Gangas...Yellundur...

In Yellundur, right opposite the Gowreeshwara temple there is a breakfast joint that can give Bangalore Restaurants a Inferiority complex. Dosas are excellent and served with Beetroot curry. You can get good Kesari Bath too.

But what is more satisfying is the Temple itself. The entire outer wall is carved painstakingly and beautifully. There are scenes from religious, cultural and everyday life carved in friezes. Dancers are portrayed with grace and poise and it is evident that the sculpting of dancing couples and figurines conform to the tenets of Natyashastra - The ancient Indian treatise on Dance.

Rock pillars inside the temple are fully carved and one has a beautiful image of a dancing couple.


Also, there are scenes of monkeys copulating on the outer frieze of the temple. This aspect of Indian Temple Architecture, containing scenes of Sexual Intercourse, has caused much debate. The actual purpose could be to show scenes from the ordinary, material life, portraying their significance in the lives of Men along with life in the other world which is what a temple is all about !!!


The temple must probably belong to the Ganga period and Yellundur must have been an important place during their rule, being so very close to their Capital, Talakadu. Gangas were a local Dynasty and ruled long from 350 AD - 1000 AD. They were under the overlordship of the Chalukyas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar Kings but had a fair measure of independence.

The role of Gangas in the Political and Cultural life of Karnataka and the Kannada people is significant.They patronised Arts and literature. They had a very organised form of Government. They were surrounded by thick, evergreen forests of the Western Ghats that provided a natural barrier protectiing it against invaders. They depended more on diplomacy than war to settle disputes.

Shivamara ( Ruled, 788 AD-816 AD), a Ganga King, wrote Gajamatha Kalpana in Sanskrit which is a study on Elephants. Gangas levied a Elephant Tax, Gaja Kara, on their subjects and used it to maintain a huge Elephant Army under a seperate command.
They were the very first rulers in India to have had a fleet of Elephants in the Army for Military purposes. They had a highly organised system to trap, tame, train and use Elephants which were found in abundance in the forests around Talakadu. Their Elephant brigade was a very effective deterrent agains ambitious kings in their neighbourhood.

The numbers of Elephants has declined vastly but this area is still Elephant land and we were lucky enough to spot a herd and a huge bull while returning from BR Hills.
Just as you leave Yellundur you come across a rock memorial that are called Mastikallu or Veeragallu. In the old days raids on villages by thieves and bandits and dacoits was frequent. Especially if the king was weak or the place is far removed from the capital.

Young and able men gave up their lives protecting the Honour of their village women, property and Cattle, the last of which was the real source of wealth in an agrarian economy.
In memory of these martyrs the humble villagers, many times with sanction from the king, erected these memorials.

One final thing: All the historical Information I quote is from Memory. Most of the time it is conjecture. So, do your own research and I would love to have friends correct me.