The legend of the temple whitewash

This is one of the lesser known places in Karnataka. Set amidst huge hills and  rocks, this is the place where the Krishna merges with the Ghataprabha. This place is also associated with the famous social reformer, saint and poet, Basavanna.

Apart from these two things, this place has attained fame for a quaint and unique temple built in the Chalukya style. The temple is as famous as its legend.

The fort here is a mammoth structure and looks imposing and the  temple is that of Sangameshwara.

The Sangameshwara is worshiped here in the form of a Shiva Linga and the surrounding hills have given it a name-Kalakeshwara. This is the famous rock town of Gajendragad.

The Kalakeshwara temple in Gajendragad is famous here and it is referred to as  Kashi of the South or Dakshina Kashi.

Gajendragad, in Ron taluk of Gadag district, is a picturesque town in the midst of hills and rocky mountains. The temple is famous for its Udhbhava linga and you have to climb a fleet of steps to enter the sanctum.

The nearby pond is called Athara Gange and it is a custom to bathe here before going into the temple for performing pooje. The water from the Athara Gange falls on a Peepal tree nearby and this phenomenon has been going on for years without a break. Till date, nobody has been able to identify the root of the Peepal tree and it continues to remain a mystery

However, what sets the Kalakeshwara Temple aside from other temples of its kind is the miracle of whitewash. This miracle occurs during every Ugadi and it has to be seen to be believed.

A day before Ugadi, the temple priest  makes a limestone mixture and places a brush close by in the temple. When the temple doors are opened the next morning, the inside of temple premises are painted. This has been happening every year.

The paint brush appears wet and a hookah that is also kept nearby appears to be used.

Another legend is about the temple bells.

Locals will also tell you that in 1970, the bells of the temple suddenly disappeared. They say that the bells vanished into the  skies even as they were ringing.

The bell was equivalent to size of soaked kidney beans that fit into 22 gunny bags. The disappearance of the bells was taken as a bad omen and days later, plague struck Gajendragad.

The priest will show you the place where the original bell was tied.

It is not just the legend that make Kalakeshwara Temple a must see. Check put the exquisite architecture and the beautiful paintings and carvings within the temple premises. The gopuras are a sight for sore eyes.

The temple has a deity of Veerabhadra and this is another unique aspect of the temple. Generally, you do not have Shiva and Veerabhadra together. The Kalakeshwara temple is the sole exception, at least in this region.

The Gajendragad Fort was built by the Rashtrakutas. It was later renovated by Shivaji. There are several wind mills installed o the hills around the temple.

Tourists can make their way to Kalakeshwara Temple by road, rail and air. Bangalore and Hubli are the nearest airports to Gajendragad. LSRTC buses ply from Bangalore to Gajendragad and there are plenty of transport options from Gadag and Ron.

Gajendragad is about 54 km from Gadag. It is surrounded by a number of historical sites such as Badami (40 kms), Aihole (39 kms), Pattadakal (42 kms), Mahakuta, Banashankari, Itagi (13 kms) and Kudalasangama (72 kms).

On the way back to Gadag, check out the temple of Devi known as Itagi Bheemavva, about 13 Kms away from Kalkaleshwara. The place is very famous and thousands of believers come here to get their vow fulfilled. They tie coconuts and wish for their desires to be fulfilled. The devotees come back here and untie the same coconut after their wishes are fulfilled.

The bird sanctuary of Magadi

Though thousands of birds belonging to more than 134 species come here regularly, and some of them from as far as Central Asia, it is perhaps the least known bird sanctuaries in Karnataka.

However, the birds that come and stay for almost eight to nine months in an year here have a very peculiar habit that itself is worth a scientific or ornithological study.

All the birds, irrespective of their age and species they belong to, leave their sanctuary and head to fields and farms of nearby villages and towns. These migratory birds raid these agricultural lands and destroy crops. This has been happening regularly for the last several years.

This is the little known bird sanctuary of Magadi. Yes, it is the Magadi sanctuary but it is not in Bangalore but several hundred kilometers away in north Karnataka.

