Gangadhareshwara Temple- Standing big in exquisite Hoyasala territory
Gangadhareshwara
temple in the Agrahara village of Turukevere was not easy to locate.The
temple has no grand entrance, nor any visible signboards unlike its next door
neighbours –the Hoysala built Chenegeraya and Mula Shankareswara Temple.
The
unassuming temple played hide and seek with us and was thus missed. We drove past it and landed in front of
Chenagaraya Temple.Sheer determination and focused peering outside the windows enabled the sighting. It is a small modest temple, the Dhwaja stambha of the temple is cut off from the temple by a country lane.
Temple sighted!
Was
this temple going to stand out as an equal to its neighbors or was it going to
be their country cousin, we were soon going to discover!
The
sign board says:
“ Sri gangadhareshwara swami
sannadhi . Turuvekere. Gangadhareshwara temple is built in Dravida shaili (
style) . The God is installed facing north .
Vrishabha stambha and the devout patrons
It
is believed that the Palegara (local chief) named Ayyanna Nayaka and his wife were the patrons. The Vrishabha Stambha in
front of the temple has a panel showing a couple in worship.
The
temple indeed looks very modest.It
is built in a simple Dravida style being ekakuta, single cella.
But it is an outstanding example of looks
being deceptive. The moment we entered the temple our eyes were riveted by the
immense Nandi. The shiny black posterior beckoned us and we were drawn to it as
if it had cast a spell on us!
We
have seen many Nandis....one amongst us has seen Nandis from Kedar to Chidambram and the second one has a deep rooted loyalty for Chamundi Nandi !! And yet this giant monolith sculpted out of stone
quarried from the neighbouring black hill called Karekalgudda crept up in the
list of our favourite Nandis.
Nandi our medium to the Lord
Nandi; the sacred bull that Shiva rides is the
protector and guardian of all Shiva temples. He is the medium that communicates
between the devotee and the lord. The devotees approach him first. Nandi sits
directly outside a shrine of Shiva, facing the deity. This big basava sat in a
patalankara under the ashtakona ceiling looking regal and aloof, single minded in his
devotion, keeping a watchful eye on his lord!
The lord whom the Nandi watches is truly worthy
of his intense devotion. Shiva is in the form of a linga. Although the white tiled
sanctum is not a perfect setting for the unusual lingam.
The lingam is adorned
with nagabharana and has Ganga carved above, along with Chandra and Surya.
This unusual lingam is not to be found anywhere else!
The priest was extremely helpful and yet we did
not exploit his kindness in asking permission for taking the close ups of the
prabhavalli.The priest showed us the prabhavalli
from close quarters and we felt blessed!
The utsava murthy set
of Siva and Parvati is accompanied by a Dakshayani idol which is very unique. The
utsava Siva has an eye carved on his left leg which is considered very rare and
of esoteric significance.
On the west side is a
stone mantapa with a Chandikeshvara who was relocated here from elsewhere
sometime in the past .
Ganesha carved out of
the similar shining black stone is on the left side of the entrance to the garbha griha.
Giant size mooshak
What was a small idol of Hanuman doing on a large pedestal bearing a mooshak in the middle? The Ganesha idol must have been replaced by the Hanuman idol.The mooshak
is no less striking, guess all the vahanas got a special treatment by the
sculptors!
The garbhagriha is guarded by two exquisitely carved and polished dwarapalakas ( Nandi and Mahakala), most of whose ornamentation is covered over by the vastra - which thankfully arent ragged but quite resplendent with zari and well draped .
The carved pavilion on
the east has a huge soap stone bell that gives off metallic sound when struck.
The stucco vimana over the pillared entrance
The pavilion has
two intricately carved Yalli pillars of Vijayanagara style.
These pillars lend
an architectural aesthetics to an otherwise modest Ekakuta temple. The adhistana of the temple is plain as if the whole structure is sitting on the ground. There are two entrances on the eastern and the western sides. But the entrance porch on the eastern side has a pillared porch and a small vimana.The pada of the temple
is plain and bare. The shikhara is stuccoed. The sculptural details lost with
constant re – touching.
The plain lay out of the temple
These Yali pillars give a beautiful sculptural depth to this otherwise plain temple!
The two pillars of the pavilion are carved on all sides depicting scenes from Shiva's life or stories about his devotees.
Such panels would have once been used, in absence of picture books, as instructional aides to teach young ones the puranas.
Shivatandava has been depicted, with the orchestra provided by Nandi on Mridangam/ dol, Brahma keeping beat with small cymbals, Vishnu on a smaller drum / Udukku.
Shiva is also shown in his different manifestations : Sukhasanamurthy , Dakshinamurthy , Bhikshatana and Rishabharooda
And ofcourse , there has to be
some light hearted entertainment ! A favourite ploy of ancient sculptors to
show off their skills was depicting animation or plasticity . Here , a three
legged figure can be seen ( dancer / acrobat ) which can be made to display
three different leg positions by covering any one leg .
The skill lies in carving the three legs in such a way as not to seem uncouth when viewed in a pose .
The skill lies in carving the three legs in such a way as not to seem uncouth when viewed in a pose .
An ornamental stairway - Sopana leads to the pillared pavilion, towards one side of which is found a badly damaged but still beautiful figure of Ganesha carved in Hoysala style.
Behind the temple, under a tree is found a discarded peetam with a lion insignia. There is some discussion among the cognoscenti that it is a Jain remnant that possibly points to a some ancient Jain temple getting a Hindu makeover in some point in history when such reconstructions were commissioned by kings opting to change Faith .
The big soap
stone bell, the exceptionally carved Shivalinga ,the impromptu lunch invitation
to attend the naming ceremony held at the temple truly overwhelmed us.It made
us think as to what is small and what is big. Was this town with its big bull and
big bell small ? Or did it prove that small in fact was big?
This temple truly towered over the others.
It was this Nandi that had won us over.Nandi means the one
who gives joy. The big Basava sculpted hundreds of years ago with rows of
bells and anklets ; crowned and smeared with vermillion, vibhuti and
garlanded profusely with fresh flowers gave us immense joy.
This
Nandi has an air of detachment; he looks totally immune to his
surroundings. His gaze is fixed on Shiva
Nandi in sculpted finery
e
What meaning do these flowers and jewels have for him? He has the lord's perpetual blessing. He needs no flowers or jewels. He has the lord's assurance that he is his supreme bhakta. He is in Shiva's sannidih all the time! It is the ordinary devotee who needs these flowers and fineries to appease Shiva through Nandi. Lost in these flowers and rituals the devotee forgets the example set by Nandi.....single minded devotion is the only way to seek Shiva
"Om
Mahakalyam Mahaveeryam,
Shiva
Vahanam Outatmama
Gananamtwa
pratham vande
Nandishwaram
Mahabalam"
