About
About Akhanda Bagilu (Gajalakshmi Gateway)
- Year of establishment
- AD 980; side shrines around AD 1130
- Established by
- Gateway built in AD 980; side shrines attributed to Bharatamayya
- Main deity
- Gajalakshmi gateway with Bharata and Bahubali shrines
- Timings
- Usually open from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Location
- Open map
The outer fort is the first structure encountered while ascending Vindhyagiri. Built in the 18th century, it is known as the Silver Gateway. Beyond the pillar and the flight of steps stands the remarkable Akhanda Bagilu. On either side are small shrines of Bharata and Bahubali, carved from single blocks of stone. The most notable feature is the Gajalakshmi panel above the doorway. Lakshmi is seated on a lotus while elephants on either side pour consecrated water from vessels held in their trunks. Reliefs of makaras and lions fill the remaining space. Regarded as one of the finest sculptures of the Ganga period, this is also renowned as one of India's largest and most accomplished representations of Gajalakshmi. Because the gateway lies directly north of the Gommata image, it may have been the principal, or perhaps the only, approach to Gommata in the 10th century. The gateway was constructed in AD 980. The two temples on its sides may have been commissioned around AD 1130 by Bharatamayya, a commander of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana. They contain reliefs of Bharata and Bahubali. Bharatamayya also built the flight of steps rising from the Tyagada Kamba. The open halls attached to the two chambers were probably added after the 14th century.
The boulder opposite the eastern chamber is locally called 'Siddhara Gundu.' The name may derive from the appropriate carvings of Jain ascetics on it. An 18th-century poem says that they represent the 101 sons of Purudeva (Bhagavan Vrishabhanatha), although an inscription identifies it as a Nishidhi memorial.
Ascending from Akhanda Bagilu, one reaches the third gateway, Kanchigubbi Bagilu. After entering it and climbing the steps, one comes to Gullukayajji Bagilu, the fourth gateway of Vindhyagiri. Beyond it stands the hard-stone enclosure known as the Gommata Suttalaya, built by Gangaraja, a commander of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana. On passing through the fifth gateway of this enclosure, the image of Bhagavan Bahubali comes into view.