The Magadi Bird Sanctuary borders the Magadi tank and it is located 26 kilometres from Gadag city. One of the biodiversity hotspots of north Karnataka,  it comes in Shirhatti taluk and it is located on the Gadag-Bangalore road. It is eight kms from Shirhatti and eleven kms from Lakshmeshwar.

This sanctuary is known for the migration of the bar-headed goose (Anser Indicus). More than 5,000 of these are known to congrete here.  

Normally birds like fish, amphibians, mollusks and snakes but the  migratory birds here have started a every night campaign to eat  agricultural produce. But the birds here feed on rice, barley and wheat. They also like jowar, pulses, ground nut and Bengal gram. The farmers are worried as  the huge flock  tend to damage crops.

The tanks covers 134 acres and it has a catchment area of 900 hectares. For the past decade and half, many Central Asian migratory birds and more than 134 species of birds can be seen at this sanctuary.

Some of the birds which are regularly spotted here are Brahamini duck which is also called Ruddy shed duck, Wolly necked stork, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Oriental Ibis, Comb Duck, Greater Flamingo. White Breasted Water Hen, Black winged stilt, Painted stork, and Eurasian Spoonbill.

It is hard to believe that this small lake or tank hosts thousands of winged visitors, particularly, the bar-headed goose. They come in large numbers between December and March every year. They breed here and fly back with their offspring.

If you think that the best time for spotting birds is morning, think once again. Almost all the birds go on their regular raids and they come back to the water body only around 9 a.m. Check it out for yourself.

Generally, Bar headed geese prefer high mountain lakes and are well distributed in central Asia.  They are classified as high fliers and are well adapted to cross the Himalayan mountains, often using the jet steam over them to their advantage.

They are believed to be the highest flying bird having been seen at up to 10175 m (33,382 feet).  They can cover more than a thousand kilometers a day as they are equipped with fairly wide and powerful wings.
These geese lead the others in the raiding party. Why and how they do is an interesting topic.

The authorities have constructed a high watch tower adjacent to the lake for bird watching. A paragola has also been provided for visitors to rest and eat.  Another tank in the vicinity, Shetty Kere, is also a favourite for these birds.
The sanctuary is under the control of the Department of Fisheries, State Government and Magadi village panchayat.

Meanwhile, the people of Magadi village and the migratory birds live in harmony. The villagers ensure that they do not disturb migratory birds and sometimes they take the ailing birds for medical treatment. They even guide the visitors to reach the places from where they can get a better view of the birds.

Karnataka's own Vyasa, The first Mahabharata in Kannada

It was sometime in 1430 AD and a scholarly Brahmin sat down near the Veera Narayana Temple in Gadag to have food. Gadag then was part of the Vijayanagar Empire and Devaraya 2 was ruling monarch. Devaraya had subdued the Bahamanis and other enemies and the kingdom was enjoying a period of peace and prosperity.

As was the custom in those days (this custom continues even to this day), food was being served to people in a temple. The scholarly Brahmin whose name was  Narayanappa  sat with several children at the temple hall to partake food. Even as the food was being served, some of the children got into a brawl.

One of the Brahmins serving food tried to end the fight and asked them why they were fighting like Duryodhana (Duryodhana was the eldest of the Kauravas and it was because of his obstinacy that the Kurukshetra war broke out). Even as Narayanappa looked towards the children with a grin, another Brahmin sitting near him walked out of the hall with tears in his eyes.

The manner in which the Brahmin walked out of the hall and his tearful eye immediately pulled at Narayanappa’s heart. Narayannappa went behind the Brahmin and tried to console him. “What happened and why are you crying”, he asked.

The Brahmin turned around and Narayannapa found that his eyes were full of tears and his face was anguished. There was immense sorrow on his face.  “ I am Ashwathamma, son of Dronacharya”, he said.

A dumbfounded Narayanna looked askance and the Brahmin continued. “I could not control my tears when the Brahmin serving food rebuked the children by taking the name of Duryodhana. The first of the Kauravas was my friend and I do not know what happened to him. I witnessed the death of Duryodhana and I do not know what happened afterwards”, he said.

Narayanappa appeared tongue tied and did not know what to reply. In his mind’s eye, he was thinking how Ashwathamma could have survived for so long and what was he doing here.

