Temple

The Mahadeva Temple is located in Itagi, Koppal district of Karnataka. The temple's carvings, sculptures, pillars and tower stand proof to the immense talent of Chalukyan artists. One of the inscriptions on the walls of the temple calls it Devalaya Chakravarti (Emperor among Temples).The Temple was built circa 1112 CE by Mahadeva, a commander (dandanayaka) in the army of the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI. Itagi is about 22 miles (35 km) east of Gadag and 40 miles (64 km) west of Hampi. The temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva. These Western Chalukya monuments, regional variants of existing dravida (South Indian) temples, defined the Karnata dravida tradition.

Architecture

The temple consists of a shrine connected to a hall by a vestibule. The sanctum of the main temple bears a linga and the rest of the shrines surrounding it bear their own linga. The closed mantapa or hall has a doorway on its either side, the doorway on its west leads to the sanctorum while the other leads to an open mantapa. This open mantapa has 64 pillars and of these 24 are fully built and support the main ceiling while the rest are only half pillars which are constructed from the parapet wall around the mantapa. The stonework on the ceilings and in the halls is interesting while in some places the work appears to be plain and simple.

Picture courtesy: commons.wikimedia.org

Darsan Info

Temple timings : 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM
The right time to visit Koppal is the rainy season or the winter. Anytime between July and March is ideal.

Darsan Dresscode

Clean and conservative clothing is suggested.

Culture

Itagi is a small temple town in North Karnataka and is famous for the Mahadeva temple of 12th century. The place is surrounded by green trees with peace loving village atmosphere.

Additional Info