The Bhoganandeeshwara Temple at the foot of the Nandi Hills was the setting and the stepwell was the stage. Dating back to 806 A.D. the temple has seen the Ganga Chalukya, the Cholas, the Hoysalas, the Vijaynagar Kingdom et al. The kalyani or the pushkarni – the step-well – is described and believed to be the source of the Dakshina Pinakini river and built by Krishna Devaraya. There is much to be learnt here and some of the learnings are around water. That the stepwell indicated that groundwater was abundant and at a high level, that perhaps a spring emerged here which was the source of the Pinakini, that the open wells in the temple complex had water which was used for the veneration of the idols installed.
