View of Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district

The Kanakachalapathi temple is a 16th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. It is located in the town of

Kanakagiri Kanakagiri (also known as Suvarnagiri) is a town in Karnataka state of India. It was a provincial capital of the Mauryan Empire and later became the capital of the Nayaka dynasty who were the Palegars (feudatory) of the Vijayanagara Empire. I ...

, in the Gangavathi

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

of Koppal district in the

Karnataka state Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. Kanakagiri, known in ancient times as "Swarnagiri" (''lit'', "Hill of Gold") is about 3 km from the district headquarters

Koppal ''Koppal'' is a district headquarters of Koppal district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Koppal is surrounded on three sides by hills. It was known as Kopana Nagara. The town has historical landmarks such as the Koppal Fort, Gavimath (a rel ...

city, 380 km north of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

city and 200 km east of

Belagavi Belgaum (ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

city. Kanakagiri is known to get its present name from Kanaka Muni, a Hindu saint who performed penance there. The historically important

city, known in ancient inscriptions as ''Kopana'' is also of archeological significance due to the discovery of two inscriptions from the rule of Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

(3rd ceneutry B.C.E.) at the nearby villages Palkigundu and Gavimatha. After the end of the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

rule over the region when Koppal had been a southern viceroyalty, Koppal passed into the hands of notable dynasties of the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...

: the

Satavahana dynasty The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late ...

, the

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (mo ...

, the

Hoysalas The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

and the

Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

. The earliest available Kannada classic, the

Kavirajamarga ''Kavirajamarga'' ( kn, ಕವಿರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ) (850 C.E.) is the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language.Kamath (2001), p 90Narasimhacharya (1988), p 2 It was inspired by or written in part by ...

of King Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha I (r.814-878 A.D.), mentions Koppal in the sentence ''Viditha Maha Kopana Nagara''. The Kanakachalapathi temple is an example of ''

Dravidian architecture Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinc ...

'' of the Vijayanagara era. It is a protected monument under the Karnataka state division of the

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 ...

. The temple was built by the ruling vassal ''polyagar'' ( Nayaka or feudal lord). The temple complex is a large one with spacious halls (''

mantapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

'') and massive '' Yali'' pillars. There a three well executed, tiered ''

gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South I ...

s'' (tower over entrance) over as many entrances. Sculpture in the temple includes those of mythological figures in wood and

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

, and that of kings and queens in black stone. The popularity of the temple is supported by a local saying: "people with eyes must see Kanakagiri and those with legs,

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (town), Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire i ...

", an affirmation that the Kanakachalapathi temple is a delight to the eyes where as one needs to tread tirelessly to enjoy the architectural wonders of near by

(UNESCO World heritage cite), the royal centre of

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

, the capital of the

Vijayanagara empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

. In the months of February and March, during the

Phalguna Phalguna ( sa, फाल्गुन ) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phalguna is twelfth month of the year, and corresponds with February/March in the Gregorian calendar.Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ' ...

season, the temple hosts a popular fair called the "Kanakachalapathi fair" ('' Jatra'') .

References

Gallery

File:Kanakagiri Kanakachalapathi temple.jpeg, View from the rear of the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Kanakachalapathi temple Kanakagiri.jpeg, Spacious open ''mantapa'' of Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri.jpeg, Pilaster dolls adorn the ceiling over the ''mantapa'' in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Kanakagiri Kanakachalapathi temple 5.jpg, View of the tower over main entrance from within the courtyard of Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Yali pillars in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district.JPG, Yali pillars in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:View from the courtyard looking in to the open mantapa of Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district.JPG, View from the courtyard looking in to the open mantapa of Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Large open mantapa with Yali pillars in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district.JPG, Large open mantapa with Yali pillars in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Rear view of the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district.JPG, Rear view of the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri File:Kannada inscription in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri in the Koppal district.JPG, 16th century Kannada inscription in the Kanakachalapathi temple at Kanakagiri

References

Gallery

See also