JOIN USThe Galaganatha temple, also known as the Galageshwara temple, is located in Galaganath, on the picturesque bank of River Tungabhadra, 37 km away from Haveri. Earlier known as Palluni, it took its new name probably after the construction of the Galaganatha temple.
Tungabhadra and Varada join near the temple and local residents consider this place, known as pancha nadi sangama, as sacred. Tungabhadra is formed by the confluence of three rivers, Tunga, Bhadra and Kumudvathi, while Varada is formed by the merging of the rivers Varada and Dharma.
Standing on the elevated platform in front of the temple, we get a panoramic view of the majestic river with its wide sandy banks spread out like beautiful beaches on both sides. The river has a fair amount of water and the flow is continuous even in summer.
Architectural majesty
The Galaganatha temple was built in the 11th century by the Chalukyas of Kalyani, probably during the period of Chalukya King Vikramaditya. The temple contains many elaborate structures and intricate stone work and carvings that are typical to the Chalukya tradition. It is built out of huge granite stone slabs of varying sizes and shapes and it faces the east. The temple is placed on a balcony-like projection onto the river at a higher elevation. The view from the front of balcony-like projection is as awe-inspiring as the temple itself. Several stone slabs from the village and river bed lead to the terrace-like parikrama. In front, facing the river, there is a large mantapa supported by a few large lathe-turned pillars with decorative motifs on them. A small but beautifully carved Nandi is placed within the mantapa, facing the sanctum sanctorum.
The mantapa has decorated doorways and steps on three sides. Idols have been placed in the mantapa’s different niches, including those of Surya, Mahishasura Mardini, Vishnu, Saraswati and Ganesha. The idol of Surya stands in equipoise over a small pedestal, with a seven-horse chariot driven by his charioteer Aruna. Usha and Prathyusha, his divine consorts are standing over makaras forming a triple-looped makara torana on the wall in the background. Mahishasura Mardini is presented with eight arms, holding sword, trident, conch and other armours. She stands over a buffalo’s head – after killing the demon Mahishasura. The beautiful statuette of Vishnu is in vishwaroopa form and his dashavatharas are depicted around his idol. Garuda and Bhudevi are placed on both sides. Saraswati is shown with four arms, gracefully seated on a lotus pedestal.
The beautifully carved vimana of this temple is huge and rises up majestically in an unusual pyramidal shape, with a broad base and tapering up to the top, with solid stone slab reinforcements all around, believed to strengthen and protect it from the flood waters of Thungabhadra. We have to appreciate the architectural skill of the Chalukyas since this temple has been standing in its place for more than thousand years, even while the village used to get severe floods on some occasions.
The garbhagriha consists of a huge Shiva Linga, underneath which is believed to be lying buried the powerful sparsha linga. A legend mentions that if a devotee places an iron rod near the Shiva Linga here and worships Lord Shiva, the iron will turn into gold. When many people began to misuse this, it is believed that a king who came to know about it and covered the linga with a galaga (protective cover), and since then this deity came to be known as Galaganatha or Galageshwara. The village also took the same name in due course.
Inscriptions on a large slab of stone inside the hall of the temple are dated 1080 AD indicating of the era when it was built. Other inscriptions on different slabs mention about the state of highly developed music and dance of those days. Some of these indicate that they have been made as per the directions of the Chalukya King Vikramaditya. There is one slab with inscriptions mentioning a famous musician of that period, one Mokhari Barmmayya with the title Battisaraga-bahu-kala-Brahma, meaning a vocal artist proficient in 32 ragas.
Literary inspiration
The famous Kannada novelist Venkatesh Trivikrambhat Kulakarni popularly known as Galaganatha is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva here regularly and wrote all his books sitting in the temple courtyard. Also called as the father of novels (Kadambari Pitamaha),he put the village on national recognition. He was involved in social missions and he later became a school teacher. During the early stages of modern Kannada literature, he worked to create awareness about the language and make it popular. He wrote 29 Kannada stories including Kannadigara Karmakathe and Madhava Karuna. He is known to have self-published his books and has sold them on the streets. According to oral history he used to write his stories sitting in the mantapa of Galaganatha temple.
Declared as a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple’s structure has been maintained by them adeptly. Surrounded by well developed lawns, a visit to the temple is a must.