Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple
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Introduction
Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple is situated on the outskirts of Bangalore, around 51km to the North of the city. It is located in the foothills of Nandi hills, in the Chickballapur district. (Figure 1). It is accessible through NH7. Nandi Hills is an important location in the cultural and social history of Bangalore, with local ‘sthalapuranas’ (myths about a place) attributing it to the place where Shiva performed his penance and as the origin of various rivers (Pennar
(Kalvamanjali, 2014)1, Arkavati etc)2. In the modern history, it assumed importance as the fortress of Tippu Sultan.3 George Michell has dated the temple back to the period of Nolambas, a small Lingayat Kingdom that ruled the South Karnataka region. They were contemporaries of the Rashtrakutas and grew under their patronage.4Though it was built around 9-10th A.D, it houses various additions and inscriptions by the Rasthrakutas, Bana, Ganga, Chola, Hoysala and Vijaynagara rulers. The temple comes under the Archeological Survey of India in the Bangalore circle as a protected monument. The entire complex measures 326,011 sq.ft in area, oriented towards east.
Figure 1: Google Earth image of showing Chickballapur Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple.
1
2Pinakini originates in Vishnugiri and flows into two directions, as South and North Pennar. Papakini, Palar, Sarvamukhi, and Arkavati are the other rivers said to originate from the hills. But most of them have disappeared now though ancient infrastructure for channelizing them exists to date.
3http://horticulture.kar.nic.in/nandi.htm
4 M. S., Nagaraja Rao (1983). The Chālukyas of Kalyā a: seminar papers. Mythic Society. pp. 39–41.
The temple is dated back to AD 806 through various Nolamba and Rastrakuta inscriptions. Nolambadiraja and Govinda III of Rashtrakuta were the patrons of the temple then. There are inscriptions also by Bana kings regarding grants for temple.
Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple houses three of the four lingas that are said to represent the four Ashramas (Stages)5 of a man’s life, Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa. The temple has lingas denoting the first three stages whereas the last one is located on top of the hills, Yoga Nandeeshwara Temple. The temple has three main shrines, dedicated to Bhoga Nandeeshwara, Uma Maheshwara and Arunachaleshwara respectively. It also has minor shrines dedicated to Kooteshwara, Apita Kuchambh, and Girijamba along with three Nandis. The temple enclosure also has three stepped tanks, Vasantha Mantapas, Kalyana Mantapa in front of Uma Maheshwara and Tulabhara Mantapa. The Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple also has a sculpture of of Herambha Ganapati which is referred to as Simhamukha Ganapti in local texts (Kalvamanjali, 2014). These are housed in three enclosures which contains main shrines, mantapas and the Thirtha respectively.
5 Chakkarath, P. (2005). What can Western psychology learn from indigenous psychologies? Lessons from Hindu psychology. In W. Friedlmeier, P. Chakkarath, & B. Schwarz (Eds.), Culture and human development: The importance of cross-cultural research to the social sciences (pp. 31–51). New York: Psychology Press.
1. Enclosure Wall.
The enclosure wall runs along the perimeter of the temple complex and is embellished with nearly 180 colonnades which carries the stamp of Vijayanagara style of architecture(refer Fig 3). Rooms built in the corners of the enclosure served as accommodation for the devotees who used to stay during the festivals and offer cooked food as Nivedyam.
Figure 2: a) Enclosure wall; b) close view of pillar
2. Mahanavami Dibba
Mahnavami Dibba is located outside of the Gopura, on the right on a heightened platform. It was built to perform rituals on the day of Mahanavami, 9th day of Dussehra festival. It was also used to conduct rituals before war (Figure 4). The structure bears resemblance to the Dibba in Hasararama temple in Hampi (Figure 4, 5, 6).
Figure 3: Mahanavami Dibba
Figure 4: Dibba in Hasararama temple in Hampi
Figure 5: Close view of pillars
1. Newly Built Shrines
The newly built shrines dedicated to Amman houses the resident deities associated with the Kalyani.
