Channa Rayana Durga - A Panorama

Channa Rayana Durga (Fort) is a beautiful backdrop of a village near Madhugiri in Tumkur district. It is at a distance of 85 kms from Bangalore. As per the history, this fort belong to the Maratha rulers and then got transitioned back and forth to the Mysore Wodeyars. Most of the fort is in ruins without anybody to take care of the same. There are some old structures, huge pond and some temples that are worth seeing. The hillock is a monolith and it is a nice place for a small trek. There are not many tourists who visit the place and hence the place is free of litter and looks neat. Blue sky as a backdrop for these lovely rocks is a treat to watch. Here are some of the panoramic shots from the fort. 

(Click on the photographs to enlarge them)

Older structures that are in ruins all along the way (Looking South)

Backdrop of the mountain ranges around Madhugiri. This one among the nine forts.

Beautiful blue sky as a backdrop for these lovely rock mountains are a treat for sure (Looking South)

Dried yellow grass and many cactus plants on the way to the fort (Looking East)

Lovely rock formations (Looking West)

The fort stands on this huge monolith. (Looking East)

The fort atop the hill, watch tower to the right (Looking West)

The huge (or small) pond which never dries up even in summer. (Looking North)

Watch towers and the older structures are stronger to this day. (Looking NE)

Entry door to the fort. And there are many such doors in the fort.

Many such mantaps decorate the fort landscape. And they are the best places to rest. 

Looks like very old dried up well/tank. Wonder why they had built this.

The best view of the rocks and the fort from here. 

Channa Rayana Durga village at the base with the backdrop of lovely ranges of rocky mountains

2013 (C) Srikanth Parthasarathy

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Twin Temples of Mosale

To commemorate our Foundation Day of Canadia Trust on December 08, 2012, we planned a one day trip to Mosale - A Hoysala Architecture site. 

Mosale is about 10 km from Hassan. Here two small temples are found lying side by side, equal in design and execution, forming a perfect twin. Both temples are complete, and notably their superstructures show fine sculpture. It was built about 1200 AD and today it is found at the northern edge of the small village, in a nice rural setting. 

Twin temples of Mosale seen from the East end

Pillar design

Nagesvara temple 

Twin temple from the southern end

Twin Temples from the South-Western end

From the South-East corner

Carvings on the wall of the Chennakesava temple

Carvings on the walls of the temples

Both temples are of a simple plan, they consist of a shrine with nose, a closed hall and a porch. The southern one is Saiva and named Nagesvara, the northern one is Vaisnava and named Chennakesava. The temples are identical and aligned, and so it is possible to consider them as dvikuta, as an ensemble with two shrines. Because both shrines have a tower, the pair offers a very fine view. 

Happy kid's face amidst the carvings 

Gopura of the Nagesvara temple

Sculptures on the Chennakesava temple

Sculptures carved on the walls

Carvings on the walls

The shrines are of a simple design, square with three projections per side. Their superstructures are a marvel, because they are complete and because their decoration is so successful. The two beautiful kalasas and the two beautiful Hoysala crests are the most striking, but also all architectural parts below them deserve attention, because the traditional decorations are so fine and undamaged. The same holds for the superstructures of the halls and the porches. These consist of a row of topping miniature roofs above heavy eaves, and are perfectly decorated and preserved. 

The interior of both temples is fine. In the cella of the Nagesvara-temple there is a linga and in the cella of Chennakesava temple there is a cult-image of Kesava. 

One of the pillars inside the Nagesvara temple

Priest and his god

After our temple visit in Mosale, we all headed to the lake at the village entrance and had our packed lunch for the day. TS and Lavanya had got us Puliogre, and we all had a good time at the beautiful lake. And because we had some more time left before we headed back to Bangalore, Dhiraj suggested us to visit Anekere temple. We all readily agreed. Will post photographs of Anekere in my next post. 

Source for the text: A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples by Gerard Foekema

(C) Srikanth Parthasarathy

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