Sri Somashankara Lingeshwara Matha

November 24, 2012

We were on the way to Hanamasagar fort when we saw a temple with fort like walls atop a hillock. We stopped to give a visit. An arch proclaimed the place as Sri Somashankara Lingeshwara Sukshetra.

The temple is ancient, well secured by stones walls.

Most of the way uphill is a dirt path. The last bit is a flight of stone slab steps.

At the top is a plateau. A neatly maintained kitchen garden greeted us. That's the temple entrance.

Architecture is a mix of Hindu and Islamic which is common in many parts of north Karnataka.

That's the temple and Matha.

That's Parama Poojya Basvalinga Swamigalu, the Matha's Swami. He's quite young. The blue structure seems like an Muslim tomb. The Swami had no idea whose tomb this is.

This is a part of the wall surrounding the Matha. The structure looks pretty ancient.

An opening in the wall, we ventured out to see the temple Theru.

This chariot is made of wood and steel sections and wheels are stone. Call it a hybrid Theru.

A short video of the Matha-

Done with the tour we head back to the cab. Just across the road is an open well which has an ancient feel to it.

We are at the base of a long hill with a plateau at the top. The hill is about 16 kms long. At the eastern tip is Hanamasagar and at the western tip is Gudur. Some where in the surrounding plains is a prehistoric stone alignment. Unfortunately, I did not have the exact location. Hope to find it some other time.

We head towards Hanamasagar fort and Venkateshwara temple which local people call Tirupathi.

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