2. Stepped tanks
Panchalinga Kalyani or Narasmihakunte as it is locally known, is located outside the Gopura to the left(Figure 7). It is enclosed with ornate walls on all four sides and is accessible through steps that start from outside the enclosure. It is not accessible from the main temple
enclosure. Since it is located near the Durbar Hall/Dining hall, it could have been used for non-religious purposes as well.
The other stepped tank, located to the right is smaller in size and the style is distinctly Vijaynagara (Figure 6).
Figure6: Stepped tank
Figure 7: Panchalinga Kalyani
3. Gopura
Gopura or Gopuram is the Gateway ornate at the entrance of the temple seen in the Dravidian Style Hindu temples in southern India. In Bhoga Nandishwara temple the gopura is of Vijaynagara style. In the gopura we have noticed mythical character such as yali. There are dwarf sculptures which are depicted as holding the weight and called Bharaputram. The material used is granite (Figure 8).
Figure 8: Gopura
4. Arunachalashwara Shrine:
Figure 9: Arunachalashwara Shrine
Two images of Chandrashekhara was found one is from Chola period and the other from later Vijaynagara period by the archeologists in 1945 which was installed in the respective shrines. From the architectural style it can be classified under the Dravidian one (Figure 10). The Adhishtana of the main shrine has carvings of Kutas and lion figures around them typical of the Dravidian architecture. It also has Kapotas with nasika, jagati, gala, makara and padma-pattika. The pranala also contains Makara and Bhoota figurines. The Padavarga shows Jangas also known as Pilasters presumably as a replication of earlier wooden prototypes. One can see stone windows intended for ventilation and lighting which boasts of carvings of Shiva in the Arunachaleshwara temple. Prasthara is situated on top of Padavarga which serves as an adhishtana for the Shikhara. Consistent with the architecture of bases in the temple, this also has Bharaputras and Koshtas. This part does not contain kutas. Instead it only has Shala arranged one after the other and decorated by Koshtas depicting women embellished with garlands. Shikhara has niches depicting, Narasimhamurty and Shaivite images. It is notable that the Vaishnavite image of Narasimhamurty shown along the Shaivite images, a theme that runs through various parts of the temple. Stupi of the temple shows various sculptures of Yali, four Nandis, forms of Shiva, and a lotus bud to top it off. The lalatabimba of the the doorway shows a Gajalakshmi but it is not ornate like the later temples of Belur or Halebidu. The ceiling has a domelike structure and a lotus in the center with maidens surrounding it.
5. Umamaheshwara Shrine
Figure 10: Salabhanjikas in Uma Maheshwara shrine
Uma Maheshwara shrine was not originally a part of the plan and was added after about 600 years. The pavilion with intricate carvings similar to that of Hoysala dynasty was added first and later on shrine was also added. It is made of grey-granite stone, It has four columns. The sculpture of Salabhanjikas can be found in the columns (Figure 10). The scultptures and intricate and the style and material is disntinct from that of the rest of the temple complex. The shrine houses UmaMaheshwara idol. It is dated differently to Hoysala and 17th century Gowda according to different sources.
