Continued from our previous post
Gummanayakanapalya fort....
"Gummanayakanapalya" has history dating back to the 12 th century AD. Apart from the magnificent fort , there are a few temples and other ruins spread across the village. We found three temples in the village dating back to the Vijayanagar period .
The most beautiful temple here was that of Lord Rama. But is completely in a bad state with poor maintenance. Upon inquiring with the locals , we came to know that recently, the temple here was surveyed as some agencies planned to restore the same. We assumed the agency to be ASI though not sure. Currently, it is serving as a cattle shed for the village cows.
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| Lord Rama Temple |
This temple had carvings on the outer wall depicting the stories from "Ramayana". The pillars were also heavily carved, contained carvings pertaining to Lord Vishnu, his avatars and consorts. There is no sign of a Shikara.
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| Carvings depicting Stories from Ramayana |
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| Beautiful Carvings |
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| The Decorative Pillar |
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| Pillar Top |
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| Lakshminarashima |
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| Lord Vishnu and his Consorts |
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| Lord Venugopala |
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| Lakshmana, Rama and Sita |
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| Vamanavatar |
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| Lord Saraswathi and the Swan |
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| Trivikrama |
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| Door Frame |
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| Dance Floor |
The next temple we visited was of Lord Venkataramana (Vishnu ). This temple has undergone continuous renovation. Just opposite to the temple, there are two pillars and a mantap constructed using huge stone pillars. This mantap is assumed to be the King's Balance (quite a Vijayanagar tradition).Unfortunately, this temple was closed. From here we visited Goddess Lakshmi's temple , which was also closed . But, it is for sure renovated.
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| King's Balance and the Pillars |
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| Lord Venkataramana Temple |
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| Temple of Goddess Lakshmi |
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| Remains of the Carving |
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| Dwarapalaka |
Finally, on our way back from this place, we spotted a stepped tank which was lovely.
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| Stepped Tank |
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| Final View of G N Kote |
This place requires serious care and maintenance. Altogether, a wonderful place to visit . Locals are quite helpful .
Trip date : 28 Nov 2010
Absolutely beautiful... The government should take good care of these treasures!!
ReplyDeleteOh, such fantastic treasures indeed! What a gorgeous place and so much wonderful history! Your photos are superb as always and the next best thing to being there myself, seeing it for myself -- and I would love to do just that! Thank you for sharing with us! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
The post makes me sad actually...such treasure and lying like this, absolutely unattended and un-restored. This is criminal...
ReplyDeleteThe Rama temple is so good...I hope ASI does something soon about it!
It is a pity indeed that there are so many ancient treasures that the authorities do nothing about to preserve, but keep creating lack-lusture modern buildings and amusement centers..! Good captures and post TGS..!
ReplyDeleteThe stepped well's condition makes me so sad ....and angry. Even if the ASI does nothing, can't the people living around, do a spot of weeding and cleaning now and then, if not to preserve heritage, at least to gain "punya" ? I think the priest of the Venkatramana temple should start a myth about some " divine dream" demanding a sprucing up,so that superstitious people will start acting !
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. There is a lot to see , one life not sufficient:).
ReplyDeletesad to learn that the historic structure being used as a cattle shed!
ReplyDeleteloved yosee's views and suggestion!!
Temple needs maintainance very badly.The carvings are beautiful. I hope when I do visit the temple it will be in better shape.
ReplyDeletebeautiful pictures..one must visit:) don't when I'll:))
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visual treat and beautifully presenting our heritage.
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