Skywatch Friday, The King's Balance

As i made my way around the outer wall of Vittala Temple, Hampi when i spotted this huge arch of sorts on the left with a few structures beyond on the mountain, a guide walking with a group referred to it as the King's Balance. Curious, i walked closer to the group to see if i could catch a few words and insight on this sturcture... 

Also known as the Tula Bhara, this monument is made of 2 lofty carved granite pillars soaring to nearly 15 feet high and supported a stone beam across stretching about 12 feet fitted with 3 hoops on its underside. I went closer to inspect the pillars and noticed that one of them has a bas-relief depicting a king with 2 queens. Legend has it that these were depictions of King Krishnadeva Raya and his consorts. 

The structure resembles an entrance or a doorway towards the Kampa Bhupa’s Path located behind the Vittala temple. 

Back in the days, the King's balance was used to weigh the Kings of Vijayanagara and offer charity & donations in form of Grains, Gold, Diamonds and other precious stones to the people from the kingdom. This was done on special occasions like the Solar, and Lunar eclipse.

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Through Deep waters

Walking through the Vittala temple, listening to the various tales about Hampi, a word caught my attention. Lakshmi mentioned visiting Anegundi.. My interest was piqued and i probed further to learn that it had something to do with the Kishkinda section that appears in Ramayana...

In the epic Ramayana, Kishkinda was the kingdom of Bali, Sugriva's brother. After killing Bali the kingdom was handed over to Sugriva by Rama.  Kishkinda-Kanta, a portion in the Ramayana depicts the meeting of Rama and Lakshman with Hanuman and Sugriva. Kishkinda is believed to be part of Karnataka, near Hampi. [source: karnataka tourism]

Reaching Anengundi she said was possible only via boats as the bridge had collapsed half way into construction. With fear in my heart, and anxiety racing through, we made our way to the river Tungabadra that was raging on in full force, hoping the journey would be safe and smooth. 

The coracles are huge, and i saw men bringing their bikes on them, apparently there is another option to reach Anegundia. It is via road, but the distance is over 40kms..

An empty coracle made its way and the old man in charge of the ride beckoned us with a shout. We got into the coracle, and looked around wondering where to sit... i knelt down near one side, and held on for dear life as the coracle went in circles with the old man and a young boy rowing us across. What a ride that was!! I knew i would have to go through it all over again on our return, but well, decided to put that thought aside and enjoy Anegundi for the time being............ 

Time flew by as we drove along lush green fields, climbed mountains in search of cave paintings, and visited a very interesting lady who runs the Kishkinda trust... At the shore, we watched 2 men load their bikes onto the coracle, and thought "lets wait for the next empty coracle",but were asked to join in the same ride. "Whoa, is that possible? so many of us plus bikes" was the only thing running in my mind... There were 6 people already on the boat, and with us, it would be 9.[7 plus 2 who steered the coracle].. I hopped in, and the guys on the bike asked if i wanted to stand holding onto the bikes.. 

Even though i had my doubts of their invitation, i still took them on and it sure made the ride comfortable and fun.. During the course of the ride, came to know these men were returning to Hampi after watching a movie in a theater beyond Anegundi, and this is their regular mode of commute. 

Amidst the surroundings, i was lost in my own world of huge boulders, and beautiful temples when suddenly a tap on my shoulder jolted me back to reality...we had reached, and it was time to get going...... 

Holy Trails...

 

A boat jetty while on the train

After the wonderful weekend trip it was time for a family outing.. Spent less than 24hours in Chennai before i was off on the train to Mangalore, to head towards Sringeri.[one of the 4 Mutts established by Adi Shankaracharya]. We are all followers of this Mutt and my grandparents make couple of trips during the year. Me - well, i go once in a while!! :)

 

The Main Sharadambal temple

My cousin's poonal [ Holy thread ceremony] was slated for 4th June, so we booked tickets for the 2nd June!! I was travelling with my parents after ages, felt nice... :) Packed 3sarees[yes, here we wear only sarees, atleast around the temple campuses] , 2 salwars, other essentials, and i was set!!

On the steps of River Tunga..

 The train journey was very nice... esp while we were going past Kerala.. The back waters, West coast, the ocean waves lapping against the shore, fishermen on their small boats, absolutely scenic and breath taking...

 

Elephants during evening snack

We reached Mangalore around 9.30am on 3rd, hopped into the cab waiting for us and headed towards Sringeri. The route is scenic, Ghats are beautiful and there is something mystical about them. if you were look out the window, you can see River Tunga flowing peacefully down below [except during the monsoons, where she rages on]... Takes about 2.5 hours to reach Sringeri, and by the time we checked into our room it was 12.45pm...!! Normally, we halt at Hotel Sreenivas for breakfast, but since we had already had some on the train, we rode along...

 

Vidhyashankar temple

Sringeri is one such place where people come for religious purposes, to admire the architecture, worship Gods and Goddesses or as a tourist spot.. Early on, there wasnt so much of Tourist crowd that used to throng the place, but now that crowd is enough to put me off!! eeks... people crawling all over the place, noisy and dirty!! hehehe..

The stone idol of Adi shankara in the garden

A place i've been familiar with for over 15yrs is where am most comfortable wandering about in. No worries of getting lost, or running into dead ends. Priest, admin office staff and even security guards know me quite well [ thanks to grandparents frequency and having known me since i was in my teens]

 

The Bridge with uncle waving n aunts following close at heel

The main temples to visit here are all within the campus-

Sharadambal temple

Adi shankara temple- which is being renovated

Sri Vidhya shankar temple- part of the Heritage sites - a must see for its rich architecture...

Thorana Ganpathi- a small ganapathi fixed on the threshold

Malayala Brahma

Sri Balasubrahmanya - Murguan temple right on the banks of the river TIunga

Sri Chandramouleeswara

Sri Malahanikareswara- Shiv who resides on top of the mountain..

And then when we cross the bridge over the River Tunga flowing through the Mutt, we come to the Narasimha vanam, where The Sringeri Swamiji resides and does Pooja daily.. the place where we go to take his blessings or be a part of the pooja is the newly built haven called Guru Bhavanam ... Beyond it is where Elephants [2 of them], horses[ right now there are 3], Gosala[ home for cows] and deers run about...

Walking across the bridge, watching the moon light up the sky, crickets and other bugs singing aloud, its a mystical feeling going for the Pooja... Sitting in that massive hall, watching Swamigal do pooja to the Chandramouleeswara Linga and Ganapathi, i realised we stop worrying about the daily aspects of our life and are totally immersed in the Pooja...

A place of tranquility where one can simply sit still for hours is how Sringeri feels to me... Yes, i do make a quick visit to all the temples, say Hello to all the Gods and Goddesses, but the best part if the serenity... this is Spirituality according to me!! :)

Evening sky pver River Tunga..

In the evening, i stand on the bridge, looking up at the sky or at the fish fluttering about in the river, feeding on the puffed rice or generally swimming about...

Vyasar Mandapam on the other side of the river

 

Today, the place looks very diff from what it did couple of years ago.. Construction going on everywhere, renovations happening here and there.. The main entrance used to be a beautiful archway, today it is a bundle of concrete debris.. there is a huge 127ft tall Gopuram which is being constructed there...

Best way to travel is to take a train from Chennai to Mangalore, and then a cab/bus to Sringeri.. You have trains at 11.30am daily ,and 5pm[on certain days]

 

Mom n dad ,. as we waited for His Holiness to make an entry

In case you are coming from Blore, then direct buses ply almost every day. Its about 7hrs from Blore ...