He was a great
sculptor, was legendary Jakanachari;
Hence he was
known as the immortal Amarashilpi.
When his work
demanded his attention total,
He left home,
both dear wife and child- still foetal.
Engrossed in
creating beautiful sculptures and temple carvings,
Jakanachari
totally forgot family and other normal cravings.
After many years
passed, he was assigned a work at Hoysala,
An idol to
sculpt lovingly for the temple of Chennakesava.
When at Belur
his beloved handiwork was to be installed,
Suddenly,
another sculptor, a stranger, on him called.
When
Dankanachari claimed a flaw in the idol to be there,
Jakanchari swore
to cut off own hand if any there were.
Alas! A flaw was
discovered in the marvel,
A live frog seen
lurking in the navel,
After the
sculptor sadly cut off his own arm,
He realized it
was his own son, caused him this harm.
Then father and
son hugged each other at this loss,
And prayed to
the Lord this bad time would pass.
Lo! when they
sculpted together another Chennakesava,
God restored the
holy sculptor’s arm at Kaidala.