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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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Srirangapatna - Some thoughts

The serene environs of Srirangapatna hide among them, scars of not one, but four wars. 




The crumbling fort walls, remnants of the massive gateways, ruins of the erstwhile palace, and the dungeons, evoke memories of those three decades, less than three centuries ago, when the four Mysore wars tried the resilience of its citizens, over and over again. 



These are grim reminders of Srirangapatna’s past, and the ultimate sacrifices of its people , but the most poignant among them surely has to be the sight of this single stone which stands as a testament to the bravest among the men who perished here.



This simply engraved stone marks the spot where Tipu Sultan’s body was found. This is one of the attractions which every tourist to Srirangapatna visits, but few of us realise that he wasn’t found alone. His body was found among ‘heaps’ of dead soldiers, to quote the ASI board at the site, and the words only serve to emphasise the massive sacrifices made by the people of this remarkable little town.




But above all, it speaks volumes of the courage of the man who stood up to the British, and fought for his beliefs, against all odds. That he succumbed to the bullet of some ordinary, unnamed soldier reminds us that he wasn’t among those who directed the war, but that he fought among his men, shoulder to shoulder, and died among them too. My only knowledge of Tipu Sultan was from all I had read about him – first at school, and later, through books, and then, through a TV series on him. However, it was only as I stood there, by that simple stone Colonel Wellesly had placed in his memory, that I realized he had never felt more real! 

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Location: Srirangapatna, Karnataka, India

Comments

  1. NatalieGJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:34 AM

    I just found your blog, and am enjoying it very much already. I hope to one day visit India, so I want to learn as much as I can about the history and people, and your posts will help me a lot! Now to go find out more about Tippu Sultan...

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:39 AM

      Thank you so much, Natalie! I hope you get to visit India soon, and learn all you want to, before you do! If u need any help, feel free to send me a mail.

      Delete
  2. AnuJanuary 30, 2014 at 11:46 AM

    I have travelled through/ around Srirangapatna, but never visited this place at all. Quite a historical place. Is this a UNESCO Heritage site?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 30, 2014 at 12:22 PM

      No its not a UNESCO site, country hopping couple, but part of the ASI heritage sites. In fact ,there were boards all over, with a list of heritage sites in srirangapatna.

      Delete
  3. HaddockFebruary 18, 2014 at 10:09 PM

    Yes, its only when we visit the actual site we realise the importance and that person and how he must have faced the adversities.

    ReplyDelete

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