page_title: Navalinga Temple
section_title: Sculpture
hierarchical_section_title: Navalinga Temple / Sculpture
caption_attribution_description: English: photo of an old en:Kannada inscription (from the en:Rashtrakuta period) at the 9th century Navalinga temples in Kuknur, en:Koppal district, en:Karnataka state, India
context_page_description: The Navalinga temple is a cluster of Hindu temples built in the 9th century, during the reign of King Amoghavarsha I or his son Krishna II of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. The temple is located in the town of Kukkanur, 4 miles north of Itagi in Koppal district and 25 miles east of Gadag in Karnataka state, India. Built in the South Indian dravida style, each of the nine temples in the cluster has a linga, the universal symbol of Hindu God Shiva, and hence the name Navalinga.
context_section_description: The pillars in the halls are of better quaility than seen at Pattadakal, indicating an advancement of this art from the previous centuries. Architraves were popular and a very good example has survived and has two makaras (mythical beasts) with circular scales and florid tails. The temple complex has two well preserved old-Kannada inscriptions. Fifteen inscriptions are found in the town in all which mostly date from 1005 CE to 1186 CE, though a few from the Vijayanagara period also exist. The inscriptions mention grants to temples of various Hindu goddesses such as Chamundi, Ganga, Sarasvati, Kalikadevi and Mahamayi as well as God Mallikarjuna. It is proposed that the Navalinga temples may have originally been consecrated in honor of these goddesses.
caption: old-Kannada inscription at Navalinga temple
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