Bettadapura
Encyclopedia
Bettadapura is a town located in Karnataka
State, India
. The name Bettadapura is derived from two Kannada words "Betta" and "pura". Betta means hill and pura means town.
Sankethis are an Iyer brahmin offshoot sect originally from Senkottai in Tamil Nadu. Sankethis migrated to Bettadapura around 600 years back. Their migratory route took them through Kerala and then Coorg (Mercara) in Karnataka. Near the present day Kushalnagar,in Coorg, the local chieftan and his men kidnapped the Sankethi women. The Sankethi men settled outside the chieftan's settlement and waited for their women to head back. The women were eventually re-united with their menfolk and they settled down at Bettadapura which is around 8 kilometers from Kushalanagar. This also explains why the Sankethis initially chose to settle near a hill and not near a river. From here the Sankethis branched out other towns nearby, most of them on riverbanks. A majority of the Sankethis continued at Bettadapura.
Bettadapura has a temple on top of the hill. This is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. Here, Shiva, worshipped in the form of a "Linga", is referred to as Sidlu Mallikarjuna. Sidlu, a Kannada word, means lightning. Mallikarjuna is another name for Shiva. It is mentioned that lighting strikes the temple and the lightning bolt circumabulates the Shiva Lingam. This temple dates back to the Chola era. Large cooking utensils hauled up the hill a long time back still exist. The base of the hill has some Archeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments.
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
State, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The name Bettadapura is derived from two Kannada words "Betta" and "pura". Betta means hill and pura means town.
Sankethis are an Iyer brahmin offshoot sect originally from Senkottai in Tamil Nadu. Sankethis migrated to Bettadapura around 600 years back. Their migratory route took them through Kerala and then Coorg (Mercara) in Karnataka. Near the present day Kushalnagar,in Coorg, the local chieftan and his men kidnapped the Sankethi women. The Sankethi men settled outside the chieftan's settlement and waited for their women to head back. The women were eventually re-united with their menfolk and they settled down at Bettadapura which is around 8 kilometers from Kushalanagar. This also explains why the Sankethis initially chose to settle near a hill and not near a river. From here the Sankethis branched out other towns nearby, most of them on riverbanks. A majority of the Sankethis continued at Bettadapura.
Bettadapura has a temple on top of the hill. This is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. Here, Shiva, worshipped in the form of a "Linga", is referred to as Sidlu Mallikarjuna. Sidlu, a Kannada word, means lightning. Mallikarjuna is another name for Shiva. It is mentioned that lighting strikes the temple and the lightning bolt circumabulates the Shiva Lingam. This temple dates back to the Chola era. Large cooking utensils hauled up the hill a long time back still exist. The base of the hill has some Archeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments.