The little known historic temple

Bangalore has several temples dedicated to Someshwara or Ishwara (Eshwara) and the most famous is the one at Ulsoor or Halsoor. The Ulsoor temple was built by the Cholas and subsequently improved upon, enlarged and renovated by the Vijayanagars and Kempe Gowda.

The Ulsoor temple is a marvel of stone and it is a tourist attraction. Much has been said and written about it but there is one more similar temple in Bangalore that has not received the attention that it deserves. Nor is this temple on the tourist map.

Though the areas where this temple is located is situated amid one of the most heavily traversed roads of Bangalore, very few people and fewer motorists care to stop and spend time at this temple.

What is more astonishing is that this temple too is built by the Cholas and it is located in one f the oldest localities of Bangalore. However, neither Bangaloreans nor tourists seems to have heard of it, let alone come to visit it.

This is the temple of  Someshwara in Madivala. The temple is said to be as old if not older than Madivala. The temple is a virtual delight for an epigraphist as its walls are full of writings and records, some as early as 1247. This was the time when the Hoysalas were dominant in this part of Karnataka and their Emperors, Vira Narasimha and Veera Someshara defeated the Pandyas, Gangas and the Cholas.      

The 1247 record refers to lands donated “'below the big tank of Vengaluru”  by a resident of  Veppur, now called Begur. This probably means that the earliest Bangalore we know existed somewhere in and around Begur-Madivala.
Today, Madivala has lost almost all its links with the past. Talk of Madivala and the only thing that springs to the mind is the Central Silk Borad Road junction and the massive traffic hold up ever day.

The road engineering here is so bad and the traffic so heavy that vehicles keep on piling up regularly and at all hours.

None of the exhausted motorists have any inclination or even desire to stop for a few minutes near the silk board junction and take in the centuries old Someshwara Temple.

The Someshwara temple is a structure in stone and large portions of its outer walls are covered with inscriptions in Tamil and Snaskrit. The script used here to inscribe writings in Sanskrit is Grantha and this is yet another proof of its antiquity.

This script was widely used between the 6th century and the 19th century mainly by Tamil speakers in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to write Sanskrit. This script is in restricted use in traditional vedic schools or patashalas.

Other inscriptions relate to grants made during the reigns of Hoysala king Ballala III and Chola king Rajendra. One record, from 1365, mentions a land grant at Tamaraikkirai  and this today is known as Tavarkere locality.

Apart from the inscriptions, the outer walls are sculpted with images of  various gods including Ganesha, Durga and Vishnu.

The garba griha and artha mantapa of the temple appear as they were constructed. These inner chamber is small and dark.

There is a beautiful Nandi placed in the artha mantapa. It faces the Linga, which is believed to have self manifested.

Though the temple was built by the Cholas, it was substantially renovated and repaired by the Vijayanagar Emperors.

The temple is open for worship from 7:30 a.m., to 11a.m., and again from 5:30 p.m., to 8:30 p.m.

Maha Shivratri, every February, Pradosham which occurs once a fortnight and every Monday is special for this temple.

The temple is very near the silk board junction. It is located near the Mariamma Temple and the place to alight if traveling by BMTC bus is Kuvempu Nagar bus stand.   

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. 

The story of Marathalli

Marathalli or Marathahalli is one of the many localities in Bangalore. A majority of the people and even residents of Marathalli say the name of their locality is from Maruti or Hanuman.

They say that there was a temple of Maruti in the locality and, hence, the name. Marathahalli is derived from the Sanskrit word “Maruti” meaning Lord Hanuman and  Halli meaning village in Kannada. Other people believe that a fighter aircraft called “Marut” crash landed at the place. Therefore, the area came to be called Marathalli.

Very few people know that Marathalli is one of the handful of places in and around the City that predate Bangalore or Bendakalooru. There is no doubt that several centuries ago, this  was a small village and the residents depended on forestry, agriculture and they also reared cattle and were into poultry farming.

However, agriculture was thee main source of profession of the residents of Marathalli.

Another legend about this place is that it was here that the Marathas settled down and this was during the reign of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. With scores of Maratha families living here, it came to be called Maratha Halli which later came to be known as Marathalli.

A few other residents say Marathalli is named after St. Martha’s Hospital.

Whatever its origin, we now know that Marathalli is one of the oldest places in and around Bangalore. Historians and archaeologists say that the first mention of Marathalli as a settlement is in a written record belonging to the Vijayanagar Dynasty in 1508. However, there is proof to say that this locality existed even in the middle ages.

