Banashankari Temple is a popular and highly revered
shrine of Karnataka. Located at Cholachigud, Banashankari Temple lies at
a distance 50 kms from Badami. The town of Badami is another destination
renowned for its ancient cave temples. The nearest railway station to
Cholachigud is located at Badami and from here; many buses or taxis can
be availed to reach the temple. On the whole, various tourism buses and
coaches are available throughout Karnataka to arrive at Cholachigud.
Banashankari Devi is considered as the incarnation of Goddess Parvati,
who is regarded as the divine consort of Lord Shiva. The mention of
Banashankari has been made in the Skanda Purana (an ancient scripture),
where the Goddess slaughtered a demon named Durgamasura. Since, the
temple is positioned in the Tilakaaranya forest; the Devi came to be
known as Banashankari or Vanashankari. The term Banashankari is derived
from two words; 'Ban' (Van) meaning 'forest' and 'Shankari' meaning 'the
lover of Lord Shiva'.
In the main shrine, the image of Banashankari Devi reveals the Goddess
in a sitting posture. The Goddess can be seen seated on a growling lion
and crushing a demon with her foot. The idol is carved out of a black
stone. The Goddess Banashankari is depicted here with eight arms,
holding trishul, damaruga, kamaalpatra, ghanta, Veda scripts and
khadg-kheta in her different hands. It is believed that the Goddess was
the 'Kuladevi' of the Chalukyas.
Initially, Banasankari Mandir was built by the Chalukyas of Kalyan;
however the present structure traces its origin in the 17th century. The
ancient temple of Banasankari represents the Dravidian style of
architecture. 'Haridra Tirtha' is a large pond, which makes the
foreground of this temple. The term 'Haridra Tirtha' is the corrupted
version of the term 'Harishchandra Tirtha'. This pond is encircled by
stone mantapas on its three sides.
Festival
Banashankari Temple observes an annual festival during the months of
January-February. At this juncture of time, the image of the Goddess is
placed in a chariot and taken in a procession around the region. Huge
crowds of devotees come to attend this festival of Banashankari Devi.
