Mahalingeshwara Temple, Gokak Falls

Mahalingeshwara Temple (mentioned as Tarakeshwar temple in an old inscription found inside the temple belonging to the reign of Ratta Kartaveerya III, dating back to 1153 AD) is an 11th-century Hindu temple dedicated to lord shiva. It is located at Gokak Falls, Belgaum. It has been built in Kalyani Chalukyan architectural style. It boasts of having a huge courtyard, an Ardhamandapa and a spacious open mukhamantapa(frontal courtyard) and a Garbhagriha(sanctum santorum) over which there exist a beautifully carved shrine.[1][2] The temple has a 8 porches and the pillars of these porches are smooth and round. The east porch has a Halegannada(old Kannada) inscription smeared with paint dating back to 1153 and it belongs to the reign of the seventh Ratta dynasty chief Karta Virya-III(1143-1164). Also, there is another inscription nearby belonging to the reign of fifth Ratta dynasty chief Kannakaira(1082–96).[3]

Mahalingeshwara Temple
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictBelagavi district
DeityShiva
Location
StateKarnataka
CountryIndia
Architecture
StyleKalyani Chalukyan

Mentions

The description of Mahalingeshwara temple in the Belgaum gazetteer by James Campbell is as follows:
On the south or right bank of the river, reached by a flight of fifteen steps, is the large temple of Mahalingeshvar (70' * 42'). It is a plain structure with eight porches, each of which has three pillars, with a row of single pairs inside. The temple is built of large stones, and the ceilings are flat. Four pillars in the centre of the hall or mandap are 8' 9" high exclusive of the brackets, and have square bases, octagonal mouldings, then a square plain block, round neck and capital, and a square abacus. The pillars of the porches have round smooth shafts. The brackets of the capitals have the cobra ornament. On each side of the door leading into the antechamber is a perforated panel. On the door posts door-keepers with four hands hold the trident or trishul and the drum or damru Two smaller door-keepers bear the mace and fruit and on the walls behind them is Kártiksvámi on the right and perhaps Brahma with a mace in his right hand on the left. The shrine door is plain and the back of the hall or mandap has been repaired since the temple was built. The outside of the roof is much injured. In the east porch is a long inscription in Old Kanarese characters, but so besmeared with paint that part of it cannot be read. The date, which appears to be about 1153, is effaced, but the inscription belongs to the seventh Ratta chief Kártavirya III.(1143-1164). Another inscription in one of the temples is dated 1087 (Shak 1009 Prabhava samvatsara) and belongs to the fifth Ratta chief Kannakaira II.(1082-1096).[4]

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References
  1. "Gokak's awesome twosome". Deccan Herald. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  2. "Gokak Taluka Tourism Spots" (PDF). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  3. General, India Office of the Registrar (1973). Census of India, 1971: Mysore. Manager of Publications. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  4. Belgaum by James M Campbell (PDF). Gazetteer Department, Karnataka Government. p. 561. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
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