vishnuvardhana Kedareshwara Halebidu 1200 Veera Ballala II Veeranarayana Belavadi 1200 Veera Ballala II Ishvara (Shivalaya) Arsikere 1220 Veera Ballala II Kesava Somanathapura 1268 Narasimha III    VEERA NARAYANA TEMPLE, BELAVADI  Belavadi is a little village located 10 km north-west of Halebid (Halebeedu), the ancient capital of Hoysala kingdom. Belavadi is also known […]
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Apr 23
by GOPAN NAIR in Indian architecture & Heritage 12 comments tags: aihole, Badami, bangalkot, Bhaje, cave, caves, chalukya, fort, Ganapatim, gop.org, gopan, gopan g nair, gops, gops photography, hindu, india, jain, karnataka, mahakoota, mahakuta, Malegitti, Nataraja, pattadakal, pattadakallu, RAVALPHADI, RAVANA PHADI, RAVANAPHADI, Shivalaya, shrine, Temples, tour, tourism, vatapi

BADAMI : MAGNIFICENT CAVES OF ANCIENT INDIA

BADAMI (ಬದಾಮಿ or Vatapi as it was known originally) is an ancient temple town located in the Bangalkot district of Nothern Karnataka in India. The place ‘Badiamaioi’ mentioned by Greek Geographer Ptolemy (150 AD) has been identified as Badami. Badami was the capital of Chalukya dynasty who ruled several parts of Karnataka between 540 to 757 AD. The town of Badami lies 460 Kms from Bangalore, situated  at the mouth of a ravine protected by huge red sandstone ridges on either sides with a beautiful lake (Agastya lake) in the middle. Legend has it that Badami was named after an asura called Vatapi who got killed by sage Agastya.  Chalukya rulers had fortified the hills surrounding the town and built several temples in and around the area. The temples and ruins at Badami, Pattadakkal, Aihole and Mahakuta are good examples of Chalukya architecture. The most famous among this group of temples are the rock-cut cave temples built between 6th and 8th centuries AD. There is a famous Carnatic recital “Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje” praising lord Ganesha at Vatapi, composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar. The Chalukyas were defeated by Pallavas in 7th century and the idol of Vatapi Ganapati was transferred to TamilNadu which […]
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