An hour’s drive from Kalaburagi city via Nandur, Bhankur, Ravoor, and Chittapur -- with tur-dal fields and limestone quarries on either side of the poorly-maintained road and massive cement factories visible at a distance -- take you to the historical town of Nagavi. It is located about 50 km from the district headquarters Kalaburagi, and 580 km from State capital Bengaluru.
As you move a few kilometres south of Chittapur, you reach a well-conserved 1000-year-old Nagavi Yellamma temple. Nagavi Yellamma is said to be the family deity of Rashtrakutas who ruled the large areas of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. Manyakheta (today’s Malkhed town), the capital of the Rashtrakuta Empire, is around 12 km from the temple. The mixed architectural style of the temple suggests its structural transformation over centuries in the hands of successive dynasties – Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas of Kalyana and Bahmani Sultanate.
