Did you know that Avani, a village in Mulbagilu taluk of Kolar district is renowned for Ramalingeshwara group of temples of the 8th to 10th century AD reign of the Nolamba Dynasty with epochal links to many events of the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata?
The Ramalingeshwara group of temples, located in Avani (meaning mother earth), a small, rocky village in a hilly plateau, also known as Valmikiparvata after the Treta Yuga sage Valmiki of epic Ramayana fame, are a plethora of ornate temples of 8th to 10th-century Nolamba dynasty vintage comprising four major shrines, dedicated to the heroes of Ramayana - one each for Lord Rama, and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna; there are also subshrines dedicated to Hanuman, Vali, and Sugriva withing the complex. The temples reflect the syncretic charachter of Vaishnavism and Shaivism Hindu religious denominations followed in the present epoch of Kaliyuga by the then rulers of the region, with nomenclature suffixed as Lingeshwara to each of the shrines; as Ramalingeshwara dedicated to Lord Rama, Lakshmanalingeshwara dedicated to Lakshmana, , Bharatalingeshwara to Bharata, Shatrugnalingeshwara linked to Shatrughna, Anjanayeshwara for Hanuman and Sugriveshwara for Sugriva, the Vanara King.
Avani village of great antiquity, apart from its direct link to the events of Ramayana epic of Treta Yuga to sage Valmiki, Sita and Rama and their children Lava and Kusha, also has links to Mahabharata events of Krishna, bear-king Jambavan and the Pandavas. These links are reflected in the form of relics of caves, boulders and lakes on the hills some of which have been in recent years converted to temples (such as Sita Parvati temple) or shrines.
Although generally believed to have been built by the Nolamba king in 920 CE as per an inscription, the Rameshwara group of temples were later rebuilt or renovated during the reign of Pandyas, Cholas, Hoysalas, and Vjiyanagara emperors. Many of the temples here were renovated during the 14th century by Hvanji Rayana and Vasudevaraayan, early fuedatories Vijayanagara Empire, who came together with a merchant called Navakoti Narayana Chetty from Kubakonam. They also built main Mandapam and Rajagopuram. The art historian James Harle, states that the earliest structure within the walled enclosure (prakara) was probably the Shatrugnalineshwara shrine (or "Shatrugneshvara") which was built by the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (based on a Ganga inscription on the premises), followed by the Lakshmanalingeshwara shrine, the earliest example of a group of shrines with an outer wall enclosure in the Karnataka state. It is also said that during the Nolamba dynasty rule, a Nolamba queen , Divalabbarasi built tanks, raised temples and founded agraharas to foster agriculture, art and learning in Avani.
The main Avani temple built in Dravidian architectural style in the 10th century is the Ramalingeshwara temple (or "Rameshvara") which consists of a sanctum (garbhagriha) topped by a Vimana tower, a vestibule (antarala) and a hall (navaranga) with decorative pillars. The pillars in the navaranga hall are very ornate reflecting the manastamb ( 'column of honour' of Jain heritage) type. The base (adhishthana) of the temple comprises moldings articulated with Kirtimukha and lions in relief. The outer walls have pilasters surmounted by dravida towers (shikhara). The garbagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has a small Shiva Linga of 2.5 feet height. The temple is now completely renovated.
The Lakshmanalingeshwara temple (or "Lakshmaneshvara") which houses the largest linga (universal symbol of the god Shiva) has on a wall, a depiction of the noted 10th-century saint Tribhuvanakarta holding a rudraksha (sacred beads) necklace. The prevailing goddess images of Durga here is a visual reminder that goddess worship became increasingly popular during the 10th century onwards. Another coeval goddess image from Avani (locally called Mutyalamma, “the pearl-like mother”), once enshrined in this temple as a striking image is now at the Karnataka Government Museum, Bengaluru. The pillars in the hall (as well as in the Bharatalingeshwara or Bharateshvara shrine) have several relief sculptures and the ceiling has a fine sculpture of Uma-Mahesvara (Shiva with consort Parvati) surrounded by an ensemble of ashtadikpalas (ashta - "eight", dik - "directions", pala - "guardian"; guardians in eight directions). There is a shrine for Parvati also in this group.
The external decorative elements for all shrines in this group of temples include at the entrance a dwaja stamba (flag mast) declaring the Sovereignty of the deity, ornate vimanas (towers) above the sanctums, five moldings ornamented with friezes of elephants, lions, yali, makara (imaginary beast) above which are wall pilasters and reliefs of yakshas, dvarapalas(door or gate keepers), images of Shiva, Bhairava, Bhairavi, Vishnu and Ganesha.
Regular worship (Puja) as per Shaivitie agama shastras are performed twice a day during morning and evening hours in this group of temples. Maha Shivaratri and Ramalingeshwara rathostava are the famous festivals, held for seven days during the Magha Masam (month of February or March) as Ramalingeshwaraswami Jatra, that are celebrated annually with great pomp and fervor here.
The temple complex, with its magnificent pillared walkways, is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a monument of national importance.
The Ramalingeshwara group of temples in the Avani village is located 32 km away from Kolar, the district centre, 13 km from Mulabaagilu, the Taluk headquarters, and 97 km from Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka.
Narasipur Char
