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PLACES
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AMDAPUR
Amdapur (Chikhli T., p. 6,187): THE VILLAGE 14 MILES TO THE WEST OF CHIKHLI, the tahsil headquarters has on the summit of a small hill about half a mile to the south of the village a fine temple dedicated to Bhavani known as Ballali Devi. There is an image of the Goddess bedaubed with red lead in the sanctuary which is curiously lit from above in such a way as to throw the full light upon the image; to the viewer seeing it only through the door panels, the mandap being nearly dark, the effect may be somewhat startling.
Near the aforementioned temple of Bhavani are some fragments of two colossal statues consisting of two pairs of feet, from which it appears that the statue must have stood about fifty feet high. Other fragments lying round the temple seem to point to the former existence of an older building, probably a Hemad-panti temple which is confirmed by local tradition.
From an inscription in another temple below the hill we learn that a person named Mangala, son of Bhaideva, built a torana for the temple constructed by Pedumanasethi, who was a resident of Ambadapura (modern Amdapur). The inscription is dated in the Shaka year 1133 (A.D. 1211-12) during the reign of the Yadava king Singhanadeva of Devagiri. [The inscription has been edited by Dr. Mirashi in Epigraphialndica, Vol. XXI, p. 127.]
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