As if reading his thoughts, Ashwathamma began narrating the Mahabharata, including the Kurukshetra wars as it had happened before his eyes. Ashwathamma appeared pleased when Narayannapa said it was his amobition to write the Mahabharata in Kannada.

Then hear me and my story, said Ashwathamma to Narayanappa. He began narrating the events of the Mahabharata.A spellbound Narayannappa listened to the narration in awe and with reverence. Ashwathamma stopped as soon as he completed the 10^th Parva or chapter which deal with the death of Duryodhana at the hands of Bheema.

Narayanappa then decided to base his version of the Mahabharata on the facts narrated by Ashwathamma. He thus commenced writing the epic in Kannada and completed it till the 10^th chapter. He did not go any further and the rest of the Mahabharata was completed by another poet of the Vijayanagar court, Thimanna Kavi during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya.

One of the foremost Madhwa saints of the times, Vyasa Theertha read the epic and gave him the name Kumara Vyasa. This name struck and today, Narayanappa is better known as Kumara Vyasa.

This is one of the legends associated with the first Brahminical writing of the Mahabharata in Kannada. It is called Gadugine Bharata or Karnataka Bharata Kathamanjari.

There is another story about how the Kannada Mahabharata was written. Here it goes.

Narayana came in Kumara Vyasa’s dream and told him that he would recite the Mahabharata and asked him to pen it down. But he had two conditions. The first was that Kumara Vyasa would come to the Narayana temple and that the second was he would only transcribe the epic without trying to locate the place from where the voice reciting the epic was coming.

Kumaravyasa was ecstatic and he then began writing down whatever he was hearing from a voice which was coming from behind the statue of Narayana in the Veera Narayana Temple. This exercise continued till the 10^th chapter or the Gadha Yuddha between Bheema and Duryodhana. By then several years had passed,

When he had compted the Gadha  Yuddha, curiosity took the better of Kumaravyasa. He went behind the idol and was astonished to find that Narayana was himself reciting the Mahabharata and the entire scene was being enacted behind the idol.

Narayana stopped the recitation as Kumaravyasa had broken his promise. Kumaravyasa did not want to complete the epic as he felt he had betrayed Narayana. He left the Mahabharata unfinished but write that he had only written what had been dictated to him by Narayana.

Even to this day, there is a pillar in the temple which is named Kumaravyasa pillar. It is said that Kumaravyasa stood leaning on the pillar and  reverentially composed the Mahabharata.

There is a small tank adjoining the Veera Narayana Temple. Kumaravyasa used to bathe here everyday and come and lean against the pillar till his clothes dried.

These are the two legends about how Narayanappa came to write Mahabharata in Kannada.

This epic exerted a lot of influence on the literature of the times. Both Purandara Dasa and Thimanna Kavi refer to it. Vyasa Theertyha has also alluded to it. Another Brahmin writer, Narayana better known as Kumara Valmiki of Bijapur, was influenced by this epic and decided to pen the Ramayana in Kannada.       

The Bharata of Narayanappa vests Krishna with divine powers, while attributing human frailities to the rest of  the cast. If Pampa puts forward the Jain interpretation of the Mahabharata, Kumaravyasa sticks to tradition. Pampa  is more liberal in his Vikramarjuna Vijaya. He makes Draupadi the wife of  Arjuna only and not of all the Pandavas. He also portrays Duryodhana and Karna as good individuals. Arjuna is the herof the epic.

The entire work is composed in  Bhamini Shatpadi meter, a form of six lined stanza. Lakshmeesha, another great poet who was born a few decades after Kumaravyasa’s  death, took up and completed Ashwamedha yaaga parva alone in his work "Jaimini Bharata" in Kannada.
Airavata . is another work of  Kumaravyasa 
The Veeranarayana Temple is one of the five Narayana temples consecrated by Ramanujacharya. This temple was built by the Hoysala emperor Vishnuvardhana,
The main deity, Veeranarayana is in a standing posture  with his four hands holding the Shanka, Chakra, Gadha and Padma. Lakshmi and Garuda are on either side.
Gadag is 400 kms from Bangalore. It can be easily reached from Hubli which is 60 kms away.