This temple opens for a few days only

Hassan district is known as the cradle of Hoysala Kingdom and of course much earlier that of the Gangas. It is in this district that we find that Chavundaraya commissioned he magnificent monolith 60 feet or 16 metre statue of Gomata or Gomateshwara or Bahubali, one of the Jain Thirthankaras or prophets in Shravanabelogala.

It is also in Belur and Halebidu that we find the incomparable Hoysala temples. Halmadi is a tiny village in this district where the earliest Kannada inscription dated 450 AD was discovered.

Hassan is also known for its coffee and black pepper. It is veritable paradise of Nature and it has emerged as the favourite destination of tourists, Nature lovers and pilgrims alike.

However, the district has one peculiarity that few know of. The name Hassan comes from the deity of Hassanamba, which is the guardian of  the city.  

Hassan boats of at least 50 temples of historic and archaeological importance but the Hassanambha Temple is unique in the sense that it opens only for a few days and it is otherwise closed for a major part of the year.

The Hassanambha Temple is dedicated to Goddess Shakti and it has its own importance.

The temple structure, as it stands now, is believed to be of the twelfth century. This was the time when the Hoysalas were ruling from Dwarasamudra or today’s Belur which is 31 kilometres from Hassan.

The city of Hassan itself was founded in the eleventh century and the Hassanambha Temple is a Hoysala style structure. The temple is easy to find as it stands on the busy Bangalore-Mangalore road.

The Goddess Shakti or Amba is the main deity here and the inner chamber of the temple housing her statue is open for only two weeks, especially during Deepavali and it closes three days after  Balipadyami.
The goddess is sculpted on an anthill or hutta in Kannada which resembles the deity of Hassanamba as Goddess Parvathi. When the temple is closed, people keep water, bags of uncooked rice, a lit lamp and flowers in front of the goddess.

Devotees believe that when the temple is opened the next year, the rice remains the same and the lamp too burns without going out. The inner chamber also has an idol of Ravana and his nine heads. This is a rare idol as we see Ravana playing the veena.

Hassanamba is believed to be a smiling and ever merciful Goddess. When the temple doors are opened during Ashwayuja (October), thousands of  devotees flock to have her darshana. The devotees fell that it is during this time that the Goddess bestows her mercy and grace to them.

There is an interesting legend about how the Goddess or Shakti came to the place. Several thousand years ago, seven women or Maatrukes or Sapta Maatrukes as they are called in Kannada came floating towards south from Varanasi where they were residing.

The women were Brahmi, Maheshwari, Kumari or Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamundi. When they saw Hassan, they fell in love with the beauty of the place and the calm and serenity that the place exuded.

All of them decided to stay back in and around Hassan instead of going back to Varanasi. While Maheshwari, Kaumari and Vaishnavi took up residence in the three anthills inside what is the Hassanambha temple, Brahmi stayed back at Kenchamma's Hosakote, while Indrani, Varahi and Chamundi chose the three wells in Devigere Honda or Devikere Honda.
The temple has another amazing legend but this is as true as the stone which is connected with it.

There is a stone within the temple. The stone is believed to move less than an inch every year towards the deity in the inner sanctum. Once the stone reaches the deity and touches the Goddess, the world is supposed to come to an end and Kali Yuga too ends.

Well, how did this legend take birth.

According to the priests of the temple, several centuries ago, a woman used to visit the temple every day. She sued to pray every day before Hassanambha and seek her blessings. One day, her mother-in-law threw a stone at her and the woman started bleeding.

The woman was petrified and she cried out to Hassanambha for help. The Goddess manifested herself before the woman and transformed her into a stone. She ordered the stone to remain within the temple so that she could guard her every day.

The stone has been moving towards the deity inch by inch as if to seek protection from the Goddess.

There are four other stones in what is called  Kallappa Gudi. The four stones represent the four robbers who came to the temple to burgle it. When they saw the jewels on Hassanambha, they tried to steal it. They ended up becoming cursed and turned into stones.

The construction of the temple is also ascribed to Malik Kafur, the renowned general of Ala-ud-din Khilji.

Kafur had completely devastated Dwarasamudra and he came to Hassan where he and his troops took rest. His soldiers cooked meat near an anthill where three of the devis from Varanasi had stayed back and made the place their home. Angered over the manner in which their habitat had been desecrated, the devis cursed the soldiers and they began dying one by one.  

