Here, ghee turns into butter

There are several temples in Bangalore dedicated to Someshwara and the most famous of them all is the one in Halasuru or Ulsoor. The Someshwara Temple at Ulsoor is one of the most magnificent temples in Bangalore and though its origin is shrouded in mystery, we know that the Cholas, Kempe Gowda and other dynasties have contributed to its  construction.

Interestingly, there is another temple dedicated to Someshwara and this too was built by the Cholas. The Cholas had defeated the Gangas and they overran the Ganga provinces, including Bangalore. They built several temples, including those dedicated to Someshwara.

Since the Cholas were followers of Shaivism, they built temples for Shiva not in their country-Thanjavur and surrounding areas-but also in the lands they conquered. Thus, when they set foot on Bangalore, they ensured that the area had temples dedicated to Someshwara or Shiva.

If the Someshwara Temple in Halasoor is well known, the one at Agara in Sarjapur is not all that popular though it dates back to more than a thousand years.

This is the temple of Someshwara Swamy and it is located at Agara on the Sarjapura Main Road. This structure has a recorded history dating back to around 850 BC and that would make it 1200 years old.

As the name Someshwara Swamy itself suggests, the temple is dedicated to Shiva or Eshwara. Both the temple and the deity is dated to the Chola period. Unlike other temples dedicated to Someshwara, the idols here self manifested. This means that the idols were not man made or sculpted by men. The idols appeared on the earth on their own.

Such idols are called Swayambhu or self manifested. Here, the idols of Shiva and his son, Ganapathi, are believed to be Swayambhu or self manifested. Hence, this temple is considered to very holy.  

But the most unique fact of the temple is that when the priest performs abhisheka to the Someshwara Swamy idol in the morning, the ghee used transforms into butter. Such a phenomenon has never been reported in any temple in Bangalore and the only such similar event can be seen at the Shiva Temple in Shiva Gange in Tumkur district.

There is no scientific explanation on how ghee transforms itself into butter only during the morning abhisheka or pouring of water and other ingredients on the idol in the morning to sanctify the idol.

The temple can be entered from the main gateway, which is rather barrow. Such entrances were common in ancient ages and they were built to ensure that people who came bent down in submission to the God.

There is a symbol of the Chola dynasty within the temple. The Vimana of the temple has sculptures of avatars of Shiva. The number “five” is sacred to Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namah śivāya). Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans. The forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography: such as Sadyojata, Vanadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and Isana. All these five forms are represented on the Vimana Gopura of the temple.

The vehicle of Shiva is Nandi and she is placed in front of Shiva’s idol. A temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathi has been constructed next to this temple. The temple compound houses smaller temples to Ayyappa  and Shani who is one of the Navagraha deity.

The family of Gundappa Dixit have been taking care of the temple for more than 400 years. The temple draws huge crowds during Shivaratri and Karthika Maasa when queues stretch for miles.

The temple is surrounded by a garden and since it is on the main road, it is easy to locate. It is oasis of calm in the midst of maddening crowd. If you ever get struck in traffic jam at Agara or at Sarjapur road, park your car and spent some time in this holy place.

The idols is believed to help people who pray for succor from illness, marital or medical problems. The priests of the Someshwara Swamy temple say that couples who have not had children have come and prayed here and many among them have come back with their children. Hence, this temple is popular with    couples for offering prayers to beget a child. 

A repository of History

What Malleswaram is to north Bangalore, this locality is to south Bangalore. Both these localities were conceived and even formed simultaneously. They came up as a result of the great plague epidemic of 1898 that ravaged Bangalore.

Both Malleswaram and this locality is named after the most prominent temples in their respective localities. Sine their inception, both these localities have continued to be bastions of  local culture, Kannada language, literature, art and music. 

If it was the great plague that led to the formation of both Malleswaram and this locality, today it is the intellectual consciousness and remarkable adherence to tradition and culture of yore of the people of these two localities that distinguish then from the rest of Namma Bangalore.

Both these localities were well-laid our at the foothills of elevated hillocks. If Malleswaram was at the foothills of the Kempe Gowda tower and the small hillock of Palace Guttahalli, this locality was  at the foothills of Bugle rock and Lalbagh.

Talk about Bangalore and one is sure to mention Malleswaram in as much the same breath as Basavanagudi. Yes, this post is about Basavanagudi, one of the few localities in Bangalore that is named after a local temple or deity.

Each street and each institution in Basavanagudi has its own tale to narrate. The Bugle rock is not only historically important but it is also a geological wonder. The park nearby is host to fruit bats. There are scores of temples but Basavanagudi gets its name from the temple of Basava or Nandi on Bull Temple road.    

The village of Basavanapura that once was situated adjacent to the Karanji Anjeneya Temple just off Gandhi Bazar too lent its name to the new locality. .

There was another village nearby and this was called Sunkenahalli. Both Basavanapura and Sunkenahalli gave way to Basavanagudi and today both the villages along with Kanakanapalya, which was at the edge of the Basavanagudi locality (now RV Teacher College and surrounding areas) are history.

