The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
As Diwali approaches, I have been re-living our trip last Diwali to Karnataka. We started on a devotional note, visiting Sringeri, Udupi and Kollur. But that did not stop us having unexpected surprises which had nothing to do with temples, as well as adventures that we had not planned for. We eventually reached our final destination - River Tern Lodge at the Bhadra Reservoir, and after two wonderful days there, headed back home to Mumbai. However, before we called an end to our travels, we still had something to see....
The bus stand at Shimoga was clean, well organised, and had huge posters of all the places you could visit around the city. There were quite a few interesting possibilities, but time was a luxury we did not have. We were due to board a bus back to Mumbai in a few hours, and in that short time, wanted to explore Shimoga. I remembered reading about the Shivappa Nayaka Palace on a couple of friends’ blogs, and decided to head out there.
The bus stand at Shimoga was clean, well organised, and had huge posters of all the places you could visit around the city. There were quite a few interesting possibilities, but time was a luxury we did not have. We were due to board a bus back to Mumbai in a few hours, and in that short time, wanted to explore Shimoga. I remembered reading about the Shivappa Nayaka Palace on a couple of friends’ blogs, and decided to head out there.
“Palace? What palace? There is no palace in Shimoga”
was the response from most auto drivers we asked. I would have given up, and
elected to spend our time at the bus stand, had not one old man listening to
our conversation asked “You want to go to the museum?’ I jumped at the word ‘Museum”.
It was certainly better than simply sitting in the bus stand! It was only when I
asked him where the museum was, that he replied, “in the aranmanai’. Now, aranmanai
is the Tamil word for palace, and that was where I had wanted to go in the
first place. As we spoke, it turned out that the auto drivers only knew of the
place as the museum or the ‘aranmanai’.
They had no idea of either Shivappa Nayak or that this was his erstwhile
palace!
The main gate was
closed when we arrived at the palace, but our driver informed us that the big
doors were kept closed most of the time, since there were few visitors. We entered
by a side gate, and wondered if we had to buy a ticket... and if so, from whom.
There wasn’t a soul to be seen. Eventually, someone emerged from a door, and
when asked, seemed surprised to be asked if we had to pay a fee. “Go ahead and
look around.” He replied.” The watchman has gone out for a while. He will be
back soon.”
There wasn’t really
much to see... The palace didn’t look big enough to justify its name, and built
of wood, was a simple structure, not really what one would expect of a palace.
However, looking
closer, we realised that it must indeed have been a beautiful residence at one
time... Not a fort... not a palace... simply a beautiful residence worthy of a
king!
More interesting was
the area behind... the courtyard...
This is the actual museum,
which the Archaeology department has filled with sculptures and rock edicts
found in the area. Some of the sculptures are really beautiful and worth a closer
look..... Such as this Narasimha...
Saptamatrikas..
And
Mahishasuramardini...
Outside, the garden is
well maintained, and even here, there are sculptures...
The sight of such
beautiful sculptures out in the open does seem interesting, but even as we stood
there, it began raining, and seeing these beautiful works of art getting
drenched, day after day, year after year, seemed to me to be a sorry sight.
One broken peetham (stand) had filled with water...
One of the sculptures..
a beautiful one of Hanuman...
Had a snail on it!
Wonder what He would
have thought of becoming a haven for a snail!
We wandered around the
palace for almost an hour... since it was raining, and we didnt have an
umbrella. Not a soul was in sight, except the old man who turned up now and
then, just to keep an eye on us, I suppose. The watchman returned just as we
were leaving, and as we turned back for one last look, we could see him
standing by the flag post... all alone, by his post, guarding a place hardly
anyone ever visited.
Shimoga
Distances:
- Bangalore : 276 Km
- Mangalore: 187 Km
How to Reach:
- By Road: Shimoga is well connected by road to Bangalore and Mangalore. There are also AC Volvo buses from Mumbai to Shimoga.
- By Air: The nearest airport is at Mangalore
- By Train : Shimoga railway station is well connected to Bangalore.
Where to Stay
Shimoga, being district headquarters, as well as a tourist hub, has many hotels and lodges to suit all budgets.
This is an awesome find. Never heard about this palace/museum before. Those sculptures look wonderful. Thanks for this info, Anu.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/11/our-lady-of-immaculate-conception-church.html
Thanks Niranjan.. it isnt all that popular, but a few bloggers have written about it, which is how I got to know :D
DeleteWOW! Shimoga and palace. Never knew at all. Looks like a well maintained place too. Loved the pictures of the idols.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sankara.. and its a nice place.. def worth a visit the next time you are there!
DeleteWhat a desolately beautiful place, Anu. Just wondering, why can't the sculptures be placed inside the palace?
ReplyDeleteI was just going through the web and got this link.... It is a beautiful piece well made. Rare piece where you can see the silent beauty of Shimoga. Rarely heard in the tourism dictionary. People talk of Jog falls... & forget but the city and people have more to share...
ReplyDeleteSometimes holding on to the purity of place makes a difference...Shimoga has more to share.
Mohan Kumar
Good I read this about the Aramane or the Museum with those beautiful sculptures because same thing would have happened to me had I gone around asking for Shivappa Nayak's palace! Well, thanks.
ReplyDeleteShimoga is such a beautiful place with its old temples and stunning locations. The Shivappa Nayaka’s palace is still adorned with traditional architecture style and the Kote Seetharamanjaneya Temple is a complete divine place and Kunchikal Falls, the highest waterfall gives you a breathtaking view.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures righty captured to elevate the mood of onlooker ! Keep the good work going.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to read the post,it is very well written.You have done hard work in writing this post and i impressed your work.
ReplyDelete