Jakanachari's Hometown Kaidala/ Kridapura

         "Kridapura" was the capital of a petty state. According to the legend, it was the birth place of a famous sculptor the world has ever seen ,the great one and only "Jakanachari", to whose wonderful skills are attributed some of the finest temple carvings at Belur,  Halebidu, and the like.

         As the story goes, Jakanachari left his family and entered the services of the various kings of Hoyasalas and produced works by which, his fame is upheld even today. His son Dankanachari  grew up and decided to go in search of his father and reached Belur . At Belur , the Chennakeshava  temple was  in the course of erection , where the young man remarked that one of the images had blemish. Challenging this remark, the sculptor, who was none other than his father Jakanachari ,vowed to cut off  his right hand, if any defect was to be found in the image . 

         In order to test this, the figure was covered with sandal paste and to everyone's surprise ,the paste dried everywhere except on the navel. On further examination, a cavity  was found which contained a frog, sand and water. This way, the idol got the name of "Kappe Chanigaraya"(Kappe=Frog in Kannada). He had no choice but to cut  off his right hand as per his word. On further inquiry about the boy, they became aware of the relationship between the sculptor and the boy .

         One day, in Jakanachari's dream, god directed him to build a Keshav temple in Kridapura .  As per his dream, a temple dedicated to Chennakeshava was built in Kridapura. As soon  as the temple was complete, his right hand was restored. In commemoration of this incident , this place from then  on is being called as "Kaidala" (the restored hand). It is a large building with Dravidian style of architecture .

Chennakeshava Temple, Kaidala

             Kaidala has two temples constructed during the Hoyasala period. They are  the  "Chennakeshava" temple and the "Gangadhareshvara" temple . The latter was built in 1150 AD by the Hoyasala chief Gule Bachi, under king Narashima. The idol of Chennakeshava in the temple is a master piece and beats all the sculptures found in any of the Hoyasala temples. 

Mahadvara

     The Mahadvara  or the Main entrance of the temple has various sculptures including the Lord Chennakeshava himself and opposite to this, on the pillar, there is a fine figure standing with folded hands. Carvings of animals like elephants, horses and monkeys and fish are seen. It was also very interesting to find a carving of a camel.

Note the camel

Monkey

Keshava

The King 

Lord Krishna

Lord Ganesha

    There are two more small mantaps inside the temple compound. One of these mantaps contains an idol of Lord Garuda . There are some Hero Stones (Viragals) found in the temple complex. There is a tall stone pillar just in front of the temple. The temple of Gangadhareshvara was closed , but looked quite interesting. On viewing through the window, we found two huge stone inscriptions inside. On  inquiring about the temple to the locals, they informed us that the temple is opened only on Mondays. They also informed us about another temple located just outside the village, and was considered to be older than these two temples. 

Mantap

Mantap

Temple Compound and the Pillar

Gangadhareshvara temple

Inside the temple

The inscriptions

      Here on, we went to explore the older temple named "Kodi Rameshwara". There are two small temples here. Both temples have Shiva Linga inside with Nandi situated in the front. There are two huge Hero Stones, out of which one seemed to be broken, just near the temple .

Main temple

Smaller temple

Shiva Linga

The Hero Stones

      The Chennakeshava temple is open during day time and is maintained by a priest and a few old ladies. No photography is allowed inside the temple. Other two temples are mostly closed .

Directions from Bangalore : Bangalore - Tumkur NH4 - Via by pass to Gubbi - Left near Golur Lake - Right near Golur circle - Kaidala. Distance: About 80 kms . 
Trip date : 19th Sept, 2010
 Places to visit around : Gubbi , Tumkur , Golur, Chelur and many more .