We found our way to Somanathagudi through the narrow lanes of Laxmeshwar. The first look at the temple wasn't really an impressive sight... felt the temple was ignored. Definitely it was need of maintenance.
The temple well caught me attention. What a creation. I wonder why temple wells are square or rectangular while wells at homes or fields are circular.
I went down its steps. I could hear voices; a small group of men and boys were here for a bath.
These cross-beams to provide support the walls and keep them from collapsing.
The cool cool water. The well was in a better shape then the temple.
That's the temple. The deity here is worshiped and pooja is performed daily.
The poojari told the uniqueness of this temple; Shiva and Parvati are seated on a standing Nandi. Normally Shiva and Parvati are seen sitting while Nandi is lying down. I could not see the deity since it was covered with lot of pooja items. The photo here shows the image sans decoration.
That's the poojari. It seems their family has been performing pooja at this temple for five generations. The temple's history is quite colorful: a Jain king converted this temple converted to a Basadi and it remained a Basadi for 200 years. One night, a miracle happened- the Parshwanath idol had been replaced with the idol seen now. Hence the temple ceased to be a Basadi from that day. Well, its hard to believe the miracle story... history is written by winners.
A bunch of hero-stones with inscriptions in Halegannada stood under a tree.
Other known monuments of Lakshmeshwar are Bsavanna temple, Jain Basadi and a mosque. The mosque's architecture is similar to mosques in Bijapur built during Adil Shahi's rule.
Somalingeshwara Temple Coordinates: 15°7'33"N 75°28'22"E
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