Touring on less than Rs. 1,000

Travelling today is rather expensive and more so if you want to visit places of interest. Getting accommodation and food at reasonable rates are the main hurdles and much time and money is spent on them.

There are many people who would prefer not to opt for personal means of transport and they would rather choose the road or rail network.

A major problem in opting for rail or road travel is that there is either little connectivity between places or  it is so bad that you end up cursing yourself and of course the tour operators and the Government.

Well, how about a trip if all your basic needs are taken care of and you do not have to worry about your trip. All you do is pay up and reserve a seat.

The North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC), a Government of Karnataka undertaking, has introduced one such service. It has specially designed two buses called Vijaya Ratha to take tourists on a trip of historical places to  Bijapur, Bidar and Hospet.
Bijapur is home to the famous whispering gallery of Gol Gumbaz and the intricate workmanship in the Ibrahim Rauza. There are more than one hundred Islamic style monuments in Bijapur which was once the capital of the Adil Shahis.

Bidar was once the capital of the Barid Shahs and earlier to them the Bahamanis. It has several monuments and temples. Hospet of course in knows for the nearby ruins of Hampi. This is the largest open air museum in the world and you can spend days wandering amid the ruins.

Well, coming back to the Vijaya Ratha, it starts from Hampi every day and it will take Indian and international tourists to Badami-the capital of the Chalukyas and the home of the earliest temples in India, Aihole, Pattadakal and Bijapur.

Aihole and Pattadakal have temples of Chalukyan period.

The bus has been so designed that its interiors give a feel of Hampi’s heritage. The tour has been so arranged that tourists can go around Hampi and Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole on a two-day tour which would cost less than Rs. 1,000 per person.

The cost includes transportation and a guide. Tourists can also opt for one-day package tour either to Hampi and this would come up to Rs  200 per person or to Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole.

There are other ways to see these tourist spots. But you would be entirely responsible for the journey. How about allowing others to take care of your journey. Enjoy the ride to north Karnataka and visit it again with family and friends if it enchants you.   

Kantesha, Brantesha and Shantesha

These names sound very much like Shiva but in reality they are names of very well-known Hanuman or Mukhya Pranadevaru temples.

While two of the temples are in north Karnataka, one is n south Karnataka. People of north Karnataka believe that they would be blessed and all their sins would be washed away if they see or rather visit all the three shrines in a single day.

The people north Karnataka perform sankalpa after completing their Harake (vow) of seeing all the temples at one go.

All the three places are near to Ranebennur and people from Karnataka can start their tour from this place. For Bangaloreans, visiting Brantesha first would be ideal and they can see the other two Hanuman temples later.

The temples are Kanteesha of  Kadaramandakgi and Santesha of  Satenahalli are in Haveri district, while Brantesha of Shikaraipura is in Shimoga district.

Since people visit it in a day, the trip is called Kadaramandagi Kantesha -Shikaripura Brantesha and Sathenahalli Shantesha.

Let me first come to Kantesha.

The idol of Kantesha is in Kadaramandagi village which was earlier known as Khantesh puri.

Several thousands of years ago, Hanuman lived in this village. He once saw the Sun and mistaking it to be a fruit, began flying towards it. Since then, this village was known as Kadara Man Dalagi.

Karada or Kadira means rays, Man Dala means group and G ameans gaminisidavanu. In Kannada, it takes the meaning Hanumantha.

Another meaning of the village is brightness.  

There is an interesting legend behind the Hanuman idol here.

Long ago,  some thieves stole buffaloes from a village in Dharwad district and buffaloes came to Kadaramanadalagi. The thieves wanted to make money by selling these animals.

The owners of the buffaloes traced the thieves to Kadaramanadalagi and came there armed with weapons. They too pitched camp at the village and awaited the day when the thieves would come out and try to sell the buffaloes.   

The thieves did not know what to do and took shelter at the Hanuman temple. Seeing the idol, they fell at its feet and sought its help in getting over their problem. They ardently prayed to Hanuman to save them from the clutches of the villagers.

They told Hanuman that they would continue praying before him if they were saved from the humiliation of being caught and punished. Hanumantha obliged and in a jiffy changed the colour of the buffalo skins to white.

The villagers could not identify their buffaloes and went back. Since then, the Hanuman here has become very popular and he is believed to help all people in distress.

Another legend is that after the Kurukshetra War in Dwapara Yuga, the Pandavas realised that they had Hanuman Lanchana. The King Janamejaya, installed this Hanuman here along with several other idols in various places.

The Saturday pujes are very important and no villager would dare to miss them. In case he absents himself and goes out of  the village on some work, the work will not be done.

When Hunime falls on a Saturday, villagers spread a blanket or rug in front of the deity and place peeled out bananas. Then comes the  Paraku seve to Hanuman where people sleep on the rug upside down and eat fruits from their mouth. They do not touch the fruits with their hands.

The Kadaramandalagi temple has an impressive eight storied gopura which tapers towards the top. In front of the big gopura, is another smaller gopura through which you enter the temple.

There is a small pond on the right side of the temple with a small Mantapa in the middle. The teppotsava  or Float festival is held here and attracts a large number of people.

The famous Kriti

“Yestu pogalali naanu,

Ennodeya ninna

Vishista Mahimegalannu” is written about this deity here.

The deity here is called Bheemanaavatara. The idol here looks you straight in the eye. Generally, Hanuman is found facing sideways.

Kadaramandalagi is just eight kms from Ranebennur. It s on the road to Byadgi. There are plenty of buses and taxis. 

The next place you can visit is Satennahalli.

The Hanuman idol of Satenahalli is called Shantesha. This is in Ranebennu taluk of Haveri district. You can plan your visit to cover  Kadarmandalagi-Byadgi-Chikkerur-Satenahalli.

The idol here was conscrated by Bramanye Theertha, the guru of Vyasa Theertha or Vyasa Raja. The idol here is very similar to Hanuman idols consecrated by Vyasa Theerha. 

he third temple of Hanuman is in Shikarapura in Shimoga district. This is the Brantesha and the idol here was consecrated by Vyasa Raja.

The last few years have seen tremendous development of Shikaripura and this is reflected in the  renovation of the temple too.

The temple or rather Hanuman is also called Hutcharaya Swamy.

If you are in north Karnataka, you can make Ranebennur the base and travel to all the three Hanuman temples.

Ranebenur has some well-known temples, It also has Raghavendra Swamy and Uttaradhi Mathas. You can reach Ranebennur from Bangalore by bus or train. which is on National Highway No 4.

The Moola Brindavana of Satyabhigna Theertha, one of the pontiffs of the Uttaradhi Matha, is here. The Brindavana of Hrikesha Theertha, one of the eight disciples of Madhwacharya, and the first saint of the Palimara Matha, is located here. The Lakshmi Narasimha temple was consecrated by  Vidyadheesha Theertha,

If you have time, visit Bada village of Kanakadasa, Kaginale, Chikerur and Haveri. They all have important temples.