The Someshwara Temple of Marathalli and an inscription on an Ashwatha Katte date the inhabitation of Marathalli to the eleventh century. This makes Marathalli much older than Bangalore or other towns in and around the Garden City.

A few decades ago, the Someshwara temple was the centre of the Marathalli village. But today, it stands away from the centre point of the locality. Historians date the Someshwara Temple to the Cholas and this was built sometime during the eleventh century.

The temple of Someshwara is a typical Chola structure. It is really interesting to note that it was from the time of the Cholas that the penchant for constructing Someshwara temples began and almost all such temples are in and around Bangalore.

(Another Someshwara Temple of the Cholas is in Ulsoor or Halasuru but this was substantially repaired and renovated by Kempe Gowda).   

The Someshwara Temple at Marathalli is as old as the Someshwara Temple at Agara in Sarjapur. Thus, we find many Someshwara Temples of the Chola era in Bangalore.

Coming back to Marathalli, historians discovered an old inscription on the Aswathakatte  or platform of a banyan tree.

The inscription belonged to the Vijayanagara kingdom and it is dated 1508. It mentions the reign of Viranarasimha Raya or Viranarasimha the third of Vijayanagara kingdom in 1508.

The inscription also mentions that Brahma, Saptarishis, Harihara and the god of Varanasi were among the witnesses of Viranarasimha's rule in the Vijayanagara kingdom.

Historians have mot been able to assign a reason for the inscription. The inscription only records the reign of a Tuluva King of Vijayanagar.

Viranarasimha was the brother of Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529) and he followed the Vijayanagar Emperor, Narasa Nayaka, to the throne. Viranarasimha reigned for four years, between 1505 and 1509. Soon after he ascended the throne, he faced rebellion from several quarters, including the Ummattur chiefs.

According to folklore, Viranarasimha wanted his minister, Saluva Thimmarasu, to pluck the eyes of Krishna Deva Raya so that his con could ascend the Vijayanagar throne.  

We may surmise that Viranarasimha had the inscription put up as he wanted to exert his authority. Whatever the reason, we now know that Marathalli was part of the Vijayanagar kingdom.

The Vijayanagar inscription is in Telugu and this shows us that Kannada perhaps was not the mother tongue or language here, at least till six centuries ago.

The inscription testifies to the fact that Telugu was the language of the Vijayanagar court along with Kannada.

Today, the Someshwara Temple and the Telugu inscription are the only relics of yore. Today, the temple has been renovated and it bears little resemblance t the ancient structure that it was. As far as Marathalli goes, it is an important locality of Bangalore and even its residents have forgotten the local history of the area, caught up as they are in the throes of  modernization and the real estate boom.

Marathalli is home to several IT and BT companies and it is also the place where several companies known for branded apparels and furniture shops have their establishments. 

Temples in a palace compound

This is one of the oldest temples of Mysore and it is much older that the Amba Vilas Palace or even the Wodeyars. The original structure of the temple dates back to the ninth century.

This is also believed to be the place where a sage did penance. When Shiva appeared before the sage, he consecrated the deity here.

When the temple was built, there was a lake besides it. There is no water body now.      

Moreover, this is one of the 12 temples within the compound of the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore. This is the Shiva temple and the deity is also called as Vedamurthy as he is considered the lord of the four Vedas-Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana.

This is the Trinayaneswara Temple in the Mysore Palace. It was here that sage Trinabindu meditated. Pleased with hid devotion, Shiva appeared before him en on the shore of a lake). Impressed by this Shiva appeared before the sage who then consecrated the Linga which is known as Trinayaneswara or Vedamurthy.

Trinayaneswara also means the one with three eyes and Shiva has a third eye on his forehead.

Several centuries ago, this temple was on the banks of the Devaraya Sagara or Doddakere lake. The Kere disappeared and the fort was expanded bringing the temple within the fort premises during the rule of Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar and Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar.

(The Doddekere was drained due to the royal family expressing concerns over water borne diseases emanating from mosquitoes and insects that frequented the water body).

Subsequently, the Trinayaneswara temple was renovated and  additional structures built. A big tower in front of the temple was destroyed in 18th century. However, the base of the tower is still visible at the entrance.

The temple is also unique in the sense that it has images of  many Wodeyar Kings praying. This is called Anjalimudra.