A panic stricken met the priests of the devi temple but to no avail. Hassanambha then appeared in Kafur’s dream and asked him to build a temple for her. When Kafur did so, he earned the forgiveness of the devis and the soldiers stopped dying.

Kafur then went on to conquer the rest of south India.   

Locals, however, insist that a palegar, Krishnappa Nayaka, built the Hassanambha temple.

Once the temple was completed, the devis ordered the archakas and others to ensure that it was opened for darshan only once in a year and that too during the lunar month of Ashwayuja.

A fish sanctuary across Cauvery

This is not only a pilgrimage centre but it also boats of a fish sanctuary. It has several temples, which were initially constructed by the Cholas and then renovated and repaired by the Hoysalas. Unfortunately, the temples are not as well known as the temples of Halebidu and Belur though this place too is located in Hasaan district.

Hasssan is native to many places with Hoysala temples such as Belur, Halebidu and Ganga style temples in Shravanabelogala. However, this town, though located on the banks of the Cauvery, is relatively unknown to both tourists and pilgrims.

This is Ramanathapura, a fish sanctuary and a temple town in Arkalgud taluk, located  about 50 kilometres from Hassan.

Ramanathapura is among the few fishing sanctuaries located across the Cauvery and fishing is banned in this area. This ban has helped a variety of fish thrive in the sanctuary.

One of the most well-known fish found here is Deccan Masheer, Black Masheer or Tor khudree, which belongs to the carp family of freshwater fishes.

It is considered to be the greatest game fish in India and has therefore, been almost fished to extinction. It is now listed in the IUCN Red list as highly endangered.

Other fishes seen here include Rohu or Rahu, which also belongs to the Carp family, and the Maithili Brahmins and Kayasthas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh treat it as one of their most sacred foods and they eat it on all auspicious occasions: Butter fish-these look like smaller versions of angel fishes and they are mainly classified as ornamental fishes: Katli Mahseer, which is also called copper masher and its is found in Krishna river too. In Karnataka, it is called Billi Meenu: Carnatic carp, which is a species of ray-finned fish. It is also called Barbodes carnaticus and it was first was described by Jerdon in 1849 when he came across this species in  Bhavani river, Nilgiris:   Spiny Eel, Freshwater shark and many other species are found here.

Pilgrims come here to visit the Rameshwara temple. This temple is generally classified as a Hoysala structure and there are five other temples. There is the Agastheswara, Durga Rameshwari, Lakshminarasimha, Subramanya, Pattibhirama temples also. All the temples are built in Dravadian style. The Lakshminarasimha temple was built during the reign of Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar. The Subramanya Temple has an interesting tale. A local ruler,  Ballalaraya, was harassing people of the area. The then Swamiji of Kukke Subramanya Matha came to Ramanathapura. Ballalaraya and Narasa Nayaka, the palegar of  Holenarsipur,  joined hands in welcoming the Madhwa seer and they consecrated the  Subramanya temple.

To this day, pooja at the Subramanya temple is performed by Madhwa priests. This temple features Subramanya as a seven hooded serpent. The car festival of Subramanya is held on  Maragashira Shuddha Shasti  and a cattle fair and rural exhibition are part of the festival which draws devotees from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu apart from Karnataka.

The Agashteshwara temple has a beautiful shrine dedicated to Shiva. Apart from the Shiva Linga, the temple houses idols of Mahaganapathi, Parashurama, Lakshmi, Chamundi and other deities.   

The Durga Rameshwari  temple is an important Shakti Stala. The idol of the deity was installed by Shankaracharya. There is a Sanskrit Vedic patashala here

The idol of Pattabhirama temple is believed to have been consecrated by a rishi named Saubari or Soubhari, the son of Kanva Rishi.

Soubhari lived under water for twelve years when a king called Mandhata was ruling the area. One day, Soubhari came across the king of the fishes playing in the water with his children and grandchildren. This made Soubhari feel that he too should get married and that he too should have children and grandchildren. He then married all the fifty daughters of Mandhata.

The car festival of this deity is on Mrigashira Ramanuja saptaha.

The Prasanna Rameshwara Temple was built by the Hoysalas and subsequently renovated by the Vijayanagars. This is one of the most important temples in the area.

Hassan is the city nearest to Ramanathapura and this village is well-connected by road.  

The unfinished Raja Dwara

At first sight, they look as if they are part of a bigger ruins or building. Though the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has a board stating that this a protected monument, there is not much information about it.

A small number steps lead from the winding road to the structure. It must be the most imposing ruin in the area, having stood silently for several centuries.

