Savadatti is one of the oldest towns in Belagavi district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

. It is a celebrated

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

centre located 78 kilometres from

Belagavi Belgaum ( ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

and 41 kilometres from

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

. Savadatti is also the name of the

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

(sub-district), which was previously named Parasgad. There are several ancient temples in Savadatti.

History of Rashtrakuta kings

The historical name of the Savadatti was ''Sugandavarti'' "Sougandipura". It was the capital of the Ratta dynasty (from 875-1230), until the capital shifted to Belagavi. * During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Belagavi was the capital of the Rattas, the chieftains of Savadatti. The fort at Belagavi was built by Bichiraja (Ratta Dynasty) in 1204. * The Ratta clan was one of several names of the

Rashtrakuta Dynasty Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing thei ...

. * Rattas of Savadatti accepted the overlordship of ''Taila II'' (AD 973-977). * Two of the pillars at Belagavi fort have

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

inscriptions in Nagari script, one inscription from around 1199 is attributed to the Ratta king Kartaveerya IV.

Rattas (Rashtrakutas)

* In one of the inscriptions related to Rattas of Savadatti it is mentioned that Krishna III having appointed ''Prithvirama'' as a chief feudatory had dignified the ''Ratta dynasty'' of Savadatti. * The Rattas of Savadatti, used to represent themselves as Lords of Lattaluru(present day

Latur Latur(लातूर) is a city in Indian state of Maharashtra, and is one of the largest cities of the Marathwada region. It is the administrative headquarters of Latur district and Latur Taluka. The city is a tourist hub surrounded by many ...

Inscriptions

* At Savadatti,

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

inscription slab written in Sanskrit and Kanarese (

) of ''Krishna''

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

, Shaka 797 (c. 875 AD), and ''

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya ( IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Prati ...

'', Shaka 1017 (c. 1095 AD). * At Savadatti, in front of the

Western Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in t ...

-style Ankeshwara temple, there is an inscription carved into the wall by the Ratta Chief Ankarasa.

Jainism

* The Rattas of Savadatti are Jains by religion. * In the 11th century Rattas of Savadatti and their provincial governors were great patrons of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

. Kartivirya's son, a Jain saint Munichandra, a minister to Laksmideva and a teacher, and has the title of Acarya, the founder of Ratta-rajya. * Savadatti has two small Jain

basadi A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...

s dating back to Ratta times.

Tourism

Savadatti fort

18th century Savadatti fort was built by the ''Sirasangi Desai'' with 8 bastions. Savadatti fort has a ''Kadasiddheshwara temple'', surrounded by four

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s. Around the Kadasiddheshwara temple in the inner chajja of the prakara there is a row of carvings of geometrical patterns with over two hundred designs, some painted.

Renuka Saagara

Renuka Saagara is a reservoir by the

Malaprabha River The Malaprabha River (Kannada ಮಲಪ್ರಭಾ ನದಿ) is a tributary of the Krishna River and flows through the state of Karnataka in India. It rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of in the state's Belgaum district. The rive ...

adjacent to Savadatti, formed by the Naviluteertha Dam. The name Renuka Saagara is because of the Renuka (Yellamma) temple at Yellammagudda, Savadatti.

Savadatti Yallammana

The temple of the goddess Yellamma or Shree

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashur ...

devi, is a pilgrimage site for Shakti devotees. Every day, hundreds of pilgrims visit the temple. The congregation is especially large, crossing the one million mark, on two auspicious days in the year - ''Banada Hunnime'' and ''Bharatha Hunnime''. The century-old temple of Yellamma is situated atop Yellammanagudda, amidst the picturesque Ramalinga Hills, about 5kmsfrom Savadatti. Between Savadatti and the temple is the magnificent fort of Paarusgad, dating back to the 10th century.

Naviluteertha

The Renuka Sagara, formed by the Naviluteertha Dam, touches the low-lying areas of Savadatti. There is a spot called Jogullabhaavi here, where there is a temple. Pilgrims take a holy dip here before visiting the Yellamma hill. This Samaadhi (grave) is in the Ramapura area of Savadatti.

Shirasangi Shri KalikaDevi Temple

Shirasangi a small village located approximately 25 kilometers from Savadati is famous for Shri Kalikadevi temple. The temple is known to be very ancient and is believed to be the place where Shringa maharishi worshiped Shri Kalikadevi. Shirasangi is also known for Shri Tyagveera Lingaraja Desai. Shri Lingaraj was one of the main donors to give land to K.L.E Society.

Savadatti Temples

The town has

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

s dedicated to Ankeshwara, Puradeshwara, Nagarkere Mallikarjuna, Veerabhadra, Ulvi Basavaeshwara, Mouneshwara, Dyamavva and

Venkateshwara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology Venkate ...

, which is the largest.

Puradeshwara temple

The Puradeshwara temple in the later

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

style is a trikutachala with three ardhamantapas, a common navaranga and two mukhamantapas. Gurlhosur Chidambar temple is also an historical temple. All three

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the '' sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ...

s with pierced windows have

shivalinga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

s. The

shikhara ''Shikhara'' ( IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the '' garbhagriha'' cham ...

, now damaged, over the central garbhagriha is in Kadambanagara style and the navaranga

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s are

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to ...

-turned. Inside the niches of the navaranga are images of

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi ...

and Veerabhadra. This temple has been renovated very crudely. On the day of

Ugadi Ugadi or Yugadi, also known as Samvatsarādi (), is New Year's Day according to the Hindu calendar and is celebrated in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka in India. It is festively observed in these regions on the first ...

, the rising sun's rays fall directly on the main shivalinga. The outer walls have fine sculptures depicting

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and r ...

and there are inclined

chajja A ''chhajja'' is an overhanging eave or roof covering found in Indian architecture. It is characterised with large support brackets with different artistic designs. Variation is also seen in its size depending on the importance of the building ...

s all round. The open mukhamantapa, a later addition, is also in the same style with massive pillars.

Ankeshwara temple

The Ankeshwara temple in ''Desaigalli'', built by Rattas in 1048 is in the

style and is below the ground level. There are steps descending to the mukhamantapa. In front of the temple, there is an inscription carved into the wall by the builder, Ratta Chief Ankarasa.

Gallery

Image:Saundatti Fort.JPG, Savadatti Fort Image:Savadatti_fort_4.JPG, Savadatti Fort Image:Savadatti_fort_3.JPG, Savadatti Fort

References

On can get more info, from the http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.com/ (which I do often). {{Authority control Culture of Karnataka Hindu temples in Belagavi district Tourism in Karnataka History of Karnataka Forts in Belagavi district Former capital cities in India