VIJAYAPURA: Receding waters in the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) provide a glimpse of the spiritual beliefs of people in the region since ancient days.
The Upper Krishna Project left around 176 villages along the Krishna River from Vijayapura to Raichur districts submerged. Scores of temples submerged in the villages are visible when the water in the reservoir recedes.
Though most villages had no proper infrastructure like schools or water supply, they seemed to abound with temples.
Though Christianity and Buddhism had made inroads in the region, there is little trace of churches and Buddha viharas in these villages.
However, Jain basadis of Mahaveera, Neminath Vrabhendra and Padmavati and temples of other Tirthakankars can be found in the villages.
Darghas and idgahs, most of them built by the Adil Shahis during 14th century, were found in many villages where Urses used to be held.
The study of the temples also reveals the prevalence of the caste system. The SC, STs seemed to have worshiped Shakti. Existence of Maragewwa, Kenchawwa, Dalamma Huligemma, Mariyamma, Karewwa and Yallawwa is an indication. They also reveal that the Devadasi system existed in some temples.
Lingayats were a major community in the region. They worshiped Shiva, Basavanna, Kedarlinga, Siddeshwar, Neelakhanta and Akka Mahadevi.
The Brahmin community formed about six to ten per cent of the population and the community has many temples like the Anantshayana, Narayana, Vithoba Nandi, Linga and Shiva.
Sources in the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Commission at Bagalkot say about 3,000 temples were submerged in 176 villages in the UKP.
The foundation stone for the Upper Krishna Project was laid by the then prime minister Lal Bahdur Shashtri in 1964.