This is the Rajdwara or Raja Gopura of Melkote, a temple town of Mandya district in Karnataka state.

This ancient monument is believed to be more than a thousand years. Legend has it that this massive unfinished structure was conceived and constructed by the legendary sculptor and artiste Jakanacharya of the Hoysala Kingdom.

Jakanacharya was a renowned sculptor of the Hoysala Kingdom. His design of Chennakeshava temple at Belur had already made him a legend.

Born in Kaidala, now in Tumkur district, Jakanacharya had abandoned his village and family and come to Dwarasamudra, the Hoysala capital, to eke out a living. The Hoysala Kings saw the talented artiste and gave him all the encouragement needed. The more monuments he built, the more his fame spread.

The Hoysalas then conferred on Jakanacharya the title Amarshilpe.

When the Hoysalas began to endow the temples of Melkote with their largesse, Jakanacharya too was asked to contribute.

The then Hoysala Emperor, Vishnuvardhana, earlier known as Bittideva, was camped in Melkote. He was meeting the Srivaishnava saint, Ramanujacharya, who had been driven out of Chola Kingdom.

Ramanajucharya had settled down at Melkote. He had cured Vishnuvardhana’s daughter of an illness. A grateful Vishnuvardhana had offered the saint half his Kingdom.

Ramanujacharya declined the offer and asked Vishnuvardhana to convert back to the Vaishnava fold. Vishnuvardhana gladly did so and he also accepted the saint’s advice to construct a Raja Gopura and a gate to the Cheluva Narayana Temple.

Ramanajucharys wanted the gate to be built in one night. Vishnuvardhana then entrusted the job to Jakanacharya.

The master sculptor kept all his tools and boulders ready and set to work.

The massive gate has no foundation and the huge boulders have been placed on  bare land.  If you climb on top of the gate, you can see Shravanabelagola afar and even the backwaters of KRS Dam near Mysore.

By then, Vishnuvardhana had renovated and repaired the Yoga Narasimha temple atop the hill and the Cheluva Narasima temple.

Some of the sculptors, who were jealous of the growing popularity of  Jakanachary and his closeness to the Hoysala Emperors, challenged the master craftsman to construct a massive doorway with a doorjamb and stately entrance within 24 hours.

Jakanacharya surveyed the entire Melkote town and chose a spot which today is just opposite the Academy of Sanskrit research.

Jakanacharya then set about arranging the huge boulders and also sculpted four massive pillars, two on each side of what would be the Raja Gopura to Melkote.

He wanted the Rajadwara to be the entrance for people coming to Melkote from Mysore side.

Work began at 5 a.m., and by night, the present standing Raja Gopura had already emerged. Some of  Jakanacharya’s jealous detractors came to the work spot and tried to engage the Amarshilpe in conversation and small talk.

Jakanacharya did not deign to reply but continued with his work. Fearing a loss of face and consequent lowering of their dignity, the detractors hatched a despicable plan to outsmart Jalanacharya. They bribed the bugler, who was stationed nearby, to sound the bugle.

When the bugler sounded his bugle, Jakanacharya was disappointed at losing his bet. However, when he realized that the bugle had sounded at 9 p.m., and that he had more than eight hours of time left, he was shocked and hurt at the manner in which he had been deceived.

He gave one last look at the unfinished monument and walked away, a disgusted man. No amount of pleading would bring back Jakanacharya to the unfinished structure.

To this day, the pillars look unfinished and ravaged by time. Of the four pillars, two are 30 feet in height. Imagine how it would look had it been completed.

The drive or walk from the Akka and Tangi Kalyani to the unfinished doorway is worth its while. The structure would give us an insight of what could have been had Jakanacharya completed the structure.

Melkote during  

The structure was almost forgotten but today, it has got a fresh lease of life, thanks to several films that have been shot here. Rajanikanth in Padaiappam Aishwarya Rai in Na Na Na Re from Guru and Vishnuvardhana in some of his Kannada films have chosen the massive structure as a suitable background.

A little farther away is a place called Dhanushkodi. This is the place where Rama shot his arrows at the ground when Sita wanted water.

The view from the Raja Gopura and Dhanushkodi is superb. Do not forget to taste the Puliyogre and sweet pongal of Melkote. Ask the temple priests or check out with the numerous Iyengar eateries in the temple town.

