Posted on: 14 January 2014

Water-colour drawing by John Gantz of the temple at Kolar, dated circa 1800. Inscribed on the front in ink: 'S.' 'View of the Pagoda Antergunay and Tank on the Hill near Colar. J. Gantz Delt.'

The Kolar district in Karnataka is bounded by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and possesses numerous temples built by the various dynasties that ruled in the region. The Banas and Gangas ruled until the ninth century until the Cholas took control in around AD 1000. The region later passed into the hands of the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara rulers, followed by the Deccani rulers of Bijapur and the Mysore Wodeyars. The Vijayanagara empire marked a period of great temple building activity. The temples each have a pillared 'mandapa' or pavilion and huge entrance tower called a 'gopura'. This drawing shows a temple tank with a pavilion set amidst a rocky landscape.

Copyright © The British Library Board


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This is probably the temple at Anthargange, near Kolar city. I'm not sure of the name of the temple; it could be Kashi Vishwanatha as the perennial spring that issues here, depicted in the painting inside the bottom storey of the mantapa adjacent to one of the walls of the tank, is said to source it's water from the Ganges. A recent photograph could be seen in this travelogue on the web: http://mudnigga.blogspot.in/2009/11/anthargange-bangalore.html