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.

Jonnagiri Ashoka Inscriptions

We came across this beautiful place after a long exhausting journey from Mantralayam in the month of October where the whether is its best and the cool winds make this place a perfect weekend getaway destination.

The place which has cotton fields extends to a vast length giving the eyes a retreat after a long exhausting journey.

 The place is made into a beautiful garden which gives it pleasant look which is funded by the Archaeological Department of Andhra Pradesh.

The inscription is not etched on to the stone deeply.

 Most of the letters cannot be seen clearly as the stone has eroded due to harsh weather.

 The inscription on a small stone which lies adjacent to the stairway leading to the hill.

 The board depicts the english translation of the inscription.

Jonnagiri is not only famous for its ashokan edicts but also famous for its diamond resources.

       The place comes to life during the monsoon season when the rain washes away the mud bringing 

       precious stones to the top and you can also be a millionaire if you go to jonnagiri for diamond  

       hunting but you should be lucky enough to find them.

       

Panchakuta basadi

Panchakuta basadi loacted in the small village of kamabadahalli is the best example of mixed blend of ganga and hoysala architecture.The village gets its name from the large pillar in front of the basadi since kamba(ಕಂಬ) in kannada means pillar and halli(ಹಳ್ಳಿ) simply means village.The Panchakuta basadi is the most finite example of the southern dvitala vimana type falling under the three classes nagara,dravida and vesara.

 The large pillar in front of the basadi which gives the village its name.

 The entrance to the jinalaya.

 The statue of bahubali 

                           Lord mahavira

 The exquisitely carved door frame

The five different shrines dedicated to different tirthankaras were constructed in different phases.The first phase consists of three shrines of equal size of brahmachhanda  type.The one facing west has rudrachhanda griva-shikhara and one facing east is vishnucchanda griva-shikhara

The three shrines have a common navaranga which has the shrines of adinatha,rishabhanatha and mahavira.

Kushmandini devi,one can notice the hoysala feature in the scupture.

 The temple compex of bahubali

 The main shrine of adinatha tirthankara.

 The idol of a tirthankara in the prakara.

A birds view of the temple.

places of interest nearby:

Shravanabelagola

Bindiganvile Vynatheya temple.