Musafir

This is the last place of visit on my second day. Even though i was not exhausted, i was a little bored with the monotonous visits to temples. I feel that when we plan a trip, it must contain a mix of different types of places, and this i realized after making a couple of trips like this :) . It was almost 4 when i visited this temple. It is again situated in a nice picturesque location and beautiful with all the coconut trees. A nice lawn has been established near the temple premises which creates a good ambience and pleasant atmosphere in the evenings.

Koravangala is a small town 12 kilometres from Hassan on the Hassan -> Arsikere road. Inscriptions around the temple site give us an idea of the temple's construction and the various grants it received. One of them specifies the name of Bhutanatha Raja or Buchi Raja, a Brahmin officer from the family that serves Hoysala king Narasimha I, as the man who constructed it. The inscription also states consecration of the temple coincided with the coronation of King Ballala in 1173. Though originally built over a large platform, today it stands almost equal to the ground.

I enter the temple complex from the rear end. The entrance is very small and guarded by elephants. There are beautifully carved dwarapalaka statues on either side. This entrance leads to a  mukhamantapa which is supported by 32 pillars. The ceiling is partitioned into 13 parts and each is carved beautifully with lotus flowers. Once you cross the mukhamantapa you enter the navaranga which has neatly carved ceilings. The northern part of it has an enticing image of Krishna. On the lintel, above the entrance, a fine image of Gaja Lakshmi is also found. Idols of Ganapathi, Saraswathi and Saptha Matrikas adorn the corners of the. On the right side is a figure of Dakshina Murthy. The antarala is supported by 8 pillars, four of which are star shaped.

The sanctum sanctorum has a huge Sivalinga made of Blackstone. As usual, there is a Nandi statue in front. There is a small shrine on the left of the sanctum dedicated to Ganesha. The Vimana above the Garbhagriha is made of soapstone. It consists of turrets in four tears with numerous sculptures. An exquisite Hoysala crest adorns the Vimana's facade.  Every section of the temple has wonderful sculptures that mark this temple out from many others.
A row of large idols carved in single and double pilasters with turrets above them adorn the outer walls. Figures of Vishnu, Narasimha, Varaha, Venugopala, Natya Saraswathi, Kaliyamardana Krishna, etc. can be found there. On the wall panel the carving of the Gajendramoksha sequence is absolute marvel.

Apart from the Bucheswara Temple, there are two other temples in the vicinity but they are in a very bad shape. They have been completely ignored and the place is filled with vegetation and stench. The structure of the temples is good in some sections. The pillars are damaged in one of the sides which may weaken the entire structure. Most of the pillars in the mukhamantapa inside are still good and they  lead to a small sanctum which has a pedestal for the Sivalinga. There is an inscription on a stone slab written in Kannada.The outer sides of the temples are designed with turrets as the Bucheswara Temple and extremely beautiful.

As this was the last stop for the day, i leisurely roamed around and was there for half an hour. I then went back to my stay in Hassan town. I was looking forward to my next day’s trip. I had a good time off before the tiring and fun experience in Sravanabelagola.