Manne The Untold Capital of The Western Gangas

Manne located in Nelamangla taluk of Bangalore rural district is the forgotten capital of the ganga dynasty.This is the famous Mayanagara or Ratnapuripattna and Sri-Rajya of Sripurusha who shifted the capital from Kolar after a set back at the hands of Rastrakuta king Krishna 1.The village which once was flourishing centre for scholars and poets is now in ruins.Manne being very close to Bangalore city is the best weekend getaway for all the history enthusiasts.


Kapileshwara temple:
This Kapileshwara temple loacted on the tank bunk Chikka-kere,now in ruins is a great example for ganga architecture.The life size dwarapalakas welcome you to the temple and the exquisitely carved door frame leads you inside the temple.The temple has a common Navaranga for three garbagrihas which doesn't have any idols in them,according to the locals the idols were destroyed by treasure hunters and made an irreparable loss.

 The entrance to the temple

The life-size dwarapalaka

The navaranga

The pillar is though simple has its own unique features

The beautiful carvings on the outer walls of mantapa

Akka Tangiyara Gudi

The Akka tangiyara gudi which in Kannada literally translates to sisters' temples,the two temples though doesn't have any idols it doesn't fail to attract tourists due to its beautiful carvings,of the two temples only one temple exists today which was raised to the ground because the villagers thought it wasn't of any use since they weren't aware of its rich history and it will be no wonder even if the other would be destroyed to pieces and the government along with the cooperation of the villagers should be taking serious actions for its conservation.

The legend of the construction of the temples is that it was constructed by two sisters and was constructed within a day,the younger sister had constructed a temple before her elder sister had her lunch and the elder sister overcome by jealously built a temple right opposite where her younger sister did.

The temple which is on the verge of destruction

The Entrance

Pillars of the temple

The lion

Jain basadi

Manne was not only a shaiva centre but also became a prominent jaina centre during the ganga times.The temple is in ruins with no idols.It is a two-storied structure and the beautiful sculpture of nagini in the ceiling doesn't fail to capture the eyes,according to historians the beautiful mantapa is said to be constructed by a man named 'Kambha' in 802 AD but the villagers have their own story to tell that is that the temple was constructed by a prostitute for her worship and hence they call it sule gudi which in Kannada translates to prostitute temple.

 

                                      The Ruined temple                          

             

The Beautiful sculpture of Nagaraja and nagini on the ceiling

The beautiful ganga pillars

The beautiful idol of lord Ganesha

Virakallu-A stone memorial for a warrior

The capital was destroyed by the cholas in the 11th century which led to the decline of the Ganga rule in the area and subsequently the large temples were buried.

Kaidala

Kaidala is a small village which is about 5 kilometres from tumkur town and this is one of the precious Hoysala temples in Karnataka.Kaidala is famous for it's Chennakeshava temple and Gangadhareshvara temple.Kaidala is believed to be the birth place of the famous legendary sculptor jakanachari.

The place gets it's name according to a folk legend that by challenging his son jakanachari according to his own terms had cut his right hand and in his last days he came to his birth place and stared to sculpt the chennakeshava idol with his left hand and the lord who was pleased by his dedication and devotion gave his right hand back and hence the place got the name 'Kaidala'.

 

The Gopura of the chennakeshava temple.The gopura has vijayanagar era features while the idol in the sanctum has features of hoysala sculpture.

 The Chennakeshava idol sculpted has chaturbhuja with shankha,chakra and gadha in the sanctum.

Garuda who is the prakara of the temple.

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The navaranga of the gangadhareshwara temple.

A Scientific view on the temple:

The architect of the temple has used the principles of interference and diffraction before the invention of it in 18th century that is it was used before 8 centuries.

The technique used is as follows:

1. A hole in the compound wall(slit hole)
2. A hole in the garuda temple(slit hole)
3. The 2 holes beside garuda idol
4. The 2 division lines near chennakeshava pada

Thomas young who had discovered this in the 18th century was used in 12th century of our country,this proves the magnificent scientific history of this country.

References:

ತುಮಕುರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಮತ್ತು ಪುರತತ್ವ.

Directions:

Kaidala is about 70 kilometers from bangalore, It is not well connected by public transport.

Heggunda

Heggunda, the older name being Hayagunda is small hamlet nestled in Tumkur district which is mentioned in the famous epic Ramayana,this is said to be the place where Lava and kusha tied the horse of the aswamedha yagna and fought with their own father Sri Rama

The village has two temples which has to be climbed and an other which is on the ground which is dedicated to Anjaneya.

THE 3 temples are of rich historical and folk value as it is connected to Ramayana and other hindu myths.

The temple of sri anjaneya is said to be built by King janamejaya who is known for his sarpa yagna.

The temple of vanakallu malleshwara is cave temple which also has a tirulgannada inscription.

                                       

The hill where lava and kusha is said to have tied the horse.The hilltop temple shrines a pillar which is worshipped even today.

The carving behind the hanuman temple

It is about to 60 kilometers from Bangalore.
Directions:Head towards NH 48 and take the sevice road and exit the NH near Dabaspete and go straight until you find a road leading to heggunda where  you need to take a right turn.

Mandhar giri jain temple

 

Mandhar giri digambar jain temple is nestled in the small hamlet of Tumkur district of Karnataka.Mandhar giri which has a history of 700 years is hill shrine which has a mixed blend of ganga and hoysala architecture.

About 350 steps has to be climbed to reach the hill top shrine.

The memorial of shanti sagar maharaj who was instrumental in the devolopment of the temple.

The picture is the view from the hill.

The temple is dedicated to Chandranatha tirthankara who was the eighth tirthankara.The door of this temple is of trishakha dwarabandha.

The sculpture in the middle id that of Dharanendra yaksha which is intricately carved.

This carvings are found to be from Vijayanagara era.

Chandranatha tirthankara-the main deity of the basadi.

The idol of bahubali which was recently consecrated.

Acharya shanti sagar

A Natural butter ball as in mahabalipuram.

The only inscription of the hoysalas who after the consruction of Basadis by the Gangas had donated generously for their repair and upkeep.The Insciption states that Machikabbe who was the wife of prime minister of Hoysala King Narasimha 1 had donated for the reconstruction of the temple and was also responsible for the construction of a lake Padmavati kere in Maidala.

A birds view from the hill