Sante Bennur
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sante Bennur
Town in the Channagiri taluk of Shimoga Dis- trict, Mysore, situated in 14 ro' N. and 76 o' E,, 8 miles west of Sasalu railway station. Population (1901), 1,613. ^ was founded by a chief of the Basavapatna family, probably in the sixteenth century. A palace was built by Hanumappa Naik, and an ornamental honda or reservoir made in front of the temple, with pavilions at the angles and in the centre.
When Basavapatna was taken by the Bijapur forces, the Musalmans destroyed the temple here and built a mosque on a large scale in its place, further erecting elegant upper storeys to the pavilions at the honda. The chief, who had been forced to retire to Tarikere, slew the Musalman governor and desecrated the mosque in revenge. The Chitaldroog chief took the place early in the seven- teenth century; but in 1717 it was captured by Bednur, which held it till it fell into the hands of Haidar All in 1761. The Marathas under Parasuram Bhao sacked the town in 1791. The mosque, never used since its desecration, and the honda, with its ruinous but graceful pavilions, are the only features of interest now left.