There are images of Dakshinamurthy-Shiva as a teacher of universal knowledge, Kshetrapala-the lord of the land, Kumara- the God of war and Surya-the god of light. These are believed to have been consecrated by Ranadheera Kantirava or Kantirava Narasaraja Wodeyar, the wrestler King of Mysore.

The last Wodeyar Emperor, Jayachamarajendra, donated in 1951 a 11kg ceremonial gold mask to Vedamurthy. This mask is called Swarna Kolaga or Chinnada Kolaga and it is kept in the Treasury.

During Shivaratri, the mask is brought to the temple and the deity adorned with it.

Built in the Vijaynagar style, this huge temple contains several shrines and two exquisite glass paintings in traditional Mysore style

By the way, the palace complex includes twelve Hindu temples and if you leave out the Vedamurthy temple, the oldest of the other temples was built in the 14th century, while the most recent was built by Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in 1953. This is the Gayatri temple.

Another temple dedicated to Shiva in the palace complex is Someshvara. The Linga here is believed to be old. The other deities in this temple were consecrated by Maharani Vanivilasa Sannidhana over a century ago.

The Lakshmiramana Temple  is dedicated to Vishnu, Shwetha Varahaswamy Temple to Lord Varahaswamy.

The Kote Anjenaya temple is famous as is the Kote Ganapathy temple. The Mariamma temple is supposed  to ward off diseases.

The Lakshmiramana temple is popular as it is believed that the prayers made here are always answered. It was built by Narasa Nayaka, the Emperor of Vikayanagar and father of Krishnadevaraya, in 1499. It was renovated in 1851. The temple was also witness to several religious ceremonies conducted on the eve of  the coronation of Krishnaraja Wodeyar on June 30, 1799 after the death of Tipu on May 4, 1799 in Srirangapatna.

The Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple was built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the third, in 1829. The Krishna here is in ambegalu pose and he holds butter in his hands. This idol is modeled on the idol of Krishna in the Apremaya Swamy Temple in Malur near Chennapatna.   

The Kodi Bhairava, to the north east of the palace compound is supposed to be the oldest of the temples. This temple is an important landmark for the Wodeyars as the founder of the Mysore royal family, Yaduraya, prayed here before successfully overcoming a Karugadahalli Chieftain.
The Kodi Someshwara temple dates back to the thirteenth century and is built in the Chola style. The Kille Venkataramana Swamy temple is another landmark. The idol was brought by Queen Lakshmammani, the adoptive mother of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, from Balamuri. There is an interesting legend behind the temple. The Queen was worried about the fate of the Wodeyar dynasty as she was unsure about the intentions of Tipu who was not very friendly towards the  Mysore rulers. She prayed for the well-being of her family and one night she had a dream in which she was asked to get the image of  Venkataramana from Balamuri. She was told that once she installed the image, no harm would come to the Wodeyar family.  
The complex also contains two twin temples in the Hoysala style,  built by Dewan Purnaiah in 1809. He used materials from ruined Hoysala temples in Shimoga.
The deity of Swetha Varahaswamy was first consecrated at a temple at Srirangapatna by Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar (1672-1704). Tipu destroyed the temple and it was shifted to Mysore in 1809. There are images of Srivaishnava seers in the temple which were presented by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III in 1829.
There are several inscriptions in the temple belonging to different periods. The southern wall of the shrine of the goddess has one such inscription that belongs to the early 13th century.  
The tower and pillars are intricately carvings. The inner walls of Navaranga display murals narrating stories of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita. One such mural of Rama Pattabhisheka can be found on the south eastern wall of Navaranga.

The lost capital of the Gangas

Just over a thousand years ago, the present day Bangalore was nothing but a thick forest. There was no mention of Bendakaluru or any pother place by the name. Yet, this place formed part of a once prosperous and bigger City that finds mention in ancient texts and copper plates of yore.

The Cholas knew about it and so did the Rashtrakutas. Both the Cholas and the Rashkrakutas tried their best to exterminate the city but to no avail. However, nature did to the city what several dynasties could not.

Today, the city is gone and in its place is a small sleepy village which still has some links to its once glorious past. All that remains are three temples that stand as mute sentinels at the very place where the once magnificent city of the Gangas flourished.

The Gangas as a dynasty have long been consigned to the pages of history. However, the buildings they built such as the temples of Talakad, the sculptures that they left behind like the Gomateshwara at Shravanabelogala still continue to tell their tale.

