KELADI
Keladi, (ಕೆಳದಿ) now a small village at a distance of about eight
kilometers to the north of Sagara town in Shivamogga district has known better
days and it was the capital of a well known dynasty in medeival Karnataka. This
was under the control of kings belonging to the ‘Santara’ (sAntara) in the
twelfth century. A decimated inscription erected by Tribhuvanamalla Bhujabala
Pratapa Shantarasa is found in the village and bears evidence to this fact.
However, the place assumed greater
importance in the early sixteenth century during the Vijayanagara dynasty, when
the king Krishnadevaraya bequeathed some land to Chaudagowda the founder of the
Keladi dynasty and declared him as a cheiftain. This place continued to be the
capital of Keladi dyanasty for sixty years before the capital was shifted to
Ikkeri and much later to Bidanur. However Keladi did not lose its importance
altogether and continued to be the abode of royal fancies. The relics of the
old town in the form of sites, ponds, temples, palaces and maths are found even
to this day.
There are three temples built during different
intervals of time by different kings but housed in the same compound. They are
Rameshvara temple, Veerabhadra temple and Parvathi temple.
The Rameshvara linga was installed by Chaudagowda the
founder of the dynasty in a small hutment. But it acquired architectural
granduer during the regime of Sadashivanayaka and Venkatappanayaka the elder in
the seventeenth century. The style is an admixture of Dravida, Hoysala and
Islamic styles. The entire temple stands on a platform which contains carvings
as well as drawings. These include scenes depicting Bedara Kannappa, Garuda and
Hanumantha as also animals such as elephants and camels. Mythological animals like
Yaali and Gandabherunda also have a presence here.
Mukhamantapa, Rangamantapa and Garbhagriha of the
temple are surronded by another set of mantapas built in Dravidian style
containing the statues of Ganesha and Mahishasuramardini. The linga itself is
three feet tall. Different stages of the construction of this temple are
delineated in ‘Keladinrupa Vijaya’ written by Linganna.(1750)
The Veerabhadra temple which was built after the
Rameshvara temple has a similar structure but contains more sculptures. The
statue of vastupurusha carved on the outer wall of the temple is unique. The
stautes of Daksha Brahma and Narasimha are interesting. The inner ceilngs of
all the twelve sectors of the temple contain very fine carvings. The carving of
Gandabherunda stands apart for its sheer power and facility. This temple was
built by Bhadrappa Nayaka.
There is not much to write about the small Parvathi
temple.
The village also contains temples of Anjaneya,
Venkataramana,Gopalakrishna. Veerabhadra and a Jaina basadi. The Keladi lake is
quite big. Thus this sleepy village was once a buzzing town. It hosues a small
museum containing curios and artefacts related to Keladi.