A once thriving City that is now an obscure village

What do Banavasi, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Halebidu and Belur, Somanathapura, Manyakheta or Malkhed, Mayurkhindi, Talakad, Manne have in common with Gundlavaddigeri.

Gundlavaddigeri is a small village, just a little over a hundred kilometers from the City of Hospet in Bellary taluk. It has a population of less than a thousand people and we at the post are sure that its name has never been heard of by a majority of people.

But what is it that makes us place its name along with well-known places such as Banavasi, Badami, Belur and other places.

Banavasi, as all of us know, was the capital of the Kadambas (345-525), the first Kannadiga dynasty of our State. The beauty of Banavasi was such that even Kalidasa, the greatest Sanskrit poet of all times, admired it and mentioned it in his work, Meghadoota.

Kalidasa had been sent to Banavasi as an Ambassador of the Guptas. Today, Banavasi has a few temples that speak of the glory of  the Kadambas.

Similarly, Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal are well-known for their Chalukyan temples. Badami, which was earlier known as Vatapi,  was the capital of the powerful Chalukyas (543-763) and it has some of the most magnificent temples and cave temples of the Chaluyka period, some of which were built by Pulakeshi (609-642), who is often particularly described as one of the greatest Emperors of Karnataka.

Talakad was the capital of the Gangas (400-1000) and it was one of the major cities of its times until it was sacked by the Hoysala Emperor, Vishnuvardhana. Today, Talakad is nothing but ruins in a sand.  

Similarly, Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura are renowned for their exquisite temples belonging to the Hoysalas (1026-1343). All these places have ruins of temples.

Malkhed or Manyakheta and Mayurkhindi were once the capitals of  the Rashtrakutas (753-982) who ruled over large parts of south and Central India.

All these centres mentioned in earlier paragraphs were once known as major cities or urban conglomerates and each of them have had their tryst with history. Even today, they are in the news and they attract hordes of tourists and visitors. But how does Gundlavaddigeri get into this list of illustrious cities.

Gundlavaddigeri was earlier in Bellary district and it is today placed in Koppal district.

Archaeologists and historians now have discovered that Gundlavaddigeri was one of the biggest cities of its times in Karnataka and this was prior to the establishment of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1336 by Hakka and Bukka.

A 12th century stone deed in Halegannada (old Kannada), belonging to the Vijaynagara dynasty and some weapons used by people have been unearthed in the village.

The old Kannada inscription says that a lake was built in Gundlavaddigeri in memory of Yankubi, son of Kumbara Ponnayya. The inscription says the lake was constructed for  irrigation purposes.

The inscription has three lovely figures, a wheel of eight swords,  cow and a calf, which are the symbols of Shaivism.

Research has shown that Gundlavaddigeri was a big city before the founding of Vijaynagara. Even today, the village boasts of scores of  dry lakes and this is a testimony to the extent of the City that once Gundlavaddigeri was.

The stone inscription, measuring four feet by three feet, stood facing the North with a four-line script in Halegannada.

Gundlavaddigeri is surrounded by Gangavathi taluk towards North, Sandur taluk towards South, Koppal taluk towards west and  Hagaribommanahalli taluk towards South. All these taluks headquarters too were big cities at one point of time but while they are all fairly well-known even today, Gundlavaddigeri is even today an obscure and forgotten village.
Today, Gundlavaddigeri is surrounded by Bellary, Gangavati, Hospet, Sandur, Mundargi and Tekkalakota. Kannada is the local language here and there are less than 150 houses. The total area of Gundlavaddigeri is just 629 hectares and compare this to the thriving town it was more than nine hundred years ago.

What does this post tell us or rather what does it teach us. It tells us that just as centuries passed by, cities rose and fell and some like Gundlavaddigeri fell into obscurity, never to rise again.  

The miser who became a Haridasa

Just like his friend Purandara Dasa, he too was rich person and he was a miser too. If Purandara Dasa lived in Kshemapura in Shimoga district, he lived in Belur in Hassan district.

Though both were contemporaries, they did not know each other. If Purandara Dasa was a Madhwa Brahmin, this person was a Srivaishnava. If Hari himself transformed Purandara Dasa into a Haridasa, it was Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) who gave this man from Belur deekshe and transformed his mundane life into a pious and holy one.

Both Purandara and the man from Belur met at Hampi where they quickly became close friends. Both accepted the venerable Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539) as their guru and both composed innumerable devaranamas.

The man from Belur later went on to make a mark as a great devotee of Sri Krishna whom he always worshipped. This man is none other than Belur Vaikunta Dasa (1480-1550).

It was Vadiraja who reformed a rich Vaikunta Dasa and gave him a Hayagriva Saligrama. Vadiraja told Vaikunta Dasa that he could amass untold wealth and riches if he worshipped the Saligrama with sincerity and devotion.

More out of greed, Vaikunta Das began performing pooje daily to the Saligrama. Slowly but surely, he became devoted to the Saligrama and the pooje continued. Over a period of time, he realised that the Saligrama was more precious than all his wealth and that it could never be quantified.

