Amarashilpi Jakanacharya: The Great Sculptor of Karnataka, Created wonders through his Sculptors !

When one hears the name ‘Belur‘, next set of names or words that follow are – Channakeshava temple, Shilabalikas, Halebidu, Hoysalas, King Vishnuvardhana, Jakanachari. Off the list, the last one is less known – Jakanachari, the main architect-sculptor behind Belur & Halebidu. And Kaidala, home town of Jakanachari, boasts of having one of the beautiful statue of God Channakeshava (Lord Vishnu) sculpted by him. Kaidala previously known as ‘Kreedikapura’ got the name as Jakanachari got back his right hand after sculpting & establishing statue of Lord Channakeshava.

You will be disappointed if you are reach there expecting the temple premises to be something similar to Belur or Halebidu. This temple of Lord Channakeshava in Kaidala looks like any other temple from outside. And what seperates this temple from any other temples is the masterpiece by Jakanachari. It is said that the statue in Kaidala is one of the last statues sculpted by Jakanachari. Sculpted in a black stone, the status is 6ft tall & the amount of details & intricacy is amazing.

Jakanachari leaves behind his family, wife, unborn child to gain name & fame. Sculpting beautiful statues, constructing temples over a long period of time, all over he reaches Hoysala kingdom where he agrees sculpt deity Lord Channakeshava. Meanwhile his son, Dankanachari leaves home in search of his father. On the day before the Channakeshava idol to be established in Belur, Dankanachari reaches the place & claims that there is a flaw in the statue which was sculpted by Jakanachari. At this time, Jakanachari bets his right hand in case of any flaw in the idol where as his son Dankanachari bets his life. All this happens unaware of their relationship.

Jakanachari cuts his hand after his son finds the flaw – a live frog, water & sand – in the idol. Hence the statue become famous as ‘Kappe Channigaraya’ (Kappe = Frog in Kannada). Later Jakanacahri gets a vision to construct a temple at his home town. Both father-son duo move to Kaidala where it is said that Jakanachari got back his hand after he completed the statue.

Unfortunately the temple in Kaidala is stranded with no one to take care except for the priest & couple of old ladies who clean up the premises. And the legend mentioned above was as narrated by the priest.

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Jakanacharya was born in a small village called Kaidala, 9 km from Tumkur, Karnataka. The original name of the town as per records was Kridapura. His life was one of love and dedication to art. His career began when Nripa Haya ruled as a local chieftain of the area. He left home shortly after his marriage seeking fame in his field of work. He travelled far and wide building many temples and became so engrossed in his work that he forgot all about his wife.

Dunkanachary son of JakkanaCharya

Jakanacharya's wife gave birth to his child, named Dankanacharya. Dankanacharya himself grew up to become a famous sculptor and set out to find his father. At Belur, he found a job as a sculptor and noticed a flaw in a figure sculpted by the great Jakanacharya himself. Furious at this, Jakanacharya promised to cut off his right hand if the young sculptor was correct in his assessment of the sculpture. Upon testing the figure, the flaw was indeed revealed and Jakanacharya kept his promise and cut off his right hand.Eventually, the two sculptors become aware of their relationship as father and son.

Chennakesava Temple, Belur

Subsequently, Jakanacharya received a vision to build the Chennakeshava temple in his native place Kridapura. After this was completed, legend has it that God restored his right hand. In celebration of this incident, Kridapura was henceforth called Kaidala. The term Kai in Kannada means "hand".[citation needed] Local non-government organizations in the state of Karnataka have been trying to raise funds to protect the Chennakeshava temple at Kaidala.

Amarashilpi Jakanachari was a legendary sculptor credited with building many fine temples for the Kalyani Chalukyas and Hoysalas, including the famous sculptures at Belur and Halebidu

The Jakanchari Awards

The government of Karnataka confers the Jakanachari Awards to talented sculptors and craftsmen from the state every year to celebrate the contributions of this legendary architect.[citation needed]

Film on Jakanacharya’s Life

In 1964, a Kannada biographical film about him, Amarashilpi Jakanachari starring Kalyan Kumar was produced. The veteran cinematographer BS Ranga was instrumental in the making of this movie, the first Kannada colour movie. Also in 1964, a Telugu movie on Jakkanacharya titled Amarasilpi Jakkanna starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Saroja Devi was released to popular success.