Nandikeshwar
Nandikeshwar, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Village in the Badami iaiuka of Bijapur District, Bombay, situated in 15° 57 N. and 75° 49' E., 3 miles east of Badami town. Population (1901), 1,127. It is of interest as containing Mahakuta, the site of numerous temples and lingams. The enclosure in which the Mahakuta temples lie is reached by a steep flight of stone steps, at the foot of which is a doorway guarded by door-keepers said to be figures of the demons Vatapi and Ilval. The enclosure, which is bounded by a stone wall, is small, but contains numerous temples in various styles, chiefly Chalukyan and Dravidian, many lingams, and some snake-stones. In the middle of the enclosure is a pond called Vishnu Pushkarni Tirth, said to have been constructed by the sage Agastya. In the masonry margin of the pond is a ligain shrine, the entrance to which is under water, and in the pond is a chhatri containing a four- faced image of Brahma. According to legend the daughter of Devdas, king of Benares, was born with the face of a monkey, and her father was directed in a dream to take her to bathe in the Mahakuta pond. He brought her and built the temple of Mahakuteshwar and some smaller shrines of Mudi Mallikarjun and Virupaksheshwar, all con- taining lingams; and his daughter was cured. To the north-east of the entrance is a shrine of Lajja Gauri, or ' Modest Gauri,' a well-carved black-stone figure of a naked headless woman lying on her back. The story goes that while Devi and Siva were sporting in a pond a devotee came to pay his respects. Siva fled into the shrine and ParvatI hid her head under the water and stayed where she was. The figure is worshipped by barren women. Outside the enclosure is a pond called Papavinashi, or ' Sin-Destroyer,' said to have been built by a seer in the first or krita epoch, the water having been produced by the sweat of Mahadeo. A car with large stone wheels stands just outside the enclosure. The Mahakuteshwar temple has six inscriptions on pillars. One, dated in the reign of the Western Chalukya king Vijayaditya (696-733), records a gift by a harlot ; another, dated 934 Saka, records a grant by Bappuvaras, a chief of Katak ; and the third records the gift of a pillar as a votive offering.
