Kadalekalu Ganesha
ಕಡಲೆಕಾಳು
There are two Ganesha statues on the Hemakuta Hill overlooking the Virupaksha Temple. Kadalekalu means "gram" and he's called this because his belly resembles a Bengal gram. The Ganesha, himself, is impressive - he's 4.5 meters tall, and carved out of a single, enormous boulder that dwarfs you. He's crammed into a very small space, which makes him even more enormous.
One thing that seemed odd to me was how readily people would touch Ganesha. This is the first inactive temple I had visited, and Amma had to explain to me that when a god is damaged, the temple is no longer sacred. While priests manage all contact with the god of the temple, once the god is no longer sacred, it's OK to touch him. I still was not inclined, as my desire to preserve an amazing artifact is at least as strong as my desire not to be offensive to any religion.
Ganesha
In front of Ganesha's sanctum is an open platform with carved columns. The columns feature images of people, gods, animals and other images. I am always particularly taken with dancers.
These are the two images are on either side of the door frame. They may be donors to the temple or some form of guardian. They are definitely men and wearing a great array of jewelry - earrings, armbands, necklaces, and sacred thread. The one that always puzzles me is the band around knee height - they seem impossible to walk in and I'm not sure how they are attached.
The next two may be images of dancers. The seated male figure isn't in what I recognize as a traditional dance pose, but if he's not dancing, I'm not sure what else he could be doing. His hands are in pacha - index fingers linked. The rest of his jewelry is quite simple. I'm most interested in what's going on around his head. It almost seems like a mohawk and I'm not sure what it could be. A head peice? Hair? Jury's out.
The standing figure on is defintiely a female dancer. Definitely female, definitely a dancer. She's kicking her leg above her head. The body positioning seems anatomically impossible, but this is a fairly typical image and it is doable. With enough stretching a leg can get up near the head - it's just that the way the figure is structured isn't so realistic. The woman is wearing a breast band and a knee length skirt. This skirt is quite typical for dancers to wear in Vijayanagara, it raises a bunch of questions as in many more detailed images you can see elements that are pleated and elements that are flat, and it's been impossible so far to tell whether the pleats are sewn into the skirt (that would be a first) or draped (typical, but I have yet to figure out how to achieve a look which feels impossible). She's also got a hair bun that seems quite angular and stylized.
Three more figures - an archer, a drummer and a woman.
Huntress - this is definitely a woman. This is that shape that could either be a bow or a bent staff. I'm beginning to believe that all hunters wear this little leaf shaped skirt. I also, particularly, like the crown of leaf shapes, and well defined jewelry. I'm not sure what she's holding in her hand.
Drummer - probably a guy, he may even have a beard, I love this picture for how he's definitely in the groove with his drumming, he may even be dancing. I'm not sure what the name for this type of drum would be... it almost definitely has to be some sort of frame drum. He's god a very unique and stylized belt - it's the shape that I would call "tribal", but with the fancy headdress, I'm relunctant to brand this guy with the label tribal.
Woman - I particularly liked her hair, although her jewelry is interesting too. She's got a great rear hair bun, but with more complexity than I typically see. Not sure yet how it's constructed. Her jewelry is simple, but the pendant on the necklace is interesting.
The Ganesha himself is dated to the 15th century (see this plaque... not sure it was there when I was!), but it's unclear to me whether the enclosure and its figures are of the same date - it's a possibility.
Raw pictures from Kadalekalu Ganesha.