Bilagi Heritage Trip -2

 We reached Ratnatraya Basti at mid noon which situated at another corner of the village. I wonder about the size of the Basti, the sculptures of the stones where exquisite, flower formation decorated on the ceiling was intriguing and slab made by huge stone sheets. This Basti consists of a Ardhamandapa, a Navaranga and Mukhamandapa. The Basti is triple shrine (Trikutachala). The Sikhara is in Kadambanagara style. The main Garbhagriha itself has three compartments (in a row) and the images of Neminatha, Parsvanatha and Vardhamana are installed, and above the Parswanatha shrine raises the Sikhara.

 There are two Navarangas. The Mukhamandapa at the front appears to be a later addition. There is a vide porch which was plain. The pillars are not much elegant and plain.  It has two slabs containing inscriptions. The outer walls of the Basti have very beautiful sculptures are relief of imaginary birds and animals in profusion. There is also a Balipitha on the front side. The Jainas did not have decoration or sculptures on outside walls but took care to use such decoration in a limited way within the structures.

 History- The graceful Ratnatraya Basti was built by Bilagi chiefs The earliest inscription in the Basti dated to 1581 A.D. records the construction of the Ratnatraya Basti by Rangapparajodeya and the installation of the images of Neminatha, Parshwanatha and Vardhamana by his son Ghantendra – II at the instance of the Jaina saint Bhattakalanka.    Another inscription dated 1592 A.D. records the addition of ganhakuti which has the Shantisvara and also refers to the land grants made by Ghantendra – II.

Bhuvaneshwari Temple -

One more place we visit near to Bilagi village was Bhuvanagiri which is the only place in the entire State where a 16th century temple is dedicated to Kannada Mate Bhuvaneshwari Devi, situated at atop of 300 feet high in Bhuvanagiri, The temple deity is worshiped on all days of the year, complete with Naivedya Annadabhisheka, accompanied with the chanting of mantras. Surrounded by lush greenery on all sides, the age-old temple is a feast for the eyes.

Though the idea of a temple dedicated to Bhuvaneshwari Devi was conceived by the Kadambas, the rulers of Vijayanagar carried it forward, so much so that they would not venture out without paying their obeisance to the deity. Finally, it was the rulers of Bilagi who constructed the temple of Bhuvaneshwari Devi in Bhuvanagiri. It all started when Tirumala, the then ruler of Vijayanagar, was unable to bear the torture of Bijapur ruler Adil Shah and shifted his kingdom to Pennugudi (Chandragutti) with the help of the rulers of Shwethapura present day Bilagi.

 

 Bilagi kingdom spread from Gangavali River in Uttara Kannada district to Gangolli River in Udupi district. Since the rulers of Bilagi were both valiant and great admirers of Kannada language, a temple was built in dedication to Kannada Mate Bhuvaneshwari Devi. There is ample evidence to suggest that the temple was built in 1692 by Basavendra, the last ruler of Bilagi. Since the area is populated by people belonging to the Havyak community, the temple administration is taken care of by them.

Virabadhra Temple- Kallapura

At Evening we visited Virabadhra Temple in a remote village called Kallapur, the temple built in later Chalukyan style. On plan, it has a Garbhagriha, and a Navaranga. The Navaranga has supported by 14 pillars and surrounded partially walls in its 3 sides. Inside the temple are placed a huge statue of lord Virabhadra. The place has a very tranquil and scenic setting, the surroundings of the temple have many sculptures and a vast tank situated just few steps away from the temple.

Bilagi Heritage Trip - Part (1)

I visited Bilagi (Svetapura) village in few months back with my friend RajeshNaik & Sunil Kamath. It’s a small and beautiful village which reflects unique elements of Hindu and Jain influence over the span of generations. A casual glance at the rich historical past of this village is enough to recognize the significance of the place. I wasn’t very excited because I had no idea what I will expect to see, normally I won’t ask much details about our destinations with Rajesh Sir, every time each destination will be big surprise for me so when we got there, first of all I was extremely beyond excited.

Bilagi Village has some beautiful Hindu and Jain temples and monuments. First we went Gola Baavi a huge square shaped well sprawled on just few meters from Bilagi circle is a place of immense importance to Heritage lovers. As soon as we went inside, I quickly took out my camera and started taking pictures. It was so magical. The weather was perfect, the sun was setting, and absolutely breathtaking view.

