________________
APPENDIX III
495
an inscription of 1112 A. D., which tells us that it was founded, as a temple of Siva, under the name Mahādeveśvara, by Mahādeva, the danda-nayaka, or general, of Vikramāditya VI (1075-1125 A. D.). He founded also a temple of Nārāyaṇa, and other Saiva shrines such as those of Candālesvara and Bhairava,
One of the largest Saiva temples of the Cālukyan period, in the Dharwar district, is that of Tārakeśvara, in the town of Hangal, chiefly remarkable for the magnificent dome which covers the central portion of the great hall,' the roof of which is supported upon fifty-two pillars. The temple of Kaithabheśvara at Ānavatti, in Maisur, just across the border from the Dharwar district, is distinguished by its unusually lofty hall, the pillars being massive in proportion. The temple of Dakşiņa-Kedāreśvara at Balagāmve is now shorn of its infportance, but it was a great educational centre, of which we have already spoken. Saiva temples of the Cālukyan period are found also at Chaudadāmpur ( Muktesvara ), Haveri (Siddhesvara ), Haralhalli (Somervara), and Rattehalli ( Kadambesvara ), all in the Dharwar district.
The temple of Kadambeśvara contains an inscription which records a grant to it in 1174 A, D, for repairing the building. Inscriptions dating from 899 to 1262 A. D. are engraved on several slabs standing beside the temple at Chaudadāmpur, the later ones recording grants and gifts to the god of the temple under the names of Mukteśvara and Muktinātha.
The temple of Madhukeśvara at Banavāsi, a very ancient place, now & village, eighteen miles south by west from Hāngal, belongs to the eleventh century, as one of the inscribed slabs in and around the temple records & grant in the year 1068 A. D. The so-called Temple of the Sixty Columns, now in a ruined state, at Bankapur, and that of Triküteśvara at Gadag, both in the Dharwar district, may also be ascribed to the eleventh century. The former temple contains inscriptions upon either side of the shrine door, recording grants made to the god Nāgaresvara in 1138 and 1091 A. D. Similarly, one of the inscriptions collected together at the temple of Trikūteśvara records & grant made in 1062 A. D. in the time of Ahavamalla II. Cālukyan temples are found also in the Bellary district of the Madras Presidency, and most of them are dedicated to Siva (Kalleśvara, Katteśvara, Bhimeśvara etc.) There is no doubt that the inspiration derived from Saivism helped the building art of the Cälukyas and the technical competence of their craftsmen to give a distinctive stamp to Indian culture in the Deccan.
Even in the northern part of the Deccan, outside the sphere of the Cālukyas, we find a preponderance of temples dedicated to Siva. The most ornate of the temples in the Deccan style is that at the village of Ambarnātha, about four miles south-east of Kalyan, in the Thana district. This chef-d'oeuvre of the builder's art' was built for the worship of Siva
1 Poussin: Dynasties et Histoire de l'Inde, p. 211; Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XIII, p. 36 ff. 2 Cousens (op. cit.), pp. 84, 96, 104, 112, 128. 3 Seo Rea: Chalukyan Architecture. Archaeological Survey of India, New Imperial
Series, Vol. XXI. 4 Seo Cousens: Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan. Archaeologioal Survey of
India, Vol. XLVIII.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