Unfortunately, apart from Talakad and Shravanabelogala, both people and historians seems to have forgotten the other monuments that the Gangas left behind. Infact, we seem to have entirely forgotten the small village of Manne in Nelamangala taluk of Bangalore rural district.

Manne, more than a thousand years ago, was a  thriving city. It was also the capital of the Gangas. The earlier Gangas had Talakad near Mysore as their capital. However, one of is powerful rulers, Sripurusha (725-778 AD), shifted his capital from Talakad to Manne.

Sripurusha killed the Pallava ruler Nandi Verma, the second, at Vilande in 731 in a war. He also wrote a book in Sanskrit on taming of wild elephants called Gajashasthra. He assumed the title Permanadi after killing the Pallava King.

Sripurusha assumed the title of Muttarasa. The Javali inscriptions says that Sripurusha ruled for 62 years. He married a Chalukya princess and was given the titles Rajakesari, Bhimakopa and Ranabhajana.

The Devarahalli inscription calls Sripurusha as Maharajadhiraja Paramamahesvara Bhatara. The Salem copper plates of  Sripurusha and a few other plates are very useful in reconstructing the history of medieval Kongu and Ganga emperors. He was a close ally of the Chalukya King Vikramaditya.  741 or 742

Sripurusha  established Manne as his capital, which today presents a desolate and pitiable sight. There are just three temples to showcase the Ganga architecture here. The other structures have long crumbled to the onslaught of modernization and official apathy.

What once was a bustling city is now a mere hamlet with a few thousand people. Apart from a welcome arch that proclaims Manne to have been the capital of the Gangas, there is no other written material in and around Manne to give more details of the once beautiful city to tourists and visitors.     

All that remains are a few inscriptions scattered about the village, testifying to the grandeur of the long gone days.

Manne was also called Manyapura. The main temple in the village or rather the chief temple of Manne is Mannemma. Interestingly, this deity is reckoned to be the sister of Annamma, who is the grama devathe of Bangalore. Apart from them, the other sisters are Madapuradamma,  Madhugiri Maramma, Kuralliyamma and  Dandina Sirada maramma.

Another ancient temple is that of  Kapileswara. This is believed to be 1200 years old. Though it is in ruins, it can still give you a feeling of awe. The life-sized Dwarapalakas at the temple, beautifully carved windows and pillars are all that remain of the grand temple that it was.

Apart from this temple, another interesting structure is the Sule Gudi or the temple constructed by a prostitute. This is a Jain Basadi. Inscriptions uncovered by B. L. Rice, an epigraphist and historian, ascribed this temple to a general in the Ganga Army named Srivijaya.

The inscription says Srivijaya built the Jina temple in Mauyanagara or Manyapura. It say Sripurusha granted his General the village of Kru-Vekkur. The priest of the temple was

apparently Prabhachandra, a disciple of Pushpanandi, the learned head of his gana or group.  Pushpandi, in turn, was one of the many disciples of Toranacharyya, who is described as the wisest man of this country.

Thee inscriptions, were engraved on plates and found at Manne itself. They were engraved by Virakarmmacharya, the Royal Engraver.  

Another fine structure is the Someshwara temple which  too is in ruins.

Others temples in the village are dedicated to Hanumanthraya swamy, Eswara, Maramma, Ganesha and Kukkalamma.

Sripurusha had a palace here and once Manne became the capital, it prospered. At that time, Bangalore perhaps was so small that it did not even merit a mention. The Bangalore we see today had not been formed.

Manne soon became the centre of  the Ganga trade and commerce. Sripurusha endowed Manne with some of the most beautiful temples, palaces, lakes, wells, and other structures, including a fort. None, of them survive today.

After Sripurusha, Manne slowly began losing its importance. The Gangas too began losing ground and towards the eleventh century, they were overwhelmed by the Cholas. Manne was their second capital after Kolar.

After the decline of the Cholas, Manne was an important city for the Rashtrakutas. Tamil records state that Mannekadakam or Manne was the headquarters of Rashtrakuta Governor Kambarasa.       

Manne is about 24 kilometres from Nelamangala. To reach the place, travel on the Tumkur road till you reach Budhihal. Take a right turn there and travel for about 16 kms till you reach an arch.

The arch proudly states that this is Manne, the capital of the Gangas.

Interestingly, Sripurusha’s wife, Kanchikabbe, ruled over Agali principality in Andhra Pradesh. Today, Agali is a small village in Ananthapur district. Inscriptions dated 748 AD confirm Kanchikabbe as the ruler of Agali.