 On the eastern side there was a small underground passage which lay down to a small squared shape corridor. A deep well and a pond with flight of steps are there inside the fort. The beauty of this well is that it is entirely made of bricks and the brick work can be seen inside the entire inner wall of the well very beautifully. However, there is no one is using this water for quite sometime now. The well was built by Bilagi Chiefs in scientifically considering natural interferences like rain & wind.

 I was wishing to stay there longer. Since it was getting late we had to leave for next place. Later we headed to explore Virupaksha Temple which situated just interior part of the village. As per the inscription this temple is dated to 1570 A.D. by Queen Virambika. There is an inscription on the slab in the Virupaksha temple which records the construction of the temple along with Shikhara, Prakara, Mantapa, etc.

This temple is built in Vijayanagara style and has a Garbhagriha, Navaranga, a separate Nandimandapa and a Mukhamandapa. The Pradhakshinapatha around the Garbhagriha is enclosed and there are pierced windows on the either side of the Garbhagriha. One of the windows has Mahishamardini motif.

 There are images of Ganapati and Mahishmardini on either side of the entrance of the Garbhagriha. Apart from the big Nandimandapa, the Mukhamandapa has many impressive carvings in relief.

Tonsepar - Palm Island

Being away from the boring routine to feel calm and happy, the perfect combination of beauty and serenity is Coconut Island, you feel free, free to fly, to enjoy the life in perfect place. There is something about the sea, that is calming and soothing to the nerves and there is something very romantic about being on an island. I think it’s the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the world that really feels special. Running around the island, embrace the cool air; lay on the sand, kissing the white fluffs of froth, having appreciated sun-down sight over the palms, My God, everything’s so lovely all of these make way to maybe the happiest people in the world on that moment.

‘Tonsepar Dweepa’ is being called as St Mary’s Island also known as Coconut (palm) Island is a small uninhabited island in the northernmost island in the Arabian Sea. It’s situated 8 km north of Malpe cost. This picturesque island was formed out of lava that erupted from the bottom of the Arabian Sea millions of years ago and it’s famous for its basalt rock formations (We studied in geology three varieties of rock formations -basalt, granite and sandstone) in a hexagonal form the only one of its type in India. The rocks on the island have crystallized into columns split into a hexagonal mosaic the rocks presented us with different colors of rock formations here with great picturesque view.

Coconut palms adorn the island. The island provides a great backdrop for some good photographs. The scenery that captures the eyes is that of perfect coconut trees, the rocks and the sea that we drew at art class in school. The Geological Survey of India declared it a National Geological Monument in 1979. It is said that the Portuguese traveler Vasco Da Gama landed on this island in 1498 and named it El Pardon De Santa Maria.

A set of four small islands (Coconut Island, North Island, Daryabahadurgarh Island and South Island) the north-south aligned islands form a non-continuous chain. The island covers an area which is about 500m in length with a width of 100m. It has prominent coconut trees, its cover reflecting in an azure south sea color.

Two regular small Ferris’s will bring tourists from Malpe natural fishing harbor to the island and has to switch to small boat just few meters away from the island. The journey was always pleasant with scenic view; the feel of the rough sea that made the boat to have rhythmic dumps had its own music. The thought that we were away from all the hustle and bustle of the city gave us a reason to sport a permanent smile on our faces.

Some shelters have been built on the island for tourists. The western coasts of the islands are a seashell haven with seashells of various shapes and sizes littered along the coast. Its idyllic black polished rocks that frame its coast. There are no safe sand beaches to swim and relax since it is scatted with basaltic rocks but I always prefer to freshen up, take bath and have fun in small beaches between these rocks situated in Northern and southern part where less crowded.

 Here we can see some clean beaches where the seaside soft sand scratching and tickles under bare feet and the water touches with tender. A perfect corner for bathing the huge waves are stop by colorful rocks which can see the reflection of the sun. I like to see the white froth on top of the overflowing waves. Whenever we taking bath here the sun rays playing pet our naked bodies by happily and smilingly we jumped into the water, playing with great fun, chasing playfully each others, splashing water all around and finishing with put down our exhausting bodies on the sand.

We never realized how time flew staring at the sea. What could be more beautiful than to be on an island, sit by the sea and watch the sun go down it was time to wrap up all the good times and take them back as memories forever on the ride back we always kept our self silent thinking of the time that we spent mesmerized in nature's resplendent beauty. Endless Ocean that seems to merge with the horizon, so that it’s hard to understand where is the end of the water and the beginning of the sky. You are on your own in that Paradise corner away from the noisy and hectic crowd.

Island sunset View from my home (Tottam) beach