Ramlingeshwar Temple complex at Avani has several shrines and one of them is Vali Sugreeva Temple. This temple is built by rulers of Nolamba dynasty around 10th Century A.D.
The entrance to this shrine is beautifully carved and very ornate with people riding on horses and flower motifs.
The ancient temples of India have inscriptions on them which throw light on the history of that period.
At Ramlingeshwar Temple complex in Avani has several shrines of 10th Century A.D. and one can find some inscriptions in Kannada of that period.
At Shravanabelagola on the Indragiri hill inside the Siddhara Basadi there are two pillars with inscriptions on them. The tops are in the form of beautiful towers. The inscriptions are the epitaphs of two Jaina teachers named Panditarya, who died in 1398 and Srutamuni, who died in 1432 A.D.
We can see inscriptions in the old Kannada on one of the pillar at the 12th century Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebid.
Kamakshi Shrine in Ramalingeshwara Temple Complex at Avani is one of the simplest temple with not much carvings on it that are associated with other ancient temples in this complex.
The temple has a sanctum, hall and a open porch. Only notable feature of this temple is the pillars which are of cylindrical type. The pillar has decorative carvings on them.
Ramlingeshwar Temple complex at Avani has several shrines and one of them is Lakshmanalingeshwara Temple. This temple is built by rulers of Nolamba dynasty in 10th Century A.D.
This shrine is most ornate in the complex. The temple on plan has garbhgriha, an antarala and navaranga.
The linga in the garbhgriha is largest in the complex.
The navaranga has four pillars with relief sculptures and the ceiling has Uma-Maheshwara surrounded by dikpalakas.
The external wall is ornate with friezes of elephants, lions, yalis and makara heads.
This is twenty-seventh in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India. The ancient temples have numerous carvings carved both on the interior as well as exterior of the temples. Many of the carvings depict the war scenes as scripted in various epics and mythology.
Above is the scene "battle between Ravana and Lord Rama" from the epic Ramayana carved at the 12th century Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebid.
A pillar of Ramlingeshwar Temple at Avani where 3 different battle ready horse riders are carved with very minute differences.
A band of battle scene on the external wall of Mallikarjuna Temple, Basaralu.
The band with slight different color is from the Parashurameshvara Temple at Bhubaneshwar.
Ramlingeshwar Temple complex at Avani has several shrines and one of them is Bharateshwara Temple. This temple is built by rulers of Nolamba dynasty in 10th Century A.D.
The entrance to this shrine is beautifully carved and very ornate with guards on the either side.
The temple has Shiva-linga in the sanctum and there is a black stone Bull facing it in the outer area.
The pillars inside the temple have a octagonal shape with small carvings all around it.
During our exploration of hillock at Avani we cam across several lizards. One of them is female South Indian Rock Agama.
Females are olive-brown, spotted, speckled with a series of white, elongated spots along each side of the back.
At Avani the rocky landscape is home for several temples, wild lizards, and several other small animals.
On our tour of the place we witnesses a fight between 2 goats.
Ramlingeshwar Temple complex at Avani has several shrines and most prominent among them is Ramalingeshwara Temple. This temple is built by rulers of Nolamba dynasty in 10th Century A.D.
This shrine on plan has a garbhagriha, an antarala and a navaranga. The pillars in the navaranga are of very ornate.
Shiv-linga is of dark stone and is smaller than that of in Lakshmanalingeshwara Linga. The temple is built with granite blocks and heavy lintels that are wedged together without lime mortar.
The external walls of the temple have beautiful carvings. One of them is Devi, the eight armed Scorpion Goddess.
The four pillars outside the temple at the entrance are elegantly carved in all directions. Each of the carvings all around the pillar are unique and ornate.
Ramalingeshwara Temple Complex at Avani is not only a place of religious and historical importance, but also archaeological wonder. I visited this temple with my family when I went on a tour of Mulubagal district.
