Just 30 km away from the world- famous Badami is the town of Sudi. Once a stronghold of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, Sudi is now a forgotten town of crumbling stone monuments and ancient stepwells.
The biggest and the most awe-inspiring among these monuments is the Jodu Kalasa temple (Twin towered temple) which has two shrines facing each other on a high platform. Built in the 11th century by a general, the temple was recently restored by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). One of the shrines houses a linga with a unique geometrical base.
Oral history says that the linga could be turned like a screw to reveal a secret passageway to Mallikarjuna temple, another major temple in the village. The other shrine doesn’t have any idol. An open hall connects the two shrines and there is a well-carved and intact nandi placed in the centre between the two shrines, facing the linga.
The towers atop the shrines are done in typical Chalukya style with artistically-carved kalasas. Just a stone’s throw away from the Jodu Kalasa temple is the Mallikarjuna temple built a few years later. The main shrine houses a small linga, almost at the ground level.
There is a unique sculpture of Vishnu as Ananthapadmanabha in a niche in the main hallway. Opposite to this is another niche which houses idols of Shiva and Parvati. This
temple too is on a platform and an open hall leads to a closed hall which is connected to the sanctum sanctorum through an open vestibule. Sudi is well connected by road from Gadag, Badami and Ron.
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