6. Bhoga Nandishwara Shrine
Figure 11: Bhoga Nandishwara Shrine
The Adhishtana of the main shrine has carvings of Kutas and lion figures around them typical of the Dravidian architecture. The Padavarga shows Jangas also known as Pilasters presumably as a replication of earlier wooden prototypes. One can see stone windows intended for ventilation and lighting which boasts of carvings of Shiva in the Arunachaleshwara temple. Prasthara is situated on top of Padavarga which serves as an adhishtana for the Shikhara. Consistent with the architecture of bases in the temple, this also has Bharaputras and Koshtas. This part does not contain kutas. Instead it only has Shala arranged one after the other and decorated by Koshtas depicting women embellished with garlands. The lower Shikhara depicts niches containing Lingotbhavamurty, Shiva with Nandi, Shiva in Sukhasana etc. The stupi contains, four Nandis in four corners, and forms of Shiva facing four cardinal directions. It is evidently a later addition due to the differences in stylistic features. It is topped off with a Kalasha, which could also be a later addition. Both of these are cemented with concrete as well, strengthening the argument that this could be of a later date. The ceiling panel shows Shiva parvati and the Dikapals. Coloumns with circular shafts
altering with cube shapes, typical of Vijayanagar can also be found. George Michell has said that the original shrines were much smaller and was enlarged in the later periods. The ventilation is provided through stone windows also known as jalavitayanas with images of Durga and Natarajamurthy in Lalita pose. It also houses a sculpture of a Chola king, which was added later.
7. Minor Shrines
a. Komateshwara/Kooteshwara
Kooteshwara shrine contains a linga said to depict the Brahmacharya Ashrama or Balyavasth (Chilldhood) of life. It is consorted by a Nandi as well. It is in the south-western corner close to the inner enclosure wall.
b. Apita Kuchamba
Apita Kuchamba is the Parvati who merged into Shiva. It can be interpreted as the next stage of life ie Garhasthya (Married life) after the Brahmacharya. The shrine also has a relief narration of Shiva-Parvati marriage ceremony where, Himavan is shown as doing Kanyadan. Brahma and Vishnu along with various goddesses like Lakshmi, and Rishis. There are also relief narrations on the other side of the temple of inviting Trimurtys and the travel to the location of the wedding.
c. Girijamba
Girijamba shrine has an open mandapa and is located on the northwestern corner of the inner enclosure. The walls depict pictures of Ganapati and Shivapartvathy. The doorway has Salabhanjikas on either sides and Gajalakshmi as a lalatabimba.
8. Vasantha Mantapa and Tulabhara Mantapa
Figure 12: Vasantha Mantapa
Figure 13: Tulabhara Mantapa
Vasantha Mantapa used for conducting marriages even now(Figure 13). The Mantapa’s Chejja is typical of Vijayanagara architecture. Fig 11 shows a person riding a Yali, which is found in many Vijaynagara and Hoysala temples. It is the royal symbol of Hoysalas which could have inspired Vijayanagaras as well. It has carvings of Hanuman, goddesses and Shiva.
Tulabhara Mantapa is opposite to Vasanth Mantapa and it is much smaller(Figure 14). The name indicates that it is used for a specific ritual of weighing a person against an offering of equal weight.
9. Kalyani
Figure 14: Shringi Thirtha
The Kalyani of the temple is also known as Shringi Thirtha. Dakshin Pinakani is said to flow from this pond. It has a verandha surrounding it with three openings. Brick stucco figures in niches can also be found along the enclosure wall(Figure 15). It is a large stepped tank resembling other water bodies in the temple.
Conclusion
The temple has many salient features making it an architectural marvel. It could be because the complex was completed in various stages. Bhoganandeeshwara shrine is the oldest one and Arunachaleshwara, with its more stylized features and less fluid motifs came later. Uma maheshwara was a product of Vijayanagara times. It contains traces from Nolambas,
Gowdas, Gangas, Cholas and Vijayanagaras and hence can be used as a representative structure of the Karnataka architectural tradition. The pillars of the temple testifies to its diverse history, with pillar ranging from circular shafted pillars of Vijayanagara to ones that bears similarities with Hoysala architecture and the ones added in the modern period. Enclosure wall is indicative of the Vijayanagara feature. The placing of shrines resembling stages of life is also interesting to note. Shrines are dedicated to Shiva and consorts with odd Vaishnavite images like that of Hanuman interspersed with the Shaivite ones. Hence we can conclude that it is a Shaivite temple. In a nutshell, one can say that it is an amalgamation of various architectural traditions.
