When one hears the name ‘Belur‘, the next set of names or words that follow are – Channakeshava temple, Shilabalikas, Halebidu, Hoysalas, King Vishnuvardhana, Jakanachari. Off the list, the last one is less known – Jakanachari, the main architect-sculptor behind Belur & Halebidu. And Kaidala, home town of Jakanachari, boasts of having one of the beautiful statue of God Channakeshava (Lord Vishnu) sculpted by him. Kaidala previously known as ‘Kreedikapura’ got the name as Jakanachari got back his right hand after sculpting & establishing statue of Lord Channakeshava.
You will be disappointed if you are to reach there, expecting the temple premises to be something similar to Belur or Halebidu. This temple of Lord Channakeshava in Kaidala looks like any other temple from outside. And what seperates this temple from any other temples is the masterpiece by Jakanachari. It is said that the statue in Kaidala is one of the last statues sculpted by Jakanachari. Sculpted in a black stone, the status is 6ft tall & the amount of details & intricacy is amazing.
The legend says that –
Jakanachari leaves behind his family, wife, unborn child to gain name & fame. Sculpting beautiful statues, constructing temples over a long period of time, all over he reaches Hoysala kingdom where he agrees sculpt deity Lord Channakeshava. Meanwhile his son, Dankanachari leaves home in search of his father. On the day before the Channakeshava idol to be established in Belur, Dankanachari reaches the place & claims that there is a flaw in the statue which was sculpted by Jakanachari. At this time, Jakanachari bets his right hand in case of any flaw in the idol where as his son Dankanachari bets his life. All this happens unaware of their relationship.
Jakanachari cuts his hand after his son finds the flaw – a live frog, water & sand – in the idol. Hence, the statue become famous as ‘Kappe Channigaraya’ (Kappe = Frog in Kannada). Later, Jakanacahri gets a vision to construct a temple at his home town. Both father-son duo move to Kaidala where it is said that Jakanachari got back his hand after he completed the statue.
Unfortunately, the temple in Kaidala is stranded with no one to take care except for the priest & couple of old ladies who clean up the premises. And the legend mentioned above was as narrated by the priest.
PS: Photography is not allowed inside the temple
Haven’t visited this place, yet.
went there abt 6 months ago as a part of my hoysala trail..just finished an article on it..did u see the small pics of his parents on the wall of the temple ?
Interesting story about Jakanachari’s birthplace. Had heard of the frog story, but did not know about the bet.
Do you know there is also a speculation that Jakanachari is just a legend and never existed?
@Manasa, in case if you are traveling towards Tumkur, try to visit the place. Won’t take an hour or two for the complete visit from Tumkur.
@Lakshmi, link to you article please 🙂
And I wasn’t aware of images (sculptures?) of his parents.
@Arun, there is also a movie on this legend in kannada – ‘amarashilpi jakanachari’
plz visit the temple once..coz that idol of lord chennakeshava is so beautifull that even we cant draw it in computer..such a beautiful idol
What is the name of Jakanachari’s wife?
Couldn’t find her name – both online and also at Kaidala while speaking to the people there. Some of the historians say that Jakanachari himself was not real but a legend.
Hi.. Can you tell me what is the literary sources of these story?
I don’t have any literary sources. But these are the legends told from one generation to other. I heard the same story at Kaidala temple and the same story is narrated in the Kannada movie ‘Amarashilpi Jakanachari’