Continued from Mahamaye temple.
The Navalinga temple or the set of 9 temples, behind the Mahamaye temple is said to be built by the Rashtrakoota dynasty between the 8th and 13th century. Built in the Dravidian style of architecture, each shrine houses a Linga as the name suggests.
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| The Navalinga temple with its multiple scribbles on the outer walls |
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| A window in the temple with all the signatures |
Rampant scribbling adorn the outer walls of the Navalinga temple. It felt as if people found it mandatory to mark their attendance on the walls of the temple as they had sincerely scribbled their initials along with date of visit all over these walls.
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| The inside of the temple painted with green lime |
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| Elephants and Horses depicting battle of some sort |
Inside were some interesting carvings, but they were all covered in fading and peeling green lime. Quaint doors led us from one Linga to another. It was dark inside the temple so these Lingas were not very clearly visible. Part of the ceiling had collapsed and the sunlight streamed in illuminating the temple a bit in this area.
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| Sunlight flooding through the collapsed roof area |
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| A view of the outer wall with a young tree firmly taking roots. |
Nature also seemed to be reclaiming its place as young trees had firmly planted roots in various parts of the roof. The thought, that this piece of history may soon not be available to the future generations, crossed my mind more than once.
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| A Nandi seen through the doorway |
Just outside sat a majestic but almost eroded Nandi on a pedestal. Behind the Nandi was another inscription stone. This was thankfully in a better condition than the one inside the Mahamaye temple. Maybe it was because of lesser footfall inside the Navalinga temple, it still had the power to instill a sense of peace within.
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| Makaratorana |
Makaratoranas are the ornamental gateways/arches consisting of mythical creatures made of a permutation and combination of various animals. These usually have crocodile heads along with elaborate and extremely ornate peacock tails. They were seen flanking various entrances and some walls too. Elephant snouts coming out of the crocodiles' mouth seemed to hold up a symbol of some sort. This was a regular feature throughout the temple.
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| A view of the Kalyani |
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| Fence around the Kalyani |
Moving towards the exit we noticed a small Kalyani or the temple pond, near the Mahamaye temple entrance. The entrance to the Kalyani was locked but the water from there seemed to be used. The fence around it however was more in use, wearing a colorful look as it was attired in a variety of clothes that were hung out to dry all over it.
We walked out of the temple complex with mixed feelings. Awe at how incredibly ancient this place was, sadness at the utter ignorance in retaining its value and gladness that we could at least experience whatever was left of this amazing place.
The old lady was still at the entrance offering 'kumkum' and 'haldi' to all those who walked in. She tried to offer 'kumkum' to me again, but I pointed to my forehead and gave her a thumbs-up. I am sure she was iconic as well, but we had no time to interview her. Bidding goodbye, we left with the unanimous sense that the Mahamaye temple and the Navalingas definitely deserve a much better treatment.
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