Shree Shakambhari Shakti Peetham, Shree Kshetra Banashankari, Cholachagudda, Badami — Attraction in Karnataka

Banashankari Devi Temple :

Banashankari Temple) is a Hindu temple located at Cholchagudda near Badami in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. This temple is called 'Shakambhari' 'Banashankari or Vanashankari' as Tilakaranya is in the forest. The goddess of the temple is also known as the incarnation of vegetable goddess Parvati.

This temple attracts devotees in Karnataka as well as Maharashtra. The original temple was built by 7th century Badami Chalukya Rajas, who worshipped the Goddess Banashankari. The temple celebrates annual festival named Banashankari Jatre in January or February. The festivals include cultural programs, boat festivals, as well as Rath Yatra, while the temple goddess is seen around the city through the chariot. Banshakhari is a form of Maa Shakambhari Devi whose true, main and ancient temple is located in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. She is also known as Shaktipeeth Shakambhari Devi. Along with mother there are idols of Bhim, Bhramari, Shatakshi and Ganesha.

Banashankari or Vanshankari are made up of two Sanskrit words: Van ("Van") and Shankari ("Shiva's wife, Parvati"). This temple is called Vanshankari because of Tilakaranya in the forest. Transforming arrow to arrow converts common debt words of Sanskrit words in Kannada. The second popular name given is Shakambhari, which means "Vegetables goddess". Shaq and Ambari two words combination makes it. Doubt in Sanskrit is vegetables or vegetarian food and ambari is "who wears or tolerates the hungry". Another discretion is that the "vegetables" comes from the root filled (suspicion = vegetables or food and root filled = nutrition) Locals also call the goddess of the temple as Balavwa, Bandavwa, Sunkavwa, Shirvanti, Chaudamma and Vandurga. It is said that Banashankari is the sixth incarnation of the warrior-devi fort.

Historians have voted that the original temple would have been built in the 7th century - from Kalyani Chalukya Kal to Jagdekamalla I to 603 AD (according to inscription) which had established the image of the Goddess. The current renovated temple was built by Maratha Sardar Parushram Agale in 1750. The original temple existed even before the career of drivers who gave royal recognition to the faith of Vaishnav, Shaiv, Jain and Shakt Dharmiya, it is also said. He worshiped the power of Banashankari, as his supreme goddess. The inscription mentioned that Jagdekamalla Pratham has restored the temple with several pairs. Another inscription in Kannada language on the north side of the temple in 1019, describes the bravery of Rashrakoot King Bhimdev. Lamp pillars (lamp pillars) can be seen at the entrance of the temple; According to an inscription, this construction is credited to warrior Ketimiah.

This temple was initially built in Dravid architectural style. The reconstructed structure is in Vijaynagar architectural style. The temple is surrounded by high walls on all sides. The main structure has face mantap (portico), half mantap ( entrance/ pavilion) and the womb ( tower). There is an image of Devi Banashankari in the main depth of the temple. The goddess sitting on a lioness in a black rock sculpture is portrayed of a monster trampling under her feet. The Goddess has eight hands and has a trishul (trishul), damru (hand drum), hair sheet (cup of kavati), bell (war bell), vedic texture, sword-kheta (sword and shield) and the devil's scattered head. This goddess was the Kuldevi (teacher goddess) of the drivers. Devi Banashankari is the deity who teaches the Devanga community. Devanga weaver community holds this goddess with utmost respect. Banashankari is also the deity of some country Brahmins. There is a 360 feet (109.7 meters) square water stitches in front of the temple entrance, called Haridra Teerth in local language, a version named Harishchandra Teerth. The lake is closed by the stone porch (hall) on three sides. There's a south or south way around the tank. Jai shree ram follow me...

We visited Badami on 15th August 2025 for Darshan of Shree Shakambhari Devi / Shree Banashankari Devi.

We reached there by train from Bengaluru. Our train was late by almost 2 hours. Badami railway station is small with almost zero facilities & some part of it is under construction/ renovation. It's located around 5kms from the town. State transport Buses & 7 seater tempo are available for conveyance. You can book cabs in advance thru local operators, no Ola or Uber. We took tempo to reach the Yatra Kutir located near temple & paid 300 bucks for it. We got rooms at Yatra Kutir after waiting for almost an hour. Rooms were neat & clean with attached toilet & bathroom. Hot water facility is available for limited time in the morning - 5:30am to 7:30am. Food, tea or coffee services are not available.

Temple is at walking distance from the Kutir. We took tickets for priority darshan which costs Rs.25 per person. Since it was a public holiday, it took almost 2 hours in queue and to get inside the Garbha Gruha of the temple. The barricades to maintain the queue are narrow and it was a tiring experience. But the real experience is when you enter the Garbha Gruha and take darshan of Devi Aai (Maata). It's so divine and full of energy that you will forget all the pain and just keep on staring at the Devi Idol. Very difficult to keep your eyes away from the Devi. Mesmerizing experience it was. Unlike other temples we got sufficient time for darshan. Overall very very satisfying experience we had.

Prasad Ladoo packets can be bought from the counter inside temple premise by paying a nominal charge of Rs.40. A separate counter is there for devotees to book rituals like Laghu Rudra, Rudra abhishek etc. The gentlemen at both the counter were very polite and helpful.

We would definitely love to visit this divine place...

Banashankari Temple is a popular and highly revered shrine of Karnataka. The Temple is 5.5 KM from Badami.

Banashankari Devi is considered as the incarnation of Goddess Parvati, who is regarded as the divine consort of Lord Shiva. The mention of Banashankari has been made in the Skanda Purana (an ancient scripture), where the Goddess slaughtered a demon named Durgamasura. Since, the temple is positioned in the Tilakaaranya forest; the Devi came to be known as Banashankari or Vanashankari. The term Banashankari is derived from two words; 'Ban' (Van) meaning 'forest' and 'Shankari' meaning 'the lover of Lord Shiva'.

In the main shrine, the image of Banashankari Devi reveals the Goddess in a sitting posture. The Goddess can be seen seated on a growling lion and crushing a demon with her foot. The idol is carved out of a black stone. The Goddess Banashankari is depicted here with eight arms, holding trishul, damaruga, kamaalpatra, ghanta, Veda scripts and khadg-kheta in her different hands. It is believed that the Goddess was the 'Kuladevi' of the Chalukyas.

Initially, Banasankari Mandir was built by the Chalukyas of Kalyan; however the present structure traces its origin in the 17th century. The ancient temple of Banasankari represents the Dravidian style of architecture.

Festival

Banashankari Temple observes an annual festival during the months of January-February. At this juncture of time, the image of the Goddess is placed in a chariot and taken in a procession around the region. Huge crowds of devotees come to attend this festival of...