Monday, November 18, 2013

Trikuteshwara Temple, Gadag

The Trikuteshwara temple dedicated to Shiva. The carved temple is in the town of Gadag, It is dedicated to Shiva and has three lingams mounted on the same stone. There is a shrine dedicated to Saraswathi in this temple and it has carved columns.

The temple dates back to the Kalyani Chalukyas who ruled this region from around 1050 to 1200 A.D, 
Saraswathi temple has been vandalised by miscreants in the early age and hence pooja is not offered here. But the architecture is superb. 
The temple has ornate pillars with intricate sculpture. The sanctum enshrines three Shivalingams. The temple has chiseled stone screens and carved figurines. There is a shrine to Saraswati within the Trikuteshwara temple complex, with exquisite stone columns.

Inclined slabs that serve as balcony seats are decorated with figurative panels and are overhung by steeply angled eaves. Inside the hall, the columns have figures arranged in shallow niches. The east sanctorum has three lingas representing Brahma, Maheshwara and Vishnu; the one to the south is dedicated to the goddess Saraswati.

Just by the side is another temple dedicated to three devis — Saraswathi, Gayathri and Sharada. Only the statues are in a new style; the temple is in old architecture.

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