Mahadeva Temple, Itagi

01Emperor among temples

Mahadeva, a dandanayaka of Vikramaditya VI, the long-reigning Kalyani Chalukya king, built this Shiva temple in his home village in 1112 and dedicated it, the inscription says, in honour of his parents. The same record calls it Devalaya Chakravarti. It stands in the Kalyani Chalukya style, in dark soapstone, with a sanctum, vestibule, closed hall and an open pillared mandapa of sixty-eight pillars, polished till they shine and turned on the lathe. Thirteen smaller shrines once ringed it, and a large stepped tank lies beside.

02Where the Hoysala style came from

Itagi shows the Kalyani Chalukya builders at their height, and much of what makes Belur and Halebidu dazzle, the lathe-turned pillars, the dense doorways, the stepped tower with its kirtimukha faces, is already here. Henry Cousens, surveying it for the ASI in the early 20th century, called it one of the finest temples in Kannada country after Halebidu. It lies off the main roads in Koppal district and few visitors come, so you may have the mandapa to yourself. The temple is protected by the ASI and worship continues at the linga.

The life of this place