Ikkeri is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

situated in Sagara taluk (

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

) about 6 km to the south of the

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

Sagara Sagara may refer to: People * Sagara (ethnic group), a people of Tanzania * Sagara (Vedic king), Ikshvaku dynasty * Sagara clan, a clan of 16th century Japan * Sekihotai (Sagara Souzou), a leader of the Sekihotai military unit during the Boshin ...

, it's known for the Aghoreshvara Temple, dedicated to an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. The word ''Ikkeri'' in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

means "two streets".

Nayakas of Ikkeri

Close up of Nandi mantapa from the entrance to the Aghoreshwara temple at Ikkeri

From about 1560 to 1640 AD, it was the capital of the kingdom of the

Nayakas of Keladi Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...

, afterwards moved to Bednur Nagara. Ikkeri however continued to be the

nominal Nominal may refer to: Linguistics and grammar * Nominal (linguistics), one of the parts of speech * Nominal, the adjectival form of "noun", as in "nominal agreement" (= "noun agreement") * Nominal sentence, a sentence without a finite verb * Nou ...

capital, the Raajas were called by its name, and the coins were called Ikkeri Pagodas and Fanams, although, if fact, the mint was removed. Its walls were of great extent, forming three concentric enclosures. In the citadel was the palace, of mud and timber, adorned with carving and false gilding. The only vestige of its former greatness is the temple of ''Aghoreshvara'' a large and well proportioned stone-building. On the floor in front of the shrine are the effigies of three of the Keladi chiefs, doing obeisance, with the name inscribed above each. One of them, Huchcha (Supreme) Somasekhara, is represented as manacled and fettered. The distance between the central pillars was adopted as the standard measure for garden land. A rod of this length, equal to 18 feet 6 inches, was the space called ''daya'' allowed for one tree, and the shist was fixed on 1,000 such daya at various rates constructed in a mixed style with a unique conception.

Aghoresvara temple

The Aghoresvara temple above mentioned is a large structure, built of granite, in a uniquely mixed style that incorporates elements from

Vijayanagara architecture Vijayanagara architecture of 1336–1565 CE was a notable building idiom that developed during the rule of the imperial Hindu Vijayanagara Empire. The empire ruled South India, from their regal capital at Vijayanagara, on the banks of the Tung ...

, the Karnataka Dravida style of the Later Chalukya dynasty and

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...

. There are three shrines, the biggest dedicated to Aghoresvara (Shiva), a

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

shrine to its left and a Nandi in the front. The temple faces north and has lofty roof and ornamental doorways on the west, north and east, the north doorway being the best with two elephants at the sides. The

Garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the '' murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ' ...

, which is built of huge stones, contains a gigantic pedestal occupying nearly three-fourths of the whole space and sculptured all round with 32 seated female figures called

Shakti Peetha The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...

. In the ''Sukhanasi'' is a small translucent

Nandi (bull) Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, ge ...

carved out of white spar. The temple has no ''navaranga'' doorway there are two niches, those to the right containing the figures of

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

and Subramanya and those to the left figures of

Mahishasuramardini Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around comb ...

and

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhaira ...

. There are intricate carvings on the stone walls of the temple. There are carvings & sculptures such as Temple Relief (sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background), Figurine,

Old Kannada Old Kannada or Halegannada ( kn, ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ, Haḷegannaḍa) is the Kannada language which transformed from ''Purvada halegannada'' or ''Pre-old Kannada'' during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi (ancient royal dynasty of Kar ...

Manuscript, Sculpted Elephant etc. At present it is maintained by

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

Gallery

Aghoreshwara_temple_at_Ikkeri.jpg, Aghoreshwara temple at Ikkeri Yali_pillars1_in_Aghoreshwara_Temple_in_Ikkeri.jpg, Yali pillars in Aghoreshwara temple at Ikkeri File:Ikkeri temple Karnataka.jpg, Ikkeri temple Karnataka File:Aghoreshwara Temple at Ikkeri, Shimoga, Karnataka.jpg, The wide and beautiful Aghoreshwara Temple File:Profile of Aghoreshwara Temple in Ikkeri.jpg, Profile of Aghoreshwara Temple

References

C.Hayavadana Rao, B.A., B.L., Fellow, University of Mysore, Editor, Mysore Gazetteer, 1930 Edition, Government Press, Bangalore. B B Susheel Kumar, Founder and Photographer a
© B B Susheel Kumar
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka History of Karnataka Archaeological sites in Karnataka Former populated places in India Former capital cities in India Hindu temples in Shimoga district Cities and towns in Shimoga district Nayakas of Keladi

Nayakas of Ikkeri

Aghoresvara temple

Gallery

See also

References