December 2024 has been a very hectic month in terms of travel, specifically temple travels. When my nephew came into town, we usually plan for a day trip at least. Thanks to him, we have embarked on 3 trips in 2024, all to wonderful historical and spiritual places. For this weekend, we decided to embark on a trip, originally planned in 2022, but postponed due to unexpected and unavoidable reasons. As they say, we can have the darshana of Bhagwantha only when he desires so.
Melukote
First, we travelled to Melukote from Bengaluru on an early chilly December morning. Melukote is one the 5 i.e. pancha Narayana kshetras established by Sri Ramanujaacharyaru. The drive was beautiful, specially after we took a deviation from the Bengaluru - Hassan - Mangalore highway. Arriving at the temple at 8:15 am, we had to wait till 9:05 am for the temple to open. Cheluvanarayana swamy is absolutely magnificent to look at. The view and the presence of the divine is absolutely surreal. Thanks to my friend, Sri Ramapriya Sampathkumaran, we had a wonderful darshana up close at both Cheluvanarayana Swamy Sannidhi and Yadugiri Mahalakshmi Nachiyar Sannidhi. The eyes of Mahalakshmi Amma is so benevolent and so soothing, I am just unable to come out of the bliss of her darshana.
Sthala Purana:
Both Cheluvanarayana Swamy and Mahalakshmi amma murthis are swayambhus dating back to Krita Yuga.
From the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple, we took an auto uphill to Yoga Narasimha temple. Enroute, we did visit the magnificent teertha and did teertha prokshane on ourselves (reminds of Atmanam prokshya). One of the unmistakeable aspects of Melukote is the sheer number of teerthas spread all across the town. This should be named as “Teertha Sagara” (Ocean of teerthas). Coming to the base of the hill, there is a steep climb to the Yoga Narasimha temple. Of course, the path is made more interesting with the company of long lost brethren a.k.a. monkeys. The walk is very scenic and provides ample opportunities to take some breathtaking pictures. Midway through the climb, there is a very interesting temple of Anjaneya Swamy where is he is depicted as crouching on his knee (Maṇḍi'ūri Anjaneya). With an Archana ticket, we were able to have darshana of the divine Yoga Narasimha Swamy up close. He is majestic, radiant yet exudes a divine calming effect on mind.
Sthala Purana:
Yoga Narasimha swamy was installed by Prahalada himself in Krita Yuga
After coming down from the temple, we visited the famous Akka-Tangi (Elder Sister - Younger Sister) kola. Both these are maintained very well and cleanliness is one of the highlights of all teerthas in Melukote. Next, we visited the famous RayaGopara which is part of many movies over the years. Beyond the appeal of being a movie spot, this location has some of the best preserved (whatever is left) architecture from that period. The carvings are exquisite and need to be marvelled in person. Climbing up the structures, one can get some wonderful views all around.
Sthala Purana:
Legend has that when Sri Rama, Seetha and Lakshmana were travelling in forests, they had visited here and Sri Rama had struck his bow to yield water to quench Seetha’s thirst. The water is supposed to be around always. There are 2 padas nearby and a very small, yet beautiful temple constructed for Seetha Rama Lakshmana.
Kerethonnur / Thondannur
From Melukote, we drove to Kerethonnur / Thondannur to the very ancient Nambi Narayana swamy kshetra. The temple is very very divine and absolutely peaceful. This is considered as the first of the pancha Narayana kshetras. Nambi Narayana murthi is quite unique in terms of the placement of the sacred symbols of Sriman Narayana. The front hands hold the shanku and chakra (in the reverse order as if imparting the mudre on his bhaktas) while the upper hands hold Gada and Padma. Adjoining, there is a very simple but very beautiful temple for Arvindavalli Thaaiyar, Mahalakshmi consort of Narayana.
Sthala Purana
This murthi was consecrated by Sri Ramanujacharyaru himself when Bittideva adopted Vaishnavism and became Vishnuvardhana I. Apparently, this is the only temple apart from Srirangam, where thaaiyar is on the right side of swamy.
Right opposite to the Narayana kshetra is the temple for Sri Parthasarathy swamy with Sridevi and Bhudevi as consorts. The utsavamurthi of Sri Krishna is flanked by Rukmini and Satyabhama. The priest of this temple is the same priest who attends to the Yoga Narasimha temple (below) and hence, one needs to check his availability for puja / darshana. I also observed a Sati Stone in the premises of this temple.
Sthala Purana
Sri Parthasarthy swamy was consecrated by Yudhishtira / Dharmaraya and hence, dates back to Mahabharatha period (5500 years).