He became a devotee of Hayagriva and lost interest in the materialistic world. When Varidara realised that Belur Vaikunta dasa was a transformed man, he blessed him and named him “Sri Vaikunta Dasa.”

Vaikunta Dasa became a Haridasa and began composing Kirtanas in Kannada on Sri Hari with Ankitha Vaikunta.

Vaikunta Dasa was a native of  Belur and he rarely if ever stirred out of Belur. He has a few compositions in Kannada which bear the ankita nama Vaikunta Dasa. He became a close friend and companion of Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa and also a disciple of Vadiraja Theertha.

His devotion to Hari was such that Krishna danced in front of him when he sang. All the three dasas -Vadiraja, Kanaka and Purandara have paid tributes to Vaikunta Dasa.

Purandara Dasa went around the Vijayanagar Kingdom spreading the tenets of Madhwacharya and singing the glory of Hari. During one such tour, he came to Belur in Hassan district where Belur Vaikunta Dasa was staying.

Vaikunta Dasa rarely, if ever, stirred out of  Belur and the few times he did was to visit his friend Purandara Dasa and his guru, Vyasa Raja. Though he was a Srivaishnava scholar, he  composed many songs on Hari.

Vaikunta Dasa lived in a house in Belur and when Puranadara Dasa came, he saw a beautiful child playing on the lap of the Dasa. Both Belur Vaikunta Dasa and the boy, whom Belur Vaikunta Dasa called Keshava, were so engrossed in playing that they did not notice Purandara Dasa.

When Purandara Dasa came very near to them, he suddenly realised that the Keshava who was playing in the lap of Belur Vaikunta Dasa was none other than Krishna himself.

Even as Puranadara Dasa was about to speak, the child looked up and on seeing a stranger burst into tears. The incessant crying of the child immediately spurred Purandara Dasa into composing a poem.

This beautiful poem is:

 “aLuvadyaadako raMgaa! atta raMjisuva  gummA  

puTTidELu divasadali!duShTa pootaneeya koMde

muTTi moleya haaluMDa kaaraNa! dRuShTi taakitE ninage kaMdayyaa  1

bAlakatanadalli gO! paalaroDagooDi

kALiMga maDuvanu kalakida kAraNa! kaalu uLakitE ninage raMgayyaa    2

turuva kaayalu pOgi! bharadiMda maLegareye

beraLali beTTavanettida kaaraNa! beraLu uLukitE ninage kaMdayyaa    3

vasudEva sutanaagi asurara mardiside

basurali bommana paDeda kAraNa! kisaru taakite ninage raMgayyaa     4

sharaNu vElaapurada  doreye  chennigaraaya

sharaNara salahuva karuNAnidhiyE varada puraMdara viThala rAya        5

When Purandara Dasa began singing in his melodious voice, the child stopped crying and gave a smile.

Puranadara Dasa stayed back at the home of Belur Vaikunta Dasa for some time before proceeding on his onward journey.

Another time, when Purandara Dasa was walking on the streets of Hampi or Vijayanagar one evening with Belur Vaikunta Dasa, a rogue elephant suddenly came out of nowhere and charged at them.

While Purandara Das managed to take evasive action, Vaikunta Dasa came face to face with the animal. Purandara Dasa immediately began singing,

“Sakala duritagala parihara maado Venkatesha, bhaktige volidu bandu bhaktana kaayo Venkatesha….varada Purandara vittala,”

Meanwhile, the elephant ran upto Vaikunta Dasa and it saluted the Dasa with its trunk and left. A dumbfounded Purandara Dasa had no words to describe his feelings and he embraced Vaikunta Dasa and both continued their evening stroll.  

The warning that went unheeded

A few years before he passed away in 1564, Purandara Dasa warned the people of Vijayanagar about the dangers of forsaking god and falling into the trap of gaining wealth and leading an improper life. He sang, “Neechadhiree Bhagya” but the Emperor and the masses remained oblivious. Retribution was swift and the Vijayanagar forces lost in 1565 and Hampi was plundered and thousands of people put to the sword.

He also sang,

“Dharma shravana vetake  murkhage

Karma anushtana vansega dhiruva ,

Durmargi etka Brahmana Janma”

Konage veene gana videtake,

Manikhyavetake  markatge,

Tranavu tolagida hennigethake ,

Katani muthina haravu koralige.

Sadhu rasannavidetake,

Garthabha  udugore  sahithale shvananige,

Kadu vratthavahage  mai neardu hennina,

Odane  bhogipenembabila seyake.

Huttu kurudage  deepavidetake,

Bharastannigetke  kula dharma,

Srushtiyola damage  purandara vittlana

Muti bhajipenemba abhilaksha vetake.

Both Vyasa Raja (1447-1539), the Guru of Purandara Dasa (1480-1564) and the Dasa himself had foreseen the fall of Vijayanagar after the death of Krishna Deva Raya.

Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1530) was an Emperor who had upheld the Hindu dharma and he laid great store by the advice of Vyasa Raja, his Raja Guru. Krishna Deva Raya had immense respect and devotion to Vyasa Raja and he always went by his advice.

