Chandranatha Basadi, Kalasa
A Jain basadi in a Shaiva temple town — the other half of Kalasa's history.
Kalasa is known for the Kalaseshwara temple on the Bhadra, but the town also holds a Chandranatha basadi, a reminder that this stretch of the Ghats was a Jain landscape long before and alongside it. The basadi is small, quiet, and almost never on a visitor's list, which is exactly why it is worth the ten minutes.
What to do here
- Visit the basadi on the same walk as the Kalaseshwara temple
- Look at the image and the plain, precise stonework
Evidence, in one small building, of how mixed the religious history of this valley actually is.
History
Jain settlement through the Malnad ran from the Ganga and Hoysala periods onward, and Kalasa sat on the route between the Jain centres of the coast and those of the plateau — Simhanagadde and the N.R. Pura basadis are the same tradition further north.
Travel tips
In Kalasa town, walkable from the Kalaseshwara temple. Ask locally for opening times — it does not keep long hours.
Please note
Do: remove footwear and leather items before entering. Do: keep quiet; this is an active place of worship with few visitors. Don't: photograph the image without asking. Don't: take food or leather goods inside.
Combine your trip
Places near Chandranatha Basadi, Kalasa
TempleKalasa & Kalaseshwara Temple
A Shiva shrine below Kudremukh
TempleHoranadu Annapoorneshwari Temple
The goddess of food, who feeds every visitor
Sarva Siddhi Ganapathi Temple, Samse
A Ganapathi shrine standing in the middle of a tea estate, ten kilometres from Kalasa.
Meruthi Gudda
A half-day grassland climb outside the park core — the trek to do when the permits have gone.