Bidar is described as City of Whispering Monuments. [1] The mountaintop town that served as the capital of medieval Deccan, has 98 monuments of which four national monuments are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and 14 by the State Archaeology Department, Karnataka. [2]
Bidar earned a place on the World Monument Watch list 2014. [3]
| SL. No. | Description | Location | Address | District | Coordinates | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N-KA-D37 | Bahamani tombs | Asthur | Bidar |   | ||
| N-KA-D38 | Barid Shahi Tombs | Bidar | Bidar |  | ||
| N-KA-D39 | Bidar Fort | Bidar | Bidar |  | ||
| N-KA-D40 | Madarsa Mahmud Gawan | Bidar | Bidar |  |
Bidar is a city in the north-eastern part of Karnataka state in India. It is the headquarters of the Bidar district which borders Maharashtra and Telangana. It is a rapidly urbanising city in the wider Bidar Metropolitan area. The city is well known for its many sites of architectural, historical and religious importance.
The Someshwara temple, situated in Kolar town of Karnataka state, India, is an ornate 14th century Vijayanagara era Dravidian style construction. Someshwara, another name for the Hindu god Shiva is the presiding deity in the temple. The temple is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a monument of national importance.
North Karnataka, is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from 300 to 730 metres elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 13 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra. North Karnataka lies within the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion, which extends north into eastern Maharashtra. Most parts of the region has black fertile soil ideal for agriculture.
The Ranganthaswamy temple in Srirangapatna, in the Mandya district of Karnataka state, India, is dedicated to the Hindu god Ranganatha. It is one of the five important pilgrimage sites of Smartha -BaboorKamme & Sri Vaishnavism along the river Kaveri for devotees of Ranganatha. These five sacred sites are together known as Pancharanga Kshetrams in Southern India. Since Srirangapatna is the first temple starting from upstream, the deity is known as Adi Ranga. The town of Srirangapatna, which derives its name from the temple, is located on an island in the river Kaveri.
The Chandramauleshwara Temple, sometimes referred to as the Candramauḷĩśvara or Chandramouleshwara temple at Unkal, is an 11th-century Shiva temple with Chalukyan architecture in Unkal (Hubballi), Karnataka, India. The temple has a square plan architecture with four entrances from the cardinal directions, while illustrating the sandhara plan found in Sanskrit texts on architecture. It originally had a Chaturmukha (four-faced) Linga in the center of the temple and many more mandapas (halls), but the surviving structure is much smaller. The temple preserves an early example of a relatively uncommon Hindu architecture. The temple is also notable for how it integrates the artwork of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic deities together.
The Kalleshvara temple is located in the town of Ambali in Bellary district of Karnataka state, India. According to an Old Kannada inscription placed in the sabhamantapa, the temple was constructed during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire King Vikramaditya VI. This temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Panchalingeshwara Temple in Govindanahalli, Mandya district, Karnataka state, India, was constructed around 1238 A.D. during the reign of the Hoysala empire King Vira Someshwara. The name "Panchalingeshwara" literally means "five linga". The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. The famous sculptor of Hoysala times, Ruvari Mallitamma, is known to have made contributions to the temple.
The Nagareshvara Temple, also called the Aravattarukmbhada Gudi is a 12th-century Western Chalaukya construction. Bankapura is located in the Haveri District of Karnataka state, India. According to the Archaeologist Henry Cousens (1854–1933), during medieval times, the Bankapura fort was considered one of the most important fortifications in the Karnataka region. According to Cousens, the temple suffered much damage when Bankapura fell to the armies of Firoz Shah Bahamani in 1406 CE and later again when it was occupied by the Bijapur Sultan Adil Shah. According to the writings of Farishtah, the Sultan "ordered a superb temple within the fort to be destroyed". However, despite much pillage, the large temple with its majestic "great" hall (mantapa) still retains some of its original beauty. That the temple was built in honor of the Hindu god Shiva comes from two short inscriptions in the temple which begin with a salutation to "Shambu". There are other inscriptions in the temple, two of which are dated 1138 CE and one dated 1091 that record grants to the god "Nagaresvaradeva". The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan is an ancient madrasa or Islamic college in Bidar, Karnataka, India. It was built in the 1460s and is an example of the regional style of Indo-Islamic architecture under the Bahmani Sultanate. This heritage structure is placed under the list of monuments of national importance. Founded by the prime-minister of the Bahamani empire in the late 15th century, it bears testimony to the scholarly genius of Mahmud Gawan, who first came to Delhi as a Persian trader from Gilan in Iran and moved to Bidar in 1453.
Govindanahalli is a small village in Mandya district of Karnataka state, southern India.
The Haft Gumbaz, also spelt Haft Gumbad are a group of tombs of the Bahmani dynasty situated in Gulbarga, in the Indian state of Karnataka. Built during the 14th and 15th centuries, the tombs are examples of early Indo-Islamic architecture. There are seven tombs in total, with four being tombs of the rulers of the Bahmani dynasty. The tomb complex is a monument of national importance, maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The tomb complex is part of the "Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate", which is an ensemble of various structures added to the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.