When Vyasa Raja warned him about the Kuhu Dosha, Krishna Devara Raya had gone by the perceptor’s advice. He had made Vyasa Raja the Emperor of Vijayanagar and he was reluctant to take back the Kingdom. But Vyasa Raja insisted that Krishna Deva Raya take back the Kingdom.

When Krishna Deva Raya pointed out that he had handed over the Kingdom to a saint and ascetic and that he could not take back what he had given as Dhana or offering, the erudite Madhwa seer turned this very same argument against the Emperor.

Vyasa Raja pointed out gently to the Emperor that he was only a wandering mendicant. He said a mendicant or sage had no interest in worldly things and that a sage could not be expected to take on the duties of a King.

Vyasa Raja then buttressed his arguments by quoting from the Bhagavath Geetha. He said Krishna had clearly said in the Geetha that one must do what one is asked to do or what one is best suited to do. “I am a wandering mendicant and I have no wordly attachment. I was taken away by my guru, Brahmanye Theertha, when I was young. I was brought up to lead a scholastic and monastic way of life. I am best at it. You, who are a King, know how to rule”, said Vyasa Raja.

He said a man who had given up everything to be near Hari had no attachment and even a Kingdom held no interest. Moreover, OI was sent to earth to fulfill a mission and I am still discharging the duty. O, King, I give back the Kingdom to you in the same manner that you gave me. Hence, there is no dosha or sin. No blame will accrue on you and you rule in a just and fair manner. That is all I ask of you”, Vyasa Raja said.

Though Krishna Deva Raya and Vyasa Raja did have difference of opinion, it never came in the way they respected each other. Krishna Deva Raya’s respect to the seer increased manifold when he was saved from the Kuhu Dosha and after he emerged victorious over the Adil Shah forces from Bijapur at the battle of Raichur.

Krishna Deva Raya then inscribed the sign, “Vyasa Raja is mu guru” on a panel in the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi. Krishna Deva Raya passed away in 1529 or 1530, grieving deeply over the death of his only male heir, Tirumala Raya, who appeared to have been poisoned to death.

Though Achuta Deva Raya, the brother of Krishna Deva Raya,  ascended the throne of Vijayanagar and ruled from 1529 to 1542, he had a tough time quelling challenges from Krishna Deva Raya’s son-in-law Rama Raya, also known as Aliya Rama Raya.

Achuta Deva Raya continued to pay respect to Vyasa Raja who was his Raja Guru too. When the time for entering Brindavana came in 1539, Vyasa Raja appears to have warned the Vijayanagar Emperor about the dangers that the Kingdom faced.

Unfortunately, Achuta Deva Raya was unable to rectify the faults that Vyasa Raja and Purandara Dasa pointed. Rama Raya, for some reason, appears to have taken a hostile attitude towards Madhwas and this led to the gradual erosion of support to the Emperors.

The Hindus had been the mainstay of the Vijayanagar Empire for close to three centuries. Once Rama Raya began antagonizing them, they began moving away from Vijayanagar.

The movement of the Hindu intelligentsia, including Haridasas like Kanaka Dasa 1509-1609 (he moved away from Hampi after the death of Purandara Dasa and in his last days, he lived in Tirumala), Vadiraja 1480-1600 (he went back to Sonda after the passing away of Vyasa Raja), Vijendra Theertha (he came to Vijayanagar to pay respect to the Brindavana of his ashrama Gurugalu Vyasa Raja, and then went back to Kumbakonam), Belur Vaikunta Dasa 1480-1550 (He went back to Belur in Hassan district after the death of Vyasa Raja) signaled the decline of Hindu literature.

Vijendra Theertha (1517-1614) too foresaw the fall of  Vijayanagar and he too warned the Vijayanagar Emperor but alas his warning was not taken seriously.

Purandara Dasa’s youngest son Madhwapathi Dasa continued composing Devara namas after his father passed away at the Purandara Mantapa in Hampi in 1564. He too was mildly critical of the epicurean lifestyle of the people of Vijayanagar and its Kings.  

Srinivasa Theertha, who ascended the Vyasa Raja Matha pontificate after Vyasa Raja, ruled till 1564. He passed away in 1564 and he was buried near his guru, Vyasa Raja in Nava Brindavana. Being the Raja Guru of Vijayanagar, he too warned the Vijayanagar Emperor, Achuta Deva Raya and other Kings who followed him but to no avail.

Srinivasa Theertha was followed by Rama Theertha and he became the Raja Guru of Vijayanagar in 1564. He headed the Vyasa Raja matha till 1584 and even he too appears to have forsaken Hampi once the Vijayanagars lost the battle of Rakasa Tangadi or Talikota.    

When the battle of Talikota took place in 1565, Rama Raya was beheaded by the Muslim forces who then converged onto Hampi or Vijayanagar and completely sacked it.  

Madhwapathi Dasa fled to Pune, while Kanaka Dasa took himself away from Hampi and wandered all over Karnataka. Belur Vaikunta Dasa spent his last days in Belur itself. Vijendra Theertha ruled from the Sri Matha pontificate in Kumbokanam.