KARWAR : Karnataka’s only known temple dedicated to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari is located at Bhuvanagiri in Siddapur taluk of Uttara Kannada district. The centuries-old temple sits atop a hill and is surrounded by evergreen trees of Western Ghats, so is naturally beautiful. What it lacks is recognition by the state government.Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, known as Kannadamate (mother of Kannada), was conceived by the first Kannada kingdom Kadambas in the fourth century.
Later, many Kannada kingdoms worshiped Bhuvaneshwari as their deity. Rulers of the Vijayanagara empire would not venture out without performing puja to the goddess. A king of Vijayanagara installed the idol of the goddess in the Virupaksha temple. In 1792, Bilagi ruler Basavendra constructed the temple dedicated to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, which is 300 ft tall on Bhuvanagiri hills near Muttige village in Bedakani gram panchayat limits of Siddapur taluk.
The king who was a great admirer of Kannada also constructed a pond at the bottom of the hill. A climb up 350 steps takes one atop the hill from the pond. The temple situated in the Malnad region can be approached from the Siddapur-Kumta road.
The temple dedicated to Kannadamate could do with some facilities provided by the government. Except for renovation of the temple and road asphalting, no works have been taken up to develop the area as a tourist spot. Though many Kannada movies have been filmed here, it still is a neglected area.
A few of years ago some Kannada organisations from Bengaluru began taking out a Kannada light march from the Bhuvanagiri hill to the capital city, but that ritual too has not been performed over the last two years.
Umesh Narayan Naik, vice-president of Bedakani gram panchayat informed ‘The New Indian Express’ that people and Kannada activists remember the temple only in the month of November. “Even the government does not to anything to make the temple a place of tourist interest. Many tourist places including Jog Falls are near it. The district has enough potential for tourism, therefore, the government should come up with plans to develop the temple as a big attraction of the district,” he added.
Religious rituals including annual car festival, Teppotsava (festival in pond) and others are conducted here. But there are no mega functions by the government. The temple lacks facilities like a good approach road, fencing to the historical pond constructed by kings of Bilagi kingdom among others.