"Galaganatha" - The Pyramidal Temple

     "Galaganatha", a small sleepy village on the banks of the river Tungabhadra of  Haveri district is well known for its 'Galaganatha' or the 'Galageshwara' Temple built by the Kalyana Chalukyas. The temple is situated at the holy confluence of rivers Varada and Tungabhadra. A notable and distinguishing feature of this temple is its heavy pyramidal base and the strong curtains walls built around the temple in order to protect the temple from river floods. One has to appreciate the architectural skill of the Chalukyas, since this temple has been standing in its place for almost more than a thousand years, whereas the entire village was washed out due to continuous floods. The new village came up a  little further from the temple.

The Galaganatha Temple

       There is another temple to the left of the Galageshwara temple known as the Malleshwara temple, built during the period of the Rashtrakutas. The main temple of Galaganatha is dedicated to Lord Shiva in the form of  a Linga. Inside the garbagriha is a pacha-linga idol symbolizing the confluence of the five rivers viz., the Tunga, Bhadra, Kumadvathi, Varada and Dharma. There are beautiful carvings of Lords Vishnu, Bhairava, Surya, Shiva, and of Goddesses Mahishasuramardini, Kali, etc., inside the temple.

The Malleshwara Temple

Galaganatha Linga

River Goddess

Pancha Lingas

Nandis

Beautiful Carvings depicting War Scenes

 March Towards a War

Lovely Door Frame

Nicely Polished Pillars

Inscriptions

Nandi

 Skillfully Formed Pillar

        There is a ruined mantap inside the temple complex where some sculptures are kept. Its believed that there are about 101 Shiva Lingas around the temple and on the banks of river. 

The Ruined Mantap

Nandi Kambha

Some of the 101 Lingas

Hero Stone and A Linga

Rear View of the Pyramidal Temple

The temple priest is a kind gentleman and shared various stories related to this temple. According to him, the temple was built by the great legendary Sculptor Jakanachari, out of a single rock.  He continued to say that the linga here is a Sparsha Linga, which is underneath the present visible Linga and is considered very powerful. In the earlier days, when people kept iron near the Sparsha Linga and prayed to god, it turned into gold. As people started to misuse this power, the king decided to cover the same with a structure called 'Galaga'. Hence, the deity here came to be known as Galaganatha or Galageshwara and in due course the village too became popular for this temple and came to be known as Galaganatha .

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore-NH4-Tumkur-Chitradurga-Davangere-Ranebennur- Right Turn towards Guttal-Right Turn towards Havana-Left Turn to reach Galaganatha

Distance from Bangalore: About 350 kms

Places to Visit Around: Choudayyadanapura, Kuruvatti, Haveri, Ranebennur, Harihara and many more