The only remnant of the villages are the Kadalakai Parashe that is held every year on Bull Temple Road. Even today, groundnut growers come in hundreds to sell their wares during the fair.

By the way, both Malleswaram and Basavanagudi had their own sources of water. The Kadu Malleswara temple in Malleswaram and the Bull temple were the places where the rivers originated.  

Interestingly both the localities were planned near the watch towers of Kempe Gowda. The locality of Malleswaram skirted around the Kempe Gowda tower near Mekhri Circle, while Basavanagudi extended to the entrance of Lalbagh which housed another of the towers and the Kempambudhi lake where the third tower was located.

Kempegowda-I (1513-1569) planned the southern boundary of Bangalore to include the Karanji lake and this was set aesthetically among the rocks. Kempe Gowda called this Karenji.

Kempe Gowda is also credited with having built the garbagudi of the Karenji Anjeneya Temple. He also arranged for the  Pranaprathista of the deity and ensured daily pujas were conducted.

Locals believe that Janamejaya, the grandson of Abimanyu, had performed penance at the hillock on which Anjaneya idol is located.

The Basava temple and several other temples were adjacent to the calm and peaceful Karanji lake. The water body covered parts of Basavanagudi, Chamrajapet and Gandhi Bazar. The tank dried up soon after the Dharmambudhi and Siddikatte tanks dried up. The National High School today stands on the bed of the once beautiful tank.

Just across the tank and where Ramakrishna Ashrama stands and the localities of Hanumanthanagar and Srinagar were the groundnut fields. The fields soon gave way once the Karanji tank ran dry. Only the Bugle rock remained.

During the third Mysore War which commenced in 1791, a contingent from the Mysore army under the leadership of Mir Quamar-ud-din launched a rocket attack on the British forces from Bugle rock. The small contingent was overcome and the British marched towards the fort (now at City Market) and subsequently conquered it.

Once Tipu was finally defeated, Basavanapura and Sunkadakatte continue to remain small villages on the periphery of  the Petah town and they supplied fruits, vegetables and ground nuts to the people.

However, things changed when the Mysore Government planned new extensions in the aftermath of the plague. This is how both Basavanagudi and Malleswaram came up and both swallowed the villages on which they were planned. 

Soon, both Basavanagudi and Malleswaram became the centre of Kannada and along with Chamarajpet led to the renaissance of Kannada language and culture.

Luminaries like Prof Bellave Venkatanaranappa were the earlier settlers of Basavanagudi. Prof. Bellave was an institution by himself and a founder member of several organizations such as the Kannada Sahitya Parishad and Basvanagudi Union and Service. He also renovated the Mallikarjuna templeand edited Vignana Kannada, a journal in Kannada on science.

He had a battery of disciples and each one made a name for himself and they included the redoubtable D.V.G, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, V.C, BMSri, M.V.Setharamaiah and others.

Even today, Basavanagudi retains its old world charm. It is one of the few localities in Bangalore that have managed to integrate harmoniously the old with the new. Of course, the rush of urbanization and modernism continues but the people seem more aware of their rich culture and heritage. No wonder, it is a repository of history and culture.     

A century old beauty

Bangalore has many relics of the past but some of them largely remain unknown. These relics form an important bridge to the past and they need to be preserved and protected and of course popularized among the people.

One such relic is the small but beautiful railway station of Nandi which is located on the Chikaballapur-Dharmapuri Railway line.  The Railways have played an important part in shaping our nation and the credit for outing India on the Railway map of the world should go to the British. Unfortunately, much of the nostalgia about Indian Railways even today centres around the steam engines and other things such as railway stations, railway bridges, railway equipments and buildings have been given short shrift.

Karnataka too has a long and distinguished Railway history but few are aware of it. Bangalore and Mysore State, in pre-Independence days, were lucky to have both the British and the Mysore State laying railway lines and building up railway infrastructure. The Mysore State, under the Wodeyar Maharaja, even had a separate railway department.

The British built the first railway line in the State from Cantonment to Jolarpet and it was in 1864 that the first train, Bangalore Mail, chugged past amazed Indians and fearful women and children. The train was initially operated by the Madras Railway, one of the dozen companies incorporated and developed by the British.

Next came the lines from Bangalore to Mysore and from Mysore to other destinations. The Bangalore-Dharmapuri line was also laid out several decades ago and the Nandi railway station was built in 1915 by the British.
The building is small but beautiful. Though it needs urgent upkeep, it still stands tall-a testimony to British Engineering and Indian work ethos.
Trains from Chikaballapur to Dharmapuri via Bangalore halt at Nandi station for two minutes. Even as the passengers take in the beauty of the building, the train chugs away. Both the morning and evening trains stop for two minutes each.

