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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Ramalingeshwara group of temples
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Hindu temple
| image_skyline = Ramalingeshwara group of temples (rear view of shrines) at Avani.JPG
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Ramalingeshwara (Rameshvara) group in [[Kolar district]]
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Karnataka, India
| coordinates =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Karnataka]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Kolar District]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
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| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
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| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Kannada]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
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}}
[[File:Dravidian tower over shrine in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|thumb|upright|Dravidian superstructure (''[[shikhara]]'') at Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani]]
The '''Ramalingeshwara group of temples''' (also spelt ''Ramalingeshvara'' or ''Ramalingesvara'' and sometimes referred to as ''Rameshvara'' group), situated in [[Avani, Kolar|Avani]] town of the Kolar district, [[Karnataka]] state, India, is constructed in the ''[[Dravidian architecture|dravida style]]''. According to the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI), the temple is an ornate 10th-century [[Nolamba dynasty]] construction which was partially renovated later by the Chola dynasty.The Vijayanagara kings built the main Mandapam and Rajagopuram.<ref name="assign">{{cite web |url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/kolar-1.html|title=Ramalingeshwara temple and inscriptions|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle |publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|access-date=19 Dec 2013}}</ref> The temple is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a monument of national importance.<ref name="monument">{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|access-date=19 Jan 2013}}</ref>

==History==
Avani is a place of great antiquity. According to the ASI, an inscription here dated 399 A.D. refers to it. Later inscriptions call it the "[[Bodhgaya|Gaya]] of the south". Legend has it that Avani was the abode of the Hindu saint [[Valmiki]] (author of the epic [[Ramayana]]) and that the Hindu god Rama visited Avani during his return to [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] from [[Lanka]]. According to the legend, Rama's sons [[Lava (Ramayana)|Lava]] and [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]] were born here on an existing hill (called "Lava-Kusha betta" in native Kannada) a short distance from the temple complex.<ref name="assign"/>

According to the art historian Madhusudan Dhaky, Nolamba temple constructions exist in the region historically known as "Nolambavadi", a region to the east of Gangavadi (a region in south Karnataka) but west of Andhradesa (modern Andhra Pradesh). He dates the temple to the early 10th century.<ref name="nolamba">Dhaky (1977), p6</ref> According to the art historian James Harle, the earliest structure within the walled enclosure (''[[prakara]]'') may actually be what is known as the Shatrugnalineshwara shrine (or "Shatrugneshvara") and was built by the [[Western Ganga dynasty]] of [[Talakad]] (based on an Ganga inscription on the premises). This was soon followed by the Lakshmanalingeshwara shrine. According to Harle, this is the earliest example of a group of shrines with an outer wall enclosure in the Karnataka state.<ref name="rameshvara">Harle (1986), p183</ref>

==Temple plan==
The temple complex comprises four major shrines, one each for [[Rama]], [[Lakshmana]], [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]] and [[Shatrughna]]. There are other minor shrines, such as those for [[Vali (Ramayana)|Vali]] and [[Sugriva]].<ref name="shrine">Garg (1992), p827</ref> The Ramalingeshwara temple (or "Rameshvara") consists of a sanctum (''[[garbhagriha]]''), a [[vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] (''[[antarala]]'') and a hall (''navaranga'') with decorative pillars. The base (''adhishthana'') of the temple comprises [[molding (architecture)|moldings]] articulated with ''[[Kirtimukha]]'' and lions in [[relief]]. The outer walls have [[pilaster]]s surmounted by ''dravida'' towers (''[[shikhara]]'').<ref name="assign"/>

The Lakshmanalingeshwara temple (or "Lakshmaneshvara") which houses the largest ''[[linga]]'' (universal symbol of the god Shiva) has on a wall, a depiction of the noted 10th-century saint Tribhuvanakarta holding a ''[[rudraksha]]'' (sacred beads) necklace. The pillars in the hall (as well as in the Bharatalingeshwara or Bharateshvara shrine) have several relief sculptures and the ceiling has a fine sculpture of Uma-Mahesvara (Shiva with consort [[Parvati]]) surrounded by an ensemble of ''[[ashtadikpala]]s'' (''ashta'' - "eight", ''dik'' - "directions", ''pala'' - "guardian"; guardians in eight directions).<ref name="assign"/>

There is a shrine for Parvati also in this group. The external decorative elements for all shrines include five moldings ornamented with [[frieze]]s of elephants, lions, ''[[Yali (Hindu mythology)|yali]]'', ''[[Makara (Hindu mythology)|makara]]'' (imaginary beast) above which are wall pilasters and reliefs of ''[[yaksha]]s'', ''dvarapalas''(door or gate keepers), images of Shiva, [[Bhairava]], [[Bhairavi]], [[Vishnu]] and [[Ganesha]].<ref name="assign"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Entrance to a shrine in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|Entrance to the Ramalingeshwara shrine at Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Ceiling sculptures in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|Ceiling sculptures at Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Ramalingeshwara group of temples, view no. 1 at Avani.JPG|A view in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Ramalingeshwara group of temples, view no. 2 at Avani.JPG|A view of the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Ramalingeshwara group of temples, view no. 3 at Avani.JPG|Entrance to Lakshmanalingeshwara temple in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Shrine wall and porch pillar relief in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|Wall and porch pillar relief in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Shrine wall relief and baluster entrance in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|Wall relief and ''yali'' [[baluster]] entrance to shrine in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Relief of Uma and Maheshvara in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|A ceiling relief of in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Nandi (bull) at Shatrugnalingeshwara shrine in Ramalingeshwara temple complex at Avani.JPG|Nandi (bull) facing Shatrugnalingeshwara shrine in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Ornate pillar in a navaranga in Ramalingeshwara group of temples at Avani.JPG|Pillared ''navaranga'' hall in the Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani
File:Inscription_on_walls_of_Avani_Temple,_Kolar.jpg|Stone inscriptions on the wall of Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|1}}

== References ==
* {{cite book |last= Garg|first=Ganga Ram|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World, Volume 3|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7022-376-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Harle|first=James C.|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|orig-year=1986|year=1994|publisher=Penguin Books, Yale University Press|location=Yale|isbn=0 30006217 6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl}}
*{{cite book |last= Dhaky|first=Madhusudan A.|title=The Indian Temple Forms in Karṇāṭa Inscriptions and Architecture|orig-year=1977|year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-8170170655}}
* {{cite web |url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/kolar-1.html|title=Ramalingeshwara temple and inscriptions|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle |publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|access-date=19 Dec 2013}}
* {{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|access-date=19 Jan 2013}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani}}

{{HinduMythology}}

{{Hindu temples in Karnataka}}

[[Category:Shiva temples in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Kolar district]]
[[Category:10th-century Hindu temples]]
[[Category:Architecture of the Nolambas]]

Ramalingeshwara group of temples, Avani - Revision history

ChanteKates: made new bio