I went with N C Mohan and Raja Bandi to do a recce of the area around his farmhouse, and by sunset, he took us to a point nearby which was called “Bilekkal”. This is a corruption of “Bili Kallu” or white stone…

This is a large white monolithic rock (visible from right across the valley as we approached from Kanakapura)

under which a woman is said to have lived and attained salvation, and where a small temple exists today.

Near the temple, one of the rocks had been painted into an elephant by someone with artistic imagination:

There were several similar rocks nearby: Mohan and Raja stood at the edge of the small koLA (pond) formed in the rocks, and constructed with walls: There is a "sripAdA" (divine footprint) there, too: The area is planted with Plumeria (Frangipani) trees, which are also called Temple Trees: On the rock, the "shankha-chakra" (conch and wheel), the marks of Vishnu, are painted: The sight of the "bili kallu" with the evening sunshine on the clouds behind was stunning: There are some other small shrines: The inside of the small shrine is dim and inviting: Stone wheels have been sculpted and then abandoned: This couple are the only inhabitants of the area, and I think they take care of the temple (which doesn't seem to have regular pujas). However, a jAthrE (festival) had been held the previous week, and trash littered the place everywhere. We are hoping to form a volunteer group to educate the local people against littering, next year.

Another view of the Bilekkal Temple:

We left after the sun set: