Located (100 km from Hampi) along with Trikuteshwara temple Saraswati temple of Gadak, North Karnataka is smaller of the two. It is one of the important national monuments of India known for richly ornamental pillars in the mantaba. It has eye-catching exquisite stone columns. Between the 9th and 12th-century, Gadak was booming city it was the location of a growing, large city with numerous Hindu and Jain temples. According to stone inscriptions several dynasties ruled this place and these include the Rashtrakuta, Western Chalukya, Kalachuris, Yadavas and Hoysalas, each one of them was great builder of temples and followed a distinctive and unique architectural design that stood apart.
Caught in the vortex of changing political scenarios in the wake of raid from external forces, once a beautiful city it lost its glamor and glamor relegated to the pages of history. Reason: The combined Deccani sultanate' army made a destructive attack on the city and the temples . Since then the Gadak region with numerous temples stands abandoned in the midst of broken debris and rubble. In 1880s, Henry cousins brought out the beauty of the unaffected parts of the temples various and their architectural grandeur. Gadak, also known as Betageri, is one of the major tourist destinations in north karnataka. The temple here are under the management of ASI Dharwad circle,
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| Saraswati temple at Trikuteshwara temple complex Gadag, upload.wikimedia.org |
The Saraswati temple is richly ornamental temple overflowing with a profusion intricately stone carved pillars of various sizes and styles with miniaturized details depicting deities from the Hindu Pantheon. The main construction material is soft rock - soap stone in which delicate carvings could be made with considerable ease. Quite impressed Colonial period archaeologist James Fergusson considered it ''the most complete illustration of the Chalukya architecture, while Jas Burgess admired the exquisite details and finish of the 11th and 12th century Hindu artwork here''.
The Saraswati temple facing north lies within compound close to the Trikuteshwara temple and a temple water tank. The compound wall has numerous inscriptions with respecto date of construction of the temple, etc. The earliest dated inscription found in this temples complex is from 1036–1037 CE.
Built around 1040 CE the original Trikuteshwara temple had a sanctum - garbhagriha with Vimana (spire) above it and a small mandapa. The interior of the temple is accessed by two entrances - on the east and south sides. Only in the later period a larger mandapa and a western sanctum with Vimana were built. The Saraswati temple to the south side of Trikuteshwara temple was added later and by 12th century the entire complex was completed
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KA commons.wikimedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KA en.wikipedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KA wikimedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KA commons.wikimedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KAcommons.wikimedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KAcommons.wikimedia.org |
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| ornate pillars, Sarasvati temple, Gadak, KA commons.wikimedia.org |
The ornate pillars of Saraswati temple carry amazingly innumerable carvings of various gods and goddesses episodes from the Hindu legends legends, kama, artha and dharma scenes,etc.Both temples have nice carvings on the outer walls but appear rough owing to vagaries of weather. There mutilated, defaced and damaged carvings that were due to plundering by the Deccani sultanates prior to the 12th century.
A fascinating aspect of stone carvings of Saraswati temple is the presence of an array of carvings of Vedic deities (Indra, Varuna, Agni and others), the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and the Shaiva-Vaishnava-Shakti deities. They cover various legends associated with the Hindu Epics and Purana. record point out this temple once housed Chandra bhushana Pandita, a school (sal)a and his Hindu monastery here; he was a teacher of repute in the the medieval era.
Yet another culturally important depictions of the medieval era at both Trikuteshwara and Saraswati temples are images of yogi, yoginis, dancers, musicians, different types jewelry, clothing, dresses, hairdo, etc all reflecting on the daily life of the people and festive social events.
Enshrined in the sanctum is the goddess Sarasvati - the Hindu goddess of learning and arts – the stone idol is beautifully made exquisitely. Quite painful to see the deity with four hands chopped off during the raid by the sultanates. The damage was a deliberate, according to historians. Despite the damage the left out image highlight the tedious work done by the sculptors who carefully polished the sculpture by giving a good finish.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1100_CE_Saraswati_temple,_Gadag,_Karnataka_India_-_01.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikuteshwara_Temple,_Gadag
