Bengaluru couple, villagers join hands to restore 11th century Shivamogga temple

SHIVAMOGGA: It took 18 years for villagers of Hosagunda to conserve and restore a 11th century temple complex from ruins. The work, which began in 2001, was mostly carried out by a trust. Inaugural ceremonies at the temple complex — comprising Umamaheshwara and seven of its family temples — will begin on Monday.
Hosagunda village is located 60km from Shivamogga city. The village was once the capital of the Hosagunda rulers, who belonged to the Shanthara dynasty.Their reign lasted over 300 years, till the 13th century. The temple complex was built by the Hosagunda rulers.
The Shanthara dynasty ruled Hosagunda in the 12th and 13th centuries, said R Shejeshwara, assistant director of the department of archaeology, museums and heritage (DAMH). “Later, due to various reasons, possibly a drought, people began to leave the village,” he said.
After villagers deserted Hosagunda, all the eight temples fell into ruins. The Umamaheshwara temple, built in Kalyana Chalukya style using greenish chlorite schist stones, is spread over 2,400 sqft. Stone inscriptions say the family of deities included Mahishamardhini and Veerabhadra, Kanchikalamma, Prasanna Narayana and Lakshmi Ganapati. The ruins of the temple were discovered during an excavation.
The Umamaheshwara Seva Trust, which oversaw the renovation work, spent around Rs 7 crore to restore all the temples to their original glory. “Around Rs 50 lakh was donated by the villagers,” said CM Narayana Shastri and Shobha Shastri, the couple who formed the trust along with Nagarajappa Gowdru of the village.
The couple moved from Bengaluru to Hosagunda in 1991 to take up farming. “We came across the temple ruins deep inside the forest. With the help of locals and other donors, we began the conservation work,” Narayana Shastri said.
“First, Gowdru was the president of the trust. After his demise, resident Kovi Puttappa and Sringeri mutt administrator VR Gauri Shankar joined the trust. Several organisations and individuals, including Dr D Veerendra Heggade of Shri Dharmastala, have helped us in the temple restoration work,” Shastri added.
According to Shejeshwara, DAMH initially started the conservation work. “But later the locals, led by Narayana Shastri, took over and completed it,” he said.
The Umamaheshwara Seva Trust, which oversaw the renovation work, spent around Rs 7 crore. Villagers donated Rs 50 lakh.