Lakkundi temples set to be finalised for UNESCO tentative listing as World Heritage Sites

A view of the Brahma Jinalaya at Lakkundi village in Gadag taluk.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The group of monuments at Lakkundi, and temples from surrounding places, dating from the early the 10th to 12th centuries CE and built during the period of Kalyana Chaluykas or Western Chalukyas, are in the process of being finalised for inclusion in the UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites.

The State which has already announced its intent to give the proposal a push, tied up with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which was fine tuning the proposal.

Focus on key temples

The INTACH has zeroed in on key temples and stepped tanks constructed during the period of Kalyana Chalukyas in Lakkundi, the Doddabasappa temple and Japada Bavi at Dambal, the Trikuteshwara temple at Gadag, the Mahadeva temple at Itagi, the Sri Mallikarjuna temple at Kuruvatti, the Someshwara temple at Lakshmeshwara in Gadag, and the Tarakeshwara temple at Hangal.

The Lakkundi group of monuments include the 11th century Kasi Visvesvara temple, the Manikesvara temple, the Nanneswara temple, the Brahma Jinalaya [the oldest temple in Lakkundi and dated to 1007 CE], and Musukina Bavi.

But Pankaj Modi, conservation architect from INTACH, said the list may be pruned or expanded based on further discussions with experts from the Department of Archaeology Museums and Heritage based on feedback from other stakeholders.

The monuments listed under “Architectural Ensembles of Kalyana Chalukyas” fulfil two of the six criteria which should be met for inclusion in the UNESCO tentative and final list.

One of the criteria states that the monuments should exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, two planning or design.

The other criteria which the monuments should meet is that they should represent an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage or stages in human history;  and the Kalyana Chalykya group of monuments meet both the criteria.

Hybrid temples

To underscore this aspect, the INTACH has pointed out that the temples built in northern Karnataka in the period of Kalyana Chalukyas, are vesara temples or hybrid temples that not only combine various elements of the Nagara, the Dravida, and the Bhumija styles, but create a distinctive temple form.

In support of fulfilling the second criteria, the proposal points out the temples built in the Kalyana Chalukya regions between the Tungabhadra and the Malaprabha, represent an important phase in temple architecture. Another important element of the Kalyana Chalukya temple complexes are large stepwells which were integral to the complex and the shrine, and some stepwells are larger than the temples to which they are attached to, according to INTACH.

The next step

Once approved, and on completion of an year under the tentative list, the State will be eligible to prepare a detailed nomination dossier for full World Heritage inscription.

The other heritage sites already under the tentative list include monuments and forts of the Deccan Sultanate, monuments of Srirangapatana island town, Hire Benkal megalithic site, and Badami and Aihole group of monuments.