Itagi is in Yalburga Taluk, Koppal District

Koppal district

Koppal district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. In the past Koppal was referred to as 'Kopana Nagara'. Hampi, a World heritage center, covers some areas of Koppal District. It is situated approximately 38 km away...

, in North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is about 7 km from Kuknur

Kuknur

Kuknur is in Yalaburga taluk in Koppal District, is a small town. is located about 40 km from Hospet and 7 km from Mahadeva Temple , Kuknur is renowned for its temples of the Rastrakutas and Chalukyas times, of these the Navalinga group of temples is famous.-History:Kuknur town was an...

. It is near to Lakkundi

Lakkundi

Lakkundi in Gadag District of Karnataka is a tiny village on the way to Hampi from Hubli. Lakkundi 11 km from Gadag in the east...

 about 20 km.

Itagi is famous for the Chalukya style Mahadeva Temple. Most beautiful and one of the great tourist place in North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

, and is the finest testimonial for Vishwakarma Sthapathis in sculpting this temple

Mahadeva Temple

The Mahadeva Temple was built based on The general plan of the Amruteshwara Temple at Annigeri

Annigeri

Annigeri is a town in Navalgund taluk of Dharwad district in the state of Karnataka, India, located 20 km west of Gadag en route to Hubli and 35 km from Hubli-Dharwad.-Introduction:...

(used as the prototype). The Mahadeva Temple has the same architectural components and there is a differences in their articulation.

The Mahadeva Temple at Itagi was built in c. 1112 CE by Mahadeva, a commander (dandanayaka) in the army of the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI

Vikramaditya VI

Vikramaditya VI became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Somesvara II. Vikramaditya's reign is marked by the start of the Chalukya-Vikrama era. Vikramaditya VI was the greatest of the Western Chalukya kings and had the longest reign in the dynasty. He earned the title...

. Itagi is located about 22 miles (35 km) east of Gadag and 40 miles (64 km) west of Hampi

Hampi

Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other...

. The temple is dedicated to Hindu

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 God Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

. The well-executed sculptures, finely crafted carvings on walls, pillars and the tower make it a good example of complete Western Chalukyan art

Western Chalukya architecture

Western Chalukya architecture , also known as Kalyani Chalukya or Later Chalukya architecture, is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire in the Tungabhadra region of central Karnataka, India, during the 11th and 12th centuries...

 which speaks volumes about the taste of the Chalukyan artisans. An inscription dated 1112 CE in the temple calls it "Emperor among Temples" (Devalaya Chakravarti). Art critic Henry Cousens has called this monument the "finest in Kannada country after Halebidu

Halebidu

Halebidu is located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Halebidu was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is home to one of the best examples of Hoysala architecture in the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples. Halebidu literally means ruined city...

". These Western Chalukya monuments, regional variants of pre-existing dravida

Dravidian architecture

Dravidian architecture was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in Southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India. They consist primarily of pyramid shaped temples called Koils which are dependent on intricate carved stone in order to create a step design consisting...

 (South Indian) temples, defined the Karnata dravida tradition. The Mahadeva temple is officially protected as a national monument by the Archaeological Survey of India

Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...

.

Details

Temple plan

The temple plan consists of a shrine (cella) which is connected to a closed mantapa (hall) by a vestibule (antechamber). The closed mantapa leads to an open pillared mantapa, with the temple as a whole facing the east. Some parts of the temple, such as the cornice and parapet over the outer edge of the roof of the open mantapa are missing. The main temple, the sanctum of which has a linga (symbol of Shiva), is surrounded by thirteen minor shrines, each with its own linga. The temple has two other shrines, dedicated to Murthinarayana and Chandraleshwari, parents of Mahadeva, the Chalukya commander who consecrated the temple.

Mantapa (hall)
The closed mantapa has a doorway on each side, with the eastern doorway leading to the open mantapa, and the western doorway to the sanctum. The door panels are well wrought and the ceiling of the porches have a ribbed design in them. The decoration of the outer walls follows the same pattern as that of the shrine. The great open mantapa has 64 pillars, 24 of which are full pillars which start from the floor and support the main ceiling. The remaining are half pillars (or "dwarf pillars") which start from the bench (parapet wall) that surrounds the mantapa and support the sloping eaves. The pillars in this hall bear similarities to the porch pillars at the Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal

Dambal

Dambal is a village in the Gadag district of the state of Karnataka, India. It was an ancient center of Buddhism and remained so as late as the 12th century.Dambal is at an elevation of 590 metres and its population is 21,096.-History:...

 and the lathe-turned pillars (whose rounded sections are lathe turned) at the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi

Lakkundi

Lakkundi in Gadag District of Karnataka is a tiny village on the way to Hampi from Hubli. Lakkundi 11 km from Gadag in the east...

.

The square ceiling of the open mantapa which are supported by the four central pillars exhibits interesting fretted stonework. The ceiling here has been worked into a decorative arabesque

Arabesque

The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...

 foliage and makaras (mythical beasts) which flow from the mouth of a Kirtimukha (gargoyle

Gargoyle

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...

 or demon face). This type of stonework is considered as high a quality as any. In stark contrast, the interior of the closed mantapa and the sanctum are plain and simple. It is believed that bracket figures that once adorned the outside pillars are now missing. These forward leaning bracket figures (Salabhanjika

Salabhanjika

Salabhanjika refers to the sculpture of a woman, displaying stylized feminine features, standing near a tree and grasping a branch. The name of these figures comes from the Sanskrit śālabañjika meaning 'breaking a branch of a sala tree'...

), which normally represent female forms in various poses (such as dancing or adorning themselves), would have rested on small blocks on the shaft of the pillars (capital), finding support from the underside of the overhanging cornice

Cornice

Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...

 via a slot in their upper end.

Inscription in medieval Kannada

Inscription in medieval Kannada on a huge stone adjacent to the temple describes the style of rule of Chalukyan kings and details on the construction of the temple. Inscription describes Mahadeva temple as Emperor of Temples of the Chalukya period built in 1112 A.D. by Mahadeva, an army general of King Vikramaditya VI.

Puskarni and Open well

The Mahadeva temple has a puskarani (teertha) on its front side (it is under renovation), which is still in use. An open well with steps (renovated) behind the temple.