Melkote is a little over 51 kms from Mysore and 133 kms from Bangalore. It is very easily accessible by road from almost all cities in Karnataka. Mandya is the nearest district and Pandavapura a fairly big town and a taluk of Mandya district

Memorial to a bodyguard

One of the most fascinating Hoysala temples is that of Hoysaleshwara in Halebidu in Hassan district of Karnataka State. Dedicated to Shiva, the temple was constructed in 1121 BC by Vishnuvardhana, one of the greatest Kings of the Hoysala dynasty.

The temple and other magnificent structures were destroyed, looted and mutilated by the Muslim invaders from Delhi.

Halebidu was the capital of the Hoysalas and it was then known as Dwarasamudra.

Thousands of visitors admire the beauty of the temple and its stunning sculpture. But what a majority of the visitors miss is the poignant story of the Garudas, the elite bodyguards of the Hoysala Kings and the royal family.

The Garudas swore complete allegiance to the King they served and they lived and died with him. Whenever their King died, the Garuda not only beheaded himself but his entire family.

The Hoysala Kings, as a mark of respect to their Garudas, constricted Garuda Pillars or memorials. One such Pillar exists in the Hoysaleshwara Temple.

We can term them as Garuda Sthamba, though this word is generally used to denote flag posts in front of temples. These Gardua Sthambas are much different from Viragallu or Hero stones.        

The Garudas were elite bodyguards of the kings and queens. They moved and lived with the royal family and their only purpose was to protect their master. When their master died, they committed suicide.

The Garuda pillar, which is eight feet on height, is on the south of the Hoysaleshwara Temple depicts heroes brandishing knives and cutting off their own heads. This pillar is in memory of Kuruva Lakshma, a bodyguard of Veera Ballala, the second (1173-1220).

A devoted officer, Lakshma took his life and that of his wife and other bodyguards after the death of Veera Ballala. This episode is narrated in Hale Kannada inscription on the pillar.

The Garudas were locally known as lenkas (heroes) or jolavalis (indebted to the king for food) and velavalis (those who stood by the king at all times).

They were given the name Garuda as they served the king the way the mythical eagle Garuda served Vishnu. In 1220 AD, when Vira  Ballala II died,   Kumara Laksmana also called as Lakshma, who was treated by the King as his own son, did along with his famous regiment of a thousand Garudas.

The Hoysaleshwara Garuda pillar notes that Kumara Laksmana and his wife Suggala Devi “became united with Laksmi and with Garuda”.

Apart from the Garudas, the other warriors who protected the Emperors and their families were Ankakaras, Lenkas and  Velekaras.

The erstwhile Hoysala Kingodm has several such Garuda Stahambas detailing the sacrifices of these elite bodyguards. The

Agrahara Bachihalli inscription in Krishnarajapete taluk

belongs to 1256 AD and it records a heart rendering story about the sacrifice of  seven generations of  people, belonging to one and the same family.

 Some of them like Yereyanga and Someshwara were killed on the battlefield. The Agrahara Bachihalli inscription says the Garudas mentioned belonged to Kabbahunadu.

This inscription is important as it records the genealogy of all those

bodyguards from the Mugila family: Gandanarayana Setty and Nayaki Maravve, Hoysala setty and his wife Nayaki Machavve, Koreyanayaka and Maravve, Shivaneyanayaka, Lakkeyanayaka and his wife Gangadevi, and Kanneyanayaka. They are called as Lenkaru.

Halebidu is 16 km from Belur and 31 km from Hassan. It is 149 km from Mysore and it is located in Hassan district.

By the way, Garundanagiri, a hill fort which is 3,680 ft. above the mean sea level, is 27 km. from Arsikere and 69 km. from Hassan. This fort was built by Garuda, a bodyguard of Vishnuvardhana.

Many Hoysala temples across the districts of Mysore, Hassan, Shimoga, Chamarajanagar and Tumkur have such memorials. So the next time, you had for a Hoysala temple try to find out if there is such a memorial stone and whether it has a poignant tale of sacrifice and devotion

The best Keshava of the Hoysalas

Hassan district in Karnataka is known all over the world for its Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebidu and also the mammoth statue of Gomateshwara at Shravanabelogala.

However, what many do not know is that there are several other villages and towns where the Hoysalas left behind some magnificent temples and Jain Basadis.

One such village is Agrahara Belguli, an enchanting hamlet, just 25 kilometres from Channarayapatna in Hassan district.

The village is home to the stupendous temple of Kesaveshwara, also known as Betteshwara or even Keshava. This temple is a Dwikuta with the deity of  Keshava facing south and a Linga facing east.