Though small, the station is the lifeline of several villages including Nandi itself, Kuppahalli, Deveshettihalli and other surrounding villages. These people makes use of the station to board trains to Chikaballapur or Bangalore.
The station is surrounded by several huge trees, including a  massive Banyan tree. The Railways had constructed staff quarters near the station and these buildings too are dilapidated. There is a small well near the quarters which the Railway staff dug to meet their water needs. 
Initially, this station formed part of the narrow guage line between Bangalore and Chikaballapur. The distance was 51.71 kms and the line was subsequently extended to  Kolar (102.30 kms).

The place of a million lingas

Are you tired of the many trekking, rock climbing and wildlife spots in and around Bangalore, Do you yearn for something different. Something that is in the record books and something that you can relate to in everyday life.

All the better if you are religiously inclined. Then head for Kotilingeshwara in Kolar district of Karnataka which is now in the record books as having the most number of Shiva Lingas in India  or even abroad.

Yes, as the name itself suggest, you can view and count if you have the time and the inclination, the one crore or Koti Lingas. The Kotilangeshwara temple is in  Kammasandra village but the temple has become so famous that its very mention will draw pilgrims and tourists to this village.

The Kotilingeshwara temple is about 95 km from Bangalore and just six kms from Kolar  Gold Fields (KGF) . The temple can boats of so many lingas at one place that it at once creates a sense of awe and wonder.

The main deity is Kotilingeshwara and he is surrounded by a crore smaller lingas.  The Temple was constructed by Swamy Sambha Shiva Murthy and it is open to public from early morning till 9.30 p.m.

The main Linga is a mammoth 108 feet (33 metres) tall. This is not the only tall structure here. Just in front is a huge Nandi which is 35 feet (11 meters) tall. The Nandi is located atop a platform which is 60 feet (18 meters) in length, 40 feet (12 metres) in width and 4 feet (1.2 m) high.

This main temple is surrounded by eleven smaller temples, each dedicated to a different deity like Brahma, Vishnu, Venkataramani Swamy, Annapoorneshwari, Panduranga, Panchamukha Ganapathi,  Rama, Lakshmana and Sita Temple, Anjaneya, Kannika Parameshwari and Karumari Amma.

Lakhs of Lingas have been installed around the temple of Kotilingshwara and this is spread over13 acres. The first linga was installed in 1980 and since then this exercise has continued.

Howeverm not all the lingas are of the same height. They vary from one foot (0.30 m) to three feet (0.91 m).

The temple has two Naga Linga Flower trees or Cannon Ball Flower Trees. Unmarried women pray for a happy married life and tie a yellow thread around the tree.

Daily poojas are performed at 6 a.m., and 6 p.m., ever day. 

The underground temple of Malleswaram

Can you believe it that a temple complex was excavated almost intact just a decade ago from one of the most happening places in Bangalore.

The place was Malleswaram and the 17th Cross in the area is one of the busiest hubs of the area. It was 1997 and a mound was being dug by to level the ground.

The workers first came across a small stone structure. When they began digging a little deeper, they came across a spire of a temple. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials were immediately informed and when  they dug up the area, they found a 7,000 year-old temple of Nandeeshwara almost intact.

Even today, when locals and temple officials tell you the story behind the excavation, you cannot help but marvel at how an ancient temple was buried under the sands of time. How could it have been buried for so many years without anyone knowing about it. Besides, how did it escape the attention of developers and civic and ASI officials for so long.

Temple officials says carbon dating of the structure has revealed it to be 7,000 years old.

The temple and the courtyard is in good condition even today. The courtyard is supported by pillars. The statue of  Nandi is carved out of black granite and its eyes are painted in golden colour. When the temple was first excavated, people saw water coming or rather flowing from the mouth of the Nandi to the idol of Shiva or  the Linga beneath.

The water continues to flow  even today and the water is crystal clear.

The Linga is also carved out of Black granite. There are steps leading from the Sanctum to a small Kalyani or pond. There is even a whirlpool in the centre of the Kalyani. The whirlpool is at least 15 foot deep. How the Kalyani gets water is a mystery.

The locals say part of the water to the Kalyani comes from the Sankey Tank which is nearby. There is also a belief that Shivaji contributed in some way to the construction of the temple. This is because Shivaji and his father Shahaji are closely associated with the Kadu Malleswara Temple which is almost opposite this temple.   

There are some inscriptions that are believed to be older than the temple structure.

The Lakshmi  Narasimha Temple near the Kadu Malleswara Temple is another ancient structure.

If you are visiting Bangalore for the first time, check out these temples along with other temples. There are several eateries in Malleswaram such as Janata Hotel, CRT, Bun World, Halli Mane to name a few where you can eat good food. The Mantri Mall on the land where Raja mill once stood is also worth a visit as is the Sankey Tank and the TTD complex where there is beautiful idol of Balaji or Srinivasa. You can book tickets and seves at the TTD counters here. The TTD complex is situated adjacent to the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall.

Malleswaram is easily accessible either by bus or taxi, auto.