Vijayanagar era temple discovered

CHIKKAMAGALURU: A rare ‘Veera Mahasati Gudi’ belonging to the Vijayanagar Empire era has been discovered by researcher H R Panduranga near Vasistha Theertha, one of the Pancha Theerthas, on the bank of the Bhadra river near Kalasa.

The 4-ft tall sculpture of Mahasati, which is covered by anthills up to the neck, is situated close to the forest nursery in Kalasa. The rock relic has two plaques. One has a warrior with a sword, headgear and earrings and the other shows a woman with a mirror and a lemon, said Panduranga.

“On the upper plaque of the rock relic, Nandi kneels before the Shivalinga in addition to priests ringing bells and lighting the lamp. To the left of the linga, there is a sun symbol and pictures of the moon on the right side. It can be interpreted  that both the warrior and his wife were no more and in Kailasa,” said HR Panduranga .

“Going by the hairstyle and ornaments of the woman and Veera Kalasa on the sculpted images, one can guess the warrior belonged to a royal dynasty and may have died on the battlefield,” he said. It may date back to 14th century of Bhairavarasa period or the beginning of the Vjayanagar period, he added.