The temple was built in 1209 AD by Kesiraja or Keshava Dandanayaka, a commander in the employ of the then Hoysala Emperor, Ballala the second. An inscription near the main entrance of the temple also testifies to this fact.

The main attraction of the temple is the deity itself which is five and a half foot in height. It is consecrated in the northern Garbhagriha. This is a Chaturbhuja idol-Keshava with four hands each adorned with conch, disc, club and lotus.

The idol stands on a two-and-a-half foot high pedestal. Sculptors and historians say that this is one of the best representations of Kesava in Hoysala style.

The Keshava here has a restrained and serene look on the face. The prabhavali is highly ornamental with carvings depicting the ten avatars of Vishnu or the Dashavatars. Of them, the representation of Matsya and Kurma shown as fish and tortoise, are simply grand in design.

There are two exquisitely designed and decorated porches within the temple itself and attached to it is the Nandi Mantapa.  A beautiful idol of Nandi, which is four feet in height, is situated in this mantapa.

The temple is unique as it has two Mahadwaras. A rare feature in a Hoysala structure, Another inscription near the temple refers to an Agrahara called  Keshavapura, which seems to have disappeared.

The inscription also talks of two tanks called Keshava Samudra and Lakshmi Samudra.
The Keshava Temple has a starlet plan and it faces East. Unlike other temples, the exterior is rather plain but the interior is profusely decorated. The makara thoranas in the sanctum and sukhanasi will leave you breathless.  The navaranga, like in any other Hoysala temple, has nine different Bhuvaneshvari carvings with floral decorations. The Ashtadikpalakas in the central Bhuvaneshvari has minute details etched on it.

There are four lathe-turned pillars, which are typical of the  Hoysala style of temple construction. These pillars are taller when compared to other pillars. Elegant sculptures of Saraswati, Bhairava, Ganapati and Sapatamatrikas adorn this temple, where the linga is placed in the main sanctorum.
The temple is a complete Hoysala structure, but for the mortar shikhara added in the later days. A master piece of  Hoysala architecture, the temple is built  in soapstone (Chloritic Schist).The  western part was built first and the southern part added later.

Belaguli is about 25 km from Chennarayapatna.It is on the Chennarayapatna-Tiptuir road. Chennarayapatna is 148 kms from Bangalore and 30 kms from Holenarsipur. It is easily accesible by rail and road network.

Historians say that during the Hoysala period, the Agrahara housed several Brahmin scholars and their families who performed Shatkarmas -adhyayana-adhyaapana,yajana-yaajana,daana-pratigrahana). Today there are just three such families.

There are three other temples in the village-the temples of Kattappa, Honnadevi and Someshwara.

The Honnamanakere(formerly Lakshmi Samudra) and Nachanahallikere (formerly Keshava Samudra) situated at the either ends of the village have historical importance.

Copra available here is of high quality.

The Lenkarus of Bachihalli

Several centuries ago, it housed a huge Brahmin colony and, therefore, came to be known as Agrahara. Today, it is a small and sleepy village called as Bachihalli in Krishnarajpet taluk of Mandya district.

There is nothing extraordinary about the village. It is a human settlement as any other. There are a few temples and inscriptions. So what, you might ask. Such temples are there in almost every village in India.

On inscriptions, you might turn around and say that there are a “dime to a dozen” and what is so special about them. Yes, I would like to bring to light some lesser known facets of history that are buried in these inscriptions.

But first let me tell you about the village.

This is just six kilometres north-east of Krishnarajepet. The village and even the taluk are famous for pillar inscriptions-history that is written on pillars. These pillars may either form part of temples or stand in isolation.

The pillars tell a tale and those of Bachihalli have a special tale to relate. Many of the pillars have beautiful sculptures on them. They are an outstanding example of the Garuda tradition that was prevalent in the Hoysala period.

The Hoysala Emperors ruled over large parts of south India with their capital at Dwarasamudra in present day Hassan district. Some of the finest examples of Hoysala art and architecture can be found at Belur, Halebidu, Somanathapura and other places.

The Hoysala Emperors introduced a unique system of bodyguards called Garudas. These Garudas were exclusively devoted to guarding the Emperor and other members of the Royal family.

These Garudas enjoyed high position and they were totally dedicated to the cause of protecting the Emperor. They did not hesitate to even sacrifice their lives.