This temple complex at the base of hillock is constructed in 10th century by Nolamba dynasty and later renovated by the rulers of Chola dynasty.
This huge temple complex has many temples and they are:
At Avani which is near Kollar is a small hillock with references to the time of Hindu epic Ramayana. It is believed that Sita mata stayed in this place during her separation of Lord Rama.
At the top of the hillock is a temple dedicated to Sitamata. The temple is relatively new and to reach this place and one has to walk up to the top o the hill.
From the hill one can get a view of the village and fields.
Avani is a small village in Kollar district 32 km from Kolar in Karnataka. It is a popular location for rock climbing. The name Avani is of dravidian origin, and means "earth".
There are various interesting sites at this place of historic importance. The history of the place has been associated to the time Hindu epic 'Ramamayana'. There are references to this place in the epic and it is said that Sitadevi gave birth to her twin children Lava-Kusha here. Later the war between Sri Rama and his sons Lava and Kusha happened in this village. At the top of hillock is Sita Mata Temple.
The temples of interest that I have seen here are:
The hill at this place has various places of historic significant including temple of Sitadevi.
How to reach there: It is 95 kms away from Bangalore on NH4 via Kolar.
Since long I have been planning a day’s trip to Kolar and the nearby places like Kurudumale and Avani along with my family. So with this delightful vision, we started early in the morning at 8 am to Kolar by our car. We knew that the roads are good and expected to cover the distance comfortably in a reasonable time. But we had not accounted for the rain that would have interrupted our pleasant drive and disrupted our travel a bit. Hence, we can say it was like “Sunshine on a cloudy day”.
After a drive of around 2 hours, we reached Kurudumale where there are a few ancient temples of great craftsmanship. We first visited Shree Ganesha Temple built by one of the rulers of Vijayanagara kingdom. Then we visited another temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called the Someshwara Temple. Both these temples are architectural marvels in their own right.
After spending about an hour devouring the architectural splendour of these ancient temples, we proceeded to Kolar. On the way, it occurred to us that the temples in the Kolar city may not be open at this time of the day and we decided to first visit Avani. By this time, our two little ones started to complain about being hungry and from my experience; I knew that I’ll not be able to drive an inch further without appeasing their hunger. My wife had already packed some snacks and fruits and she was ready to meet their needs. We spent a little time by the roadside and as usual I clicked one or two snaps of the nearby hills. Along with the kids we also had little food and we were ready to proceed further.
Hence we drove down for another hour and reached Avani. Here we drowned ourselves in the beauty of Ramalingeshwara group of temples. These groups of ancient temples are also adorned with rich intricate carvings.
After seeing this temple, we decided to visit the abode of Goddess Sita on the hilltop. But we had no idea on how to proceed as plenty of unfamiliar and alien to us monuments were scattered all over the hill on our way up. We took the help of a local villager to reach the top. But when we began to climb, we had no idea that the trek is nearly 3 to 4kms.
So 4 of us started our upward journey. It is a simple temple with a small idol of Goddess Sita. After visiting the temple, we came down and we had company of various creatures on the hill on our downward journey. There were lizards of various sizes and colours. Our kids were enchanted by these colourful creatures and we could feel their excitement. They were not ready to leave the place. But as it was getting late and the climate was windy, I prompted them to get back to the car fast.
By the time we reached down, all of us were very hungry and thought of going to a restaurant on the highway. At this juncture, we had company of heavy downpour and we all got little bit drenched in rain. Even though we were worried that the kids may catch cold by wetting in the rain, they were really enjoying the same. It was really hard to pull them back in the car.
We moved back to Bangalore after lunch. This trip had everything in it; peak into the history, fun, adventure over the hills, rain. I am not sure if this is a perfect trip, but we will remember it forever. The combination of the ancient monuments in their silent ambience and the family enjoyment etched an everlasting memory in our minds and eggs us on to undertake such trips now and then whenever the time permits.