Behind the Nambi Narayana temple is the divine and mystical kshetra of Sri Yoga Narasimha swamy on top of a small hillock. This temple is definitely the highlight of our trip with loads of unique mysteries attached to the same. When the temple is closed, the priest comes and opens the temple and bangs on the door with a solid steel rod. The reason is quite enchanting: Apparently, the temple is guarded by Sarpas and the sound is to let them know that the priest has arrived. We were around 30 bhaktas when the priest came and opened the temple. Apparently, a sarpa moved away at that time. Personally, I wasn’t lucky to witness this divine wonder.
Yoga Narasimha swamy is just majestic and magnificent. Adjoining, there is a very special sannidhi dedicated to Sri Ramanujacharya. This is one of the few kshetras where acharya got the idol consecrated himself and is said to reside in his sookshma Roopa. The hoods of Anantha flanking acharya is a sight to behold of. One major attraction of this place is the basket used by Acharya, which is preserved inside a glass box and is worshipped even today. This is dating back to 950+ years.
There is a unique tradition attached to this temple. Apparently, one can pray for any wish in this temple, which will come true within 150 days. If the wish is fulfilled, bhaktas come and offer a White 10x6 (Patthar) panche to Narasimha Swamy and Kaavi (saffron) 9x5 panche to Acharya. I was lucky to witness this very divine tradition being kept alive to the day.
Lunch
We were supposed to proceed to Hosaholalu and even went close to the temple. However, owing to the late afternoon and skeptical of getting a bite, we embarked on finding a good spot for Vegetarian lunch. I was quite pleasantly surprised with Ambaari restaurant on the Mysuru - Arsikere highway. Quite surprisingly, we got some wonderful North Indian dishes here. Highly recommended if you are in the neighbourhood.
Kikkeri
An unknown jewel nestled among houses, right on the bed of a huge magnificent lake, Sri Brahmeshwara temple is a treat to the eyes. A very unique temple with an interesting history. With a deep desire to construct a Sannidhi to Brahma (one of the Trimurti’s for whom idol form of worship is not prescribed), a devout lady consulted many experts that took shape in the form of this temple. Though the main murthi is of a magnificent Shivalinga, there is Brahma on the doorway of the main garbhagudi. There is a Nandi in front of the murthi under which a figurine of the bhakthe is carved. Her magnanimous contribution etched into history. Around the main mantapa, there are multiple murthis with exquisite carving. I would highly recommend a conversation with Sri. Aditya Bharadwaj, the priest of this kshetra.
Chennakeshava is fabulous and caught my attention and imagination. Adjoining the temple is a huge spectacular lake. This is named as “Ammavara Kere” or “Kikkerammana Kere” after the main grama devata of the village.
Govindahally
One of the original destinations of the trip was the marvellous, majestic temples of Govindahally i.e. Panchalingeshwara temples. The outer prakara (walls) of the temple is filled with figurines depicting various stories of Maha Vishnu from various Puranas and Itihasas. The inner sanctum is dedicated to 5 different, unique Shivalingas and hence, this kshetra is also known as Vishnu-Shiva kshetra. Maintained by ASI, the overall temple complex is simple, elegant and highly soothing on eyes and mind. We were guided by the night watchman of the temple who gave a detailed sthala purana explanation.
The 5 Shivalingas are named after the 5 faces of Shiva i.e. Sadyojateshwara, Vamadeveshwara, Aghoreshwara, Tatpurusheshwara & Ishaneshwara. These 5 lingas are also modelled on the various fingers of a human hand starting from thumb and going up to little finger. Each garbhagudi has Gajalakshmi on the threshold which is unique for every single Shivalinga. These temples were constructed between 1137-38. Originally constructed to be a 4 unit structure, this was expanded to a Panchakoota with Ishaneshwara added in 1138. On the 2 ends of the hall, we can observe Kalabhairava and Subramanya swamy with idols of Ganesha (again unique for every garbha gudi) and Mahishasura Mardini adjoining every sanctum santorum. The architects also imprinted their magic in the form of Nandis, 3 of which are inside the main temple complex and 2 just outside.
Another gem that is perhaps hidden from wider attendance, this place is a definite must visit for lovers of architecture and spirituality.
Nuggehalli
The last stop of our visit was the ancient Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy kshetra at Nuggehalli. Though the temple bears the name of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha, the main deity is Saumya Keshava. This is another Trikuta temple with Venugopalaswamy & Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temples also being present in the same complex. The inner structure was constructed by Hoysalas, with the outer structure attributed to Cholas. Owing to lack of time, I couldn’t dig deeper about the interesting mix of cultures. The outer prakara is filled with multiple resplendent, intricate carvings. This is a place which warrants another visit with ample time to appreciate the genius of our ancestors.
This summed up a day well spent soaked in the richness of our culture with a deep divine spiritual undertone to the same.
P.S: Sthala puranas and unique practices are captured from my interactions with local pujaris and other related stakeholders. If there is any mistake, it is entirely my own.
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