Karkala Temple, Karnataka

Karkala is a little town in the south of Karnataka. There is a famous Jain temple in Karkala, which is a witness to a different age dating back a thousand years. The lavish architecture within its simple stone framework, flowing stone sculptures and ample carvings bears the testimony to probably the combined work of talented sculptors, architects and artists long dead.

Karkala is surrounded by hills and a lagoon. It is famous for the charming Karkala temple, Jain stupa and a gigantic statue of the Jain god, Gandharva. The temple is situated on the top of a hill with a stone staircase cut into the face of the rock of the rising hill. The Jains built this temple on top of a hill in AD 1000 to erect a memorial and place of worship to their god, the Gandharva. The rich architecture, the florid Hoysala type sculptures and the unique style of construction and architectural design of the staircases and porticos are the important characteristic of the temples of Karkala At the foot or the entrance to the Jain temple is a special set of footprints embedded in a rock that is preserved in a little shrine dedicated to the Gandharva. These footprints are unique because they are believed to be the actual impressions of the holy saint, dating back a thousand years or more.

The statue of the Gandharva is worth seeing as it is wonderfully carved out of a granite rock that rises to a height of 300 ft. The gigantic rock statue of the Gandharva is unique as it is one of the three such statues into the whole of India. Karkala is famous for another towering statue of Gomateshwara, which has a height of 43 ft. Veerapandyadeva, the king of Bairarasa family of Karkala, built this statue in 1432 AD on a rocky hill. There are life size statues of three Teerthankaras as well as one of Padmavathi Yakshi. The rulers also built Chathurmukh basadi at Karkala and famous Neminath basadi complex and the tall Manasthamba at Hariyangadi.

The temple adjacent to the Jain temple is indeed beautiful despite the neglect and years of decay. It is constructed in pure Dravidian style with a flat roof. The Buddhist influences and manifestations are evident especially in the scriptures and texts carved into the wall faces. This is an unusual feature because most of the temples do not find inscriptions carved into the wall faces. This Buddhist influence dates back to Ashokan period. The Karkala temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. It is a pity that the temple is so neglected and decayed.