I could not see the inside of the temple during my first visit to Bankapur Fort. I was here by 5-30 and the gate was locked. This is all I saw.
During the second, May 27th 2011, I reached by 8 in the morning. It wasn't open yet. I walked to another temple nearby where I could see signs of human activity, found the poojari and checked if he knew who was in-charge of temple. I was lucky, the temple care-taker was around and poojari asked him to show the temple.
The temple is known by the number of columns inside- 66 or 68. I'm not sure which number is right. Anyway, the columns are beautifully turned, polished and adorned with lot of art.
Though most of the columns have lost shine, the temple is pretty well maintained. I wonder why it is below ground level. Was it buried in dirt to protect it from the marauding armies?
These formation of little pits could have been used to play some sort of game. Probably these were created in recent times.
A typical column.
Most columns have this artistic ring at the mid section. This looks like a bangle and I'm pretty sure jewelry designers would have copied this pattern.
Many columns had four of these around them.
A complex art work inside a dome.
Difficult temple to shoot. With my poor skills at indoor photography, I could not do better.
The outer columns rising from the sitting platform have octagonal cross-section.
A collection of sculptures lie scattered around the temple. I remember seeing 2 or 3 flat-topped Islamic tomb markers within the temple compound.
This is the bottom most layer of the outer wall of the temple.
This is the best shot I got here. The engineering precision is amazing. How on Earth did the sculptors manage this precision!?
Couple of not good videos but enough to show what's missing from the pictures above.
Nagareshwara Temple Coordinates: 14°55'32"N 75°14'58"E
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