Kuknur Navalinga Temple, Karnataka

Address

Kuknur Navalinga Temple Kuknur, Koppal district Karnataka 583232

Diety

Navalinga (Shiva)

Introduction

Kuknur, located in the Koppal district of Karnataka, is popular for its temples constructed by Chalukyas and Ratrakutas. The most famous temple among them is the Navalinga Temple. The Navalinga Temple is constructed in Dravidian style. Since each of the nine temples has a linga, they are known as Navalinga meaning nine lingams. The temple was built under the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, under the reign of King Amoghavarsha I or under his son Krishna II. The temple town boasts of inscriptions from the Vijayanagara period and they refer to a number of Hindu Goddesses such as Ganga, Saraswati, Kalikadevi, Mahamay and Chamundi, it also mentions the name of God Mallikarjuna. The Navalinga group of temples appears to be built without any particular order in an asymmetric manner. The temple is constructed with sandstone but the shrine walls have lost their sheen now. The shrines have a Shikara like any South Indian temple. The shrine has a linga and the entrance of this shrine bears the image of the Goddess Gajalakshmi. There are two ancient Kannada inscriptions in the complex of this temple.