Page 540 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

538  SOUTHWESTERN INDIA

An outer wall of Gadag’s Someshvara Temple, with temple towers in relief
o Gadag Environs p Belgaum
The small village of Lakkundi,
Gadag district. 450 km (280 miles) NW Belgaum district. 502 km (312 miles)
of Bengaluru. £ @ n Hotel Durga, 11 km (7 miles) southeast of NW of Bengaluru. £ @ n Tourist
Vihar Complex. ( daily. Gadag, has temples dating from Office, Ashoka Nagar, (0831) 247 0879.
the 11th–12th centuries, built
An important cotton-collection of grey-green chloritic schist. This bustling city, on the
centre, the sleepy little town Surrounded by mud houses, border with Maharashtra, was
of Gadag comes to life during a number of such temples are an important garrison town
the cotton season in May tucked away down under the British. Even today,
and June. During these narrow streets. Jain Basti, the cantonment, with its
months, the cotton the largest temple, has bungalows and barracks, has
market hums with a five-storeyed tower. a significant military presence.
activity and is well Its basement is adorned Earlier, in the 16th and 17th
worth a visit. with friezes of elephants centuries, Belgaum was a
A number of late and lotus petals. Lathe- provincial centre under the Adil
Chalukyan monuments turned columns are Shahi rulers of Bijapur (see pp546–
(11th–12th centuries) in seen on the porch. 7), the Marathas of Pune (see
the city indicate its historic The nearby Kashi p475), as well as the Mughals,
past. Standing to the Vishvanatha Temple when they occupied this part of
south is the Trikuteshvara has a pair of sanctuaries Karna taka. The Fort to the east
Temple, remarkable for its Sculpted figures facing each other across is unusually elliptical in layout
three sanctuaries facing a a common porch. Relief and its stone walls incorporate
common, partly open hall. carvings of a pair of makaras or many reused temple blocks.
Inclined slabs that serve as aquatic monsters, sitting on the The Safa Mosque nearby
balcony seats are deco rated walls, are typical motifs of was built in the first half of the
with figurative panels, and are late Chalukyan art. 16th century by Asad Khan, the
overhung by steeply angled governor of Belgaum. The town
eaves. Inside the hall, the columns also has three temples that date
have figures arranged to the late Chalukyan period.
in shallow niches. The east
sanctuary accommodates
three lingas, while the one
to the south is dedicated to
the goddess Saraswati.
In the middle of the city
stands the Someshvara Temple.
Though abandoned and now
in a dilapidated state, its intricate
carvings are fairly well preserved.
Look for the doorways to the
hall – these have densely carved
figures and foliation. The elliptical fort at Belgaum
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp701–702 and pp716–17

538-539_EW_India.indd 538 26/04/17 11:48 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm