Haveri
Ambigara Chowdaiah, who was loyal to his sharp vachanas, hailed from the district. He had secured a seat in Basavanna’s Anubhava Mandapam. He spent the last days of his life at Chowdayyadanapura in Ranebennur taluk. They were united on the banks of Tungabhadra river at Chowdayyadanapura.
Today, Ambigara Chowdaiah’s Aikya Mantapa is an orphan. The Aikyamantapa, which is immersed in water when Tungabhadra is submerged, is available for devotees to see on the rest of the days. The mantapa was built in 1968 by Shivadeva Wodeyar of Chowdayyadanapura. However, no government has taken any initiative for the development of Aikya Mandapam so far. Apart from the stone mandap built then, no other development work has taken place at the site. The mantapa should be developed on the lines of Basavanna’s Aikya Mantapa in Kudalasangama, says Goneppa Deepavali, a local.
With the development of Ambigara Chowdaiah’s Aikya Mantapa, Chowdaiahdanapura will become a tourist destination. Devotees from different parts of the state can also visit the Aikya Mandapam during the rainy season. The locals have demanded that the governments should pay attention and provide work.
Since the Aikya Mandapam is in the river, women who come to wash their clothes put dirty clothes on the mandap itself. Aikya Mandapam is used to dry washed clothes. Children make it a playground during the summer season. All this has to be curbed. The Aikya Mandapam should be developed as soon as possible. Close to the mandap is the Mukteshwara temple built by the Kalyana Chalukyas. From here the path should be made directly to the mandap. The villagers are demanding that the state government should discuss with the archaeological department and develop the Ambigara Chowdaiah Aikyamantapa at the earliest.
