Over view

Nagavi, located in the southern part of Chittapur city, is an ancient educational center. Vikramaditya VI, the king of the Kalyani Chalukyas, donated the site here and made it the Nalanda University of South India. The library education system began from here. The Yallamma temple here is important. There are historical ruins such as forts, temples, bhavis, watchtowers, mosques, etc. built in the medieval period in this area. About three km southeast of the taluk headquarters Chittapur. It is a historically important place. It is mentioned in ancient inscriptions as ‘Agrahara Nagavavi’ Maha Agrahara Nagavavi ‘Sarvanamasya Agrahara Nagavavi’ It was the capital of Aralu-300 in the past. From here till now, five inscriptions belonging to the Chalukya period of Kalyana have been reported. Among these, the oldest is the pillar inscription dating back to the time of the Chalukya king Someshwara I of Kalyana, which is located in the 60-pillared temple complex. It is noteworthy that this is the first mention of an ancient library in Karnataka. This inscription reveals that this was once a famous place for Vedic and literary studies, and was a great agrahara with 400 great people. In the ruined Nagavi, there is a 60-pillar temple dating back to about the 11th century, Rameshwaram, Lakshmaneshwaram, Nandi Bavi Gudi, Vithoba, Bangarada Gudi (Jain), Nandeeshwaram, Nagai Ellamma and Kadale Basavanna temples, Karimasidi, Jumma Masjid and Eerappa’s temple, which were converted during the Muslim rule, and Hanuman temples built using Chalukya pillars, most of which are in a state of decay. The Nagavelamba (Ellamma) temple, located in the middle of a wide courtyard, faces east and has a sanctum sanctorum, an open antarala, a navaranga and an ardha mantapas. A corridor was added in front of the navaranga during the Jinoddara period. There is a sculpture of the goddess in the sanctum sanctorum and there is a pit as the temple was used. The temple is under the administration of the Muzrai Department, and its fair is held on the full moon day of Seegi, and there is a special festival for nine days during Dasara. Among the temples here, the 60-pillar temple, which is fully protected by the Archaeological Department, is of historical importance. This temple, located on a high foundation, was formerly a school for students engaged in Vedic studies and was also known as Ghatikasthana, as is evident from the inscriptions here.