SAUNDATTI TALUK TOURISM

Background
Saundatti Taluka is located towards the southeast part of Belgaum. Taluka
Head Quarter is about 83 km from the District Headquarters. Previously taluk was
known as Parasagad.The total geographical area of the taluka is 1659.00 km. There
are 426 revenue villages and 14 hamlets with a total population of Saundatti town is
41,215 people, according to the 2011 census.
There are important pilgrim places in the
taluka. These include Saundatti Yallamma
temple,
Jogalabhavi(Pushkarni)
temple,
7Kollas(Pushkarni) temple, Sogal Someshwar
temple, 2nd Kashi Name of Hooli,(100 Temples,
100 open wells) Shirasangi Lingaraj Desai
Palace in Shirasangi, Ratta (Emporar) in the
period of 930 to 1230. Pilgrims from all over
Karnataka, Andhara Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Goa come to Sri Yallamma temple to
worship the goddess. From the month of October to April there is a fair of goddess
Sri Yellamma, a huge population of devotis came here at this time. Yellamma is a
patron goddess of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Her devotees have
revered her as the "Mother of the Universe" or Jagadamba. Legends say that
Yellamma is the incarnation of Kali, who
on one hand symbolizes the death of ego,
and on the other hand is the mother who is
compassionate about her children. Renuka
is also worshipped in Maharashtra as
Goddess Ekvira and is considered as the
Kuladevata by the Koli People.
Saundatti Fort

Historical fort is situated on western part of the Town. A major part of the
agricultural land is controlled by the Malaprabha irrigation project. There are many
educational institutes including Talukas are Saundatti.
Saundatti is a town in Belgaum district Karnataka (83 kms from Belgaum
city). In the medieval times the region was known as Sugandavarti. It served as the
capital of the ruling Ratta dynasty (9-13th cen AD) before they shifted base to
Belgaum. The Saundatti fort was actually built by Jayappa Desai of the Navalgund
Sirasangi sansthan sometime between 1743-51. Later the fort was besieged by Hyder
Ali of Mysore and the Desai had to transfer his allegiance over to him. The Saundati
fort lies in the Saundatti town itself and a road takes you right up to the fort gates.
Sogal is a place in Belgaum
district, Karnataka, India. The name
of the place is ascribed to a sage,
Sugola Muni, who is believed to have
lived in the area, but one inscription
speaks of "Sovala." Located on a
hillside, Sogal has many temples,
including the Someshwara temple,
and is of great antiquarian
interest.Local folklore states that
tigers came to Sogal to listen to the
religious teachings. Other legends
include a nearby Kalyanmantapa (temple), now renovated, where the marriage of
Shiva and Parvati is said to have taken place. There is an old statue of Panchanana
Shiva and Parvati, Shiva with basinga and other traditional ornaments. There are
Ashtadikpalakas (statues of gods) in this area, such as; Yama, Agni, Ishanya and
Indra and these artifacts are examples of the artistic accomplishments of the
period.

Navilateertha is said to be where

Gurudeva
Mahatapasvi
Shri
Kumarswamiji
meditated
in
1932.Kundalini was awakened as the
result of worship of the Devi,
Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji, at the
age of 18. He had remarkable spiritual
experiences. Another significant stage
in his spiritual development was the

'attainment of the siddhi of levitation during his yogic practices at Navilateertha on

the banks of Malaprabha River, he attained oneness with ruler of Time and Space.

Shirasangi a small village

located
approximately
25
kilometers from Saundati is very
famous for Shri Kalikadevi temple.
The temple is known to be very
ancient and is believed to be the
place where Shringa maharishi
worshiped
Shri
Kalikadevi.
Shirasangi is also famous for Shri
Tyagveera Lingaraja Desai. Shri
Lingaraj was one of the main donors to give land to K.L.E Society.
Geography.
Belgaum is located at 1552N 7430E15.87N 74.5E. It has an average
elevation of 751 metres (2463 feet). The city is situated in the northwestern parts of
Karnataka and lies at the border of two states, Maharashtra and Goa. It is one of the
oldest towns in the state, lying at a distance of 502 km from Bangalore; 515 km from
Hyderabad and 500 km from Mumbai. The district comprises 1278 villages with an
area of 13,415 km with a population of around 11 lakh (1100, 000). Situated near the
foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats) at an altitude of about
779m, 100 km from the Arabian Sea with the river Markandeya flowing nearby,
Belgaum exhibits swift and kaleidoscopic changes in topography, vegetation and
climate.
Climate
Belgaum is well known for its pleasant climate throughout the year, but the
last few years, summers (April through June) have been warmer than usual. It is at its
coldest in winter (November to February), and experiences continuous monsoon of
medium intensity during July to September. The annual average rainfall is 200 cm".
Summer temperature is around 25C-40C and winter temperature is around 18C26C

Figure: Saundatti District Map

Demographics:
As of 2011 India census,[3] Saundatti had a population of 43,215.But in 2011
the population was around 15,552 Males make up 75.29% of the population and
females 60.69%. Saundatti has an average literacy rate of 68%. Kannada is main
language spoken here. As of 2011, the average literacy rate is 68% with male literacy
75.29% and female literacy 60.69% of the total population.