Navalinga Temple, Kukkanur, Karnataka

Navalinga Temple, Kukkanur, Karnataka

Navalinga Temple is a cluster of Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Kukkanur Town in Kukkanur Taluk in Koppal District in the Indian state of Karnataka. This temple along with the Mahamaya Temple are enclosed within a fort like enclosure. This temple is a protected monument under the Karnataka state division of the Archaeological Survey of India.

History

This temple is believed be built in 9^th century CE during the reign of King Amoghavarsha I or his son Krishna II of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. The temple was later extensively renovated by the Western Chalukyas. There are about fifteen inscriptions found in Kukkanur. Most of the inscriptions belonged to 11^th and 12^th century CE. Few of the inscriptions are dated to the Vijayanagara Kingdom.

All the inscriptions record the grants of lands and villages to the different temples in Kukkanur. Most of the grants were made to the Mallikarjuna temple and the grants made to the other temples were Ganga, Kalika Devi, Sarasvati and Chamundi. Considering the number of goddesses mentioned in these inscriptions, it is possible that the Navalinga shrines might have been originally dedicated to these goddesses.

The Group of Temples

The group of temples consists of nine temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. Each temple enshrines a Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha in its sanctum. Hence, the group of temples is called as Navalinga Temple. Navalinga temple is situated behind the Mahamaya temple. These temples appears to have been placed asymmetrically, without any particular order. The Navalinga temple houses nine of the 12 Jyotirlingas and is probably the only place to have such lingas.

Each Linga has a separate shrine surmounted by dravidian style shikara. There are four halls attached to one another, three of them being in a line from east to west and open to the shrines. The pillars in the halls are of better quality than Pattadakal. The lintel above the sanctum doorway of each shrine has an image of Gaja Lakshmi. The group of temples is famous for makara toranas.

The toranas are missing is one of the shrines while in some of shrines, they are party destroyed. The interiors are devoid of sculptures while the exterior carved with images of deities, floral motifs and geometrical patterns. Though the temple was constructed with inferior quality sandstone, the decorative finish is rich. However, the decorative features have been lost due to the degradation of the walls.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 750 metres from Kukkanur Bus Stand, 7 Kms from Itagi, 12 Kms from Banni Koppa Railway Station, 16 Kms from Yelburga, 18 Kms from Talakal Railway Station, 25 Kms from Naregal, 27 Kms from Koppal, 51 Kms from Gadag and 112 Kms from Hubballi Airport. The temple is situated on Koppal to Yelburga route.

Location