Kuknur

Kuknoor
Kukanooru
town
Kuknoor
Location in Karnataka, India
Kuknoor
Kuknoor (India)
Coordinates: 15°29′23″N 75°59′38″E / 15.48972°N 75.99389°E / 15.48972; 75.99389Coordinates: 15°29′23″N 75°59′38″E / 15.48972°N 75.99389°E / 15.48972; 75.99389
Country  India
State Karnataka
District Koppal
Named for Kuntalpura
Population (2001)
 • Total 15,718
Languages
 • Official Kannada
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 583232
Telephone code 08534
Vehicle registration KA 37
Nearest city Koppal
Lok Sabha constituency Koppal
Vidhan Sabha constituency Yelburga
Climate Tropical (Köppen)
Website www.yelburgatown.gov.in/tourism

Kuknoor[1] (also known as Kuknur, Kukkanur or Kukanoor) is a City and Taluka in the Koppal District.[2][3][4] It is located about 40 km from Hospet and 7 km from Mahadeva Temple (Itagi), Kuknoor is renowned for its temples of the Rastrakutas and Chalukyas times, of these the Navalinga group of temples is famous.

History

Kuknoor[5][6] town was an important place in the early and mediaeval days and is rich in antiquarian remains of the later Chalukya style of architecture and these buildings range from the 8th to the 13th century A.D. and illustrate the building tendencies of the age. The group of temples that represents the early Chalukya school is called Navalinga (Navalinga Temple). Two other important temples are those of Kalleshvara and Mallikarjuna.

old-Kannada inscription at Navalinga Temple, Kuknoor

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Kuknoor had a population of 18,033 with 9075 males and 8958 females.[3]

Kannada inscription

9th century old Kannada inscription of Rashtrakutas at Navalinga temple in Kuknoor, Karnataka.

MahaMaya Temple

There is a MahaMaya Temple in the middle of the town. The temple has great historical value & is mentioned in the Indian Epic Mahabharata. There are 3 deities in the GarbhaGudi. Two female deities:-Laxmi & Parvathi/MahaMaya.One male Deity:-Harihara.Harihara means Half-Shiva and Half-Vishnu. All the 3 idols are south facing, which is a rare thing, as most idols in temples face the north. South-facing deities are considered to be more powerful.

The reference to this temple in Mahabharata suggests it was built before 8-9th century BC. There are rumours that there is a hidden underground temple below the current existing temple. The underground temple was dedicated to the Indian Goddess Kali. This is the same Kali temple where King Chandrahasa comes to in the Mahabharata story. As per the priest of the temple, there was Narbali(Human Sacrifice) done in the ancient times in the Kali Temple Underneath. That would make it one of the oldest continuously worshipped Kali temple's(which has a tradition of NarBali(Human Sacrifice) in India. There was Digbandhana(Kind of virtual security fence to contain evil spirits) done around the ancient Kali Temple & the temple was buried underground. There were plans to unearth this Kali temple 25 years ago, but the plan was abandoned due to the insistence of the villagers as they were scared of unleashing the spirits buried there.

Gudneshwar(Rudramunishwar)Temple:It is located near Kuknoor, It is also one of the ancient temple belongs to Rishimuni (saint) Rudramuneeshwar, who worked for social welfare at 12th century then later he called by people as Gudneshwar, this is located in green belt of Tamarind(imali) trees.

Gurbha Gudi in MahaMaya Temple
Kuknoor-Inside Temple
Kuknoor-Navalinga
Kuknoor-Temple Gate

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Kuknoor

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Kuknoor or JNV Kuknoor (Kannada: ಜವಾಹರ್ ನವೋದಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಕುಕನೂರು)located near Gudneppanamath is a premier educational institution. It is funded by Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India. It was established in the year 1987 to provide quality education to rural students of the erstwhile Raichur district now Koppal. Located in the sprawling campus of 35 acres, the school has its own ground for field and track events.

It is a very reputed educational institution in the Koppal District. Students are admitted into the institution after an Entrance test after 5th grade. The medium of teaching is English and it is affiliated to CBSE New Delhi. Students stay in this campus for seven years. apart from academics students of this school participate in co-corricular activities which is very essential for the overall development of the student. Students of this institution have represented the school at National level in Sports, music and also in Science olympiads.

Kuknoor Granite

Himalayan Blue Granite[7] locally known as H Blue Granite Kuknoor is found in the Quarries in Kuknoor.

Transport

Kuknoor is well connected by road to Koppal, Yelburga and Gadag. The nearest major airport is in Hubli.

Long-distance bus routes

From Koppal one can travel to Bangalore, Hubli, Hyderabad, Bagalkot and other major cities. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs a bus service to other cities and villages. There are also various private bus services. Also buses running between Dharmasthala, Ballari, Belagavi Chitradurga, Bagalkote, Vijayapura etc. Kuknur has KSRTC bus depot having many bus facility. Now Kuknur has became Taluk centre which is separated from Yelburga taluk.

Railways

Bhanapur is nearest railway station 12 km and Koppal is district place railway station nearby 25 km.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kalyani Chalukyan temples". Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  2. ↑ "KOPPAL TOURISM". Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  3. 1 2 Village code= 563400 "Census of India : Villages with population 5000 & above". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  4. ↑ "Yahoomaps India :". Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-18. Kuknoor, Koppal, Karnataka
  5. ↑ "Kamat's Potpourri: Epigraphist P. B. Desai". Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  6. ↑ "Kannada Inscriptions-Rashtrakuta Dynasty-UPENN-Kannada Influence". Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  7. ↑ http://www.stonesourceindia.com/Granite-Exporters/Himalayan-Blue-Granite.php
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