The Garudas would have slipped away into the realms of history but for these pillar inscriptions. The pillars at  Bachihalli stand mute testimony to the role of these magnificent warriors. Yes, they were primarily warriors who acted as the elite bodyguards.

Bachihalli has several such pillars and it was in ancient times a part of Kabbahu Nadu.

The first mention of the village as Bachiyahalli in an inscription dated 1244 A.D and as Bacheyahalli in 1251 A.D and 1291

A.D.

The village is an epigraphists’ delight as eight Hoysala inscriptions have been reported from here.

Apart from the Hoysala inscriptions, the Huniseshwara

temple is a typical Hoysala structure with a garbhagrtha, antarala, navaranaga and a mukhamantapa.

The temple is on an elevated place located at the centre of the

village and houses a Linga in its garbhagriha and Nandi in its antarala The main entrance of the temple and the central ceiling in the navaranga are attractively carved. The garbhagriha has a Dravidian shikhara.

On the outer wall of the navaranga, are sculptures of devakoshtas. There are three entrances to the mukhamantapa with steps.

There is a hero stone to the left of the temple. Near by are five

other hero stones in the form of memorial sculptures of heroes who died during different skirmishes or wars.

To the south of the Huniseshwara temple, there are three inscribed pillars of about fifteen feet height. These pillars were constructed  during the reign of Hoysala kings Ballala I and Narasimha III (1100 A.D.-1291A.D) in memory of the heroes or Garudas who

self immolated by sacrificing their lives for the welfare of the Hoysala kingdom and Hoysala kings.

These pillars poignantly depict the valour of seven generations of Garudas, belonging to Mugila sect of the Bananju family of Bachihalli in Kabbahu Nadu.

The carvings on these pillars represent Garuda Nayakas with their

queens and servants (Lenka-Lenkiti) travelling on an elephant to embrace the Garuda with utmost enthusiasm.

If you are an epigraphist or a person interested in the history of Hoysalas, then you are sure to find these pillars interesting. Some of the inscriptions refer to the Garudas killed on battlefield, trying to protect their Kings.

What is astonishing is that the inscription of  1256 AD deals exclusively with only one family and its sacrifices through generations. I am not sure of any other such epigraph anywhere else, at least, in Karnataka.

This unique pillar gives you the heartrending tale of Garudas commencing from Yereyanga to Someshwara. History says the Mugilu family were initially merchants. They ruled over Kabbahu Nadu before they took up arms in the Hoysala Army.    

By then, they had taken up the task of protecting this Agrahara and other surrounding villages in present day Krishnarajapet taluk. The Hoysalas let them be and inducted them in their Army.

The Mugilus then developed a  highly efficient and almost fool-proof system of protecting the villages and ensuring the safety of people. Subsequently, they began working as bodyguards to the Hoysala royal family.

They became so fiercely loyal to their employers that they preferred death to defeat and disgrace. They were so unquestionably loyal that when they died while on duty, their family and friends too died along with them-a “samuhika sati papampare” (collective sacrifice of lives involving family and relatives) unheard of anywhere in mediaeval India.

Even the wives of  these valiant men at arms sacrificed their lives at the altar of their husband’s funeral pyre.

The importance of the 1256 AD pillar is that it records for posterity the sacrifice of  the genealogy of all those bodyguards from the Mugila family: Gandanarayana Setty and his wife Nayaki Maravve, Hoysala Setty and his wife Nayaki Machavve, Koreyanayaka and Maravve, Shivaneyanayaka, Lakkeyanayaka and his wife Gangadevi, and Kanneyanayaka.

Over a period of time, these bodyguards also came to be called as Lenkaru, They were classified by villagers as war leaders who perpetuated the family tradition of  a class of Kannadigas who sacrificed their lives for their masters. It is these people who were allowed by the Hoysalas to administer the Kabbahu Nadu comprising Krishnarajapet and surrounding areas.  A few inscriptions here testify to this fact.

Therefore, the Garuda Kambas or Sthambas found here are better known as Garudahovudu and dedicated to the life and sacrifice of Lenkarus.

By the way, the village is all not history. The Shiva, Channakeshava and Bore Deva temples in the village all are Hoysala temples. They have been renovated. There are temples for  Bachalamma, Maramma, Mahalakshmi, Ningamma,  Sanideva and others. They are all recent in construction and are of no historical relevance.

There is a big ancient tank near the village. It is very picturesque.

Bachihalli is six kms away from Krishnarajepet which is well-cponnecetd by road from both Mandya and Mysore