Explore the miraculous story of Shri Basavanna Temple
In the quiet village of Khilegaon in Athani taluk, Belagavi district, the sacred Shri Basavanna Temple stands as a powerful reminder of divine intervention, faith, and unwavering devotion. The legend begins with a humble farmer named Davalappa, who lived with his wife Shivamma and their two children. A devout follower of Lord Shiva, Davalappa spent his days tending to his fields and cattle. However, a mysterious incident involving one of his cows changed his life forever. Each night, the cow would leave the cattle ranch and go to a snake’s burrow in the field, where it would pour milk into it before returning home. Curious and concerned, Davalappa eventually discovered this secret and became deeply worried. That night, he received a divine message in a dream—a voice revealed that the cow was no ordinary animal, but Kamadhenu, and that he would find a divine presence in the burrow.
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Following the vision, Davalappa and Shivamma dug the snake’s burrow and were astonished to uncover a shining idol of Basavanna. Overwhelmed with joy, they installed the self-manifested (Udbhav) idol right there in their field and began offering daily worship using water from the sacred Agrani River. News of the miraculous discovery spread rapidly, drawing crowds from neighboring villages. Within days, the number of devotees visiting the idol grew from hundreds to thousands, and eventually to lakhs. Though Davalappa lacked the resources to build a temple, the community came together and supported him in fulfilling his dream. With their help, a small temple was built around the divine idol, and Shri Basavanna’s presence began to transform the village into a sacred destination.
The temple’s spiritual reputation reached as far as Bijapur, stirring the curiosity of the Badshah, who decided to visit Khilegaon with his army to test the power of Lord Basavanna. In an act of defiance, he placed meat as Naivedya before the idol and ordered his soldiers to attack it with spears. But in a stunning display of divine grace, the meat miraculously turned into flowers, from which bees emerged and began attacking the king and his men. Humbled and shaken, the Badshah bowed in reverence before Basavanna and sought forgiveness. Deeply moved, he offered financial assistance for the development of the temple before returning to Bijapur. Today, Shri Basavanna Temple in Khilegaon is not only a place of worship but also a living legend, where faith, miracles, and history come together to inspire generations.
