Kattale Shiva Temple, Karnataka

Address

Kattale Shiva Temple, Shravanbela Gola (Rural), Karnataka 573135.

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

Kattale Basadi is located in Barkur town, about 5 kms from Brahmavara and 20 kms from Udupi in Karnataka. This ruins shiva temple is Located inside the Kattale Group of Temples. Kattale complex has 3 temples and some more ruins. One temple is dedicated to Jainism, while other two were meant for Shiva and Vishnu. Here the primary deity is lord shiva. Basadi in the front, and two small temples behind it, one a Shiva temple and another a Vaishnava temple. There is a small Nandi carved out of granite, before the Shiva temple. Nandi is the guardian deity of Kailasa, Lord Shiva’s abode. The insignificant Shiva temple has a sanctum accommodating a shivalinga. These are declared as National Monuments by the Archaeological Survey of India. These monuments are dated to sometime around 12th century CE, according to the Archaeological Survey of India. The temples are not architecturally very orante and have minimal carvings, designs or ornamentations on the stones. The exterior walls are mostly plain with minimal carvings. But they are of historical significance as Barkur was an ancient city, and was the ancient capital of the Tulu kingdom.