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...
It is impossible to miss the Tungabhadra , especially at Anegundi . The shortest way to get there is to cross the river by a boat or coracle, and most of the places there are located somewhere along the river. The last place we visited at Anegundi was on our way back to Hampi after visiting the Pampa Sarovar . We crossed a makeshift bridge made of fallen pillars laid across a stream merging into the Tungabhadra, and climbed up a hillock which would take us to a point right opposite the ghats of Hampi. On the way, we were told, was the cave where the monkey king Sugriva lived. We briefly entered the cave through the temple-like structure built at the entrance before moving on to other, more interesting things….