Bull Temple, Bangalore Overview Dear friends,
While including a QAabout Nandi, I was thinking a posting about Bull temple at Bangalore. The roadleading to Bull temple itself called Bull temple road. Once I have visited thetemple about three years back. The following is a compilation about the Bull temple, close by DoddaGanesha temple, nearby temples and gardens surfing details through internet.Hope an interesting reading. Gopalakrishnan 7-1-2024. The Bull Temple, also known as Nandi Temple, isone of the oldest temples in the city of Bengaluru. The temple is popularlycalled as 'Dodda BasavanaGudi' by the locals and is the biggest temple dedicated to Nandi in theworld. Nandi, the bull, is the mount or 'vahana' of Lord Shiva and the guardiandeity of Lord Shiva's abode, Kailashagiri; according to Hindu traditions. EveryShiva devotee's must-visit destination because Nandi holds great importance toLord Shiva. The architectural style of the Bull Temple is mainlyDravidian and was constructed by Kempe Gowda.It is believed that the origin of the river Vrishabhavati is at the feet of Nandi. The entiresculpture of the bull is carved out of one singlegranite rock. The statue is 4.5 meters high and6.5 meters long. Coconut oil, butter and 'benne' areregularly applied to this statue. This had led to the originally grey statue toturn black. On the premises ofthe Bull Temple, there is also a beautiful temple of Ganesh, the beloved son of Lord Shiva.An interesting fact about this temple is that the statue of LordGanesh is made entirely of butter! It takes about 110 kilos of butter tomake this artistic statue, and a new statue is made every four years. What is really astonishing andnoteworthy is that in the four-year tenure of each butter sculpture, the butterdoesn't melt or change shape even once. The butter that makes thestatue of the deity is then distributed to the devotees as prasad. The Bull Temple inBangalore, also known as Nandi Temple, is famous for its large statue of thesacred bull, Nandi. In fact, with a height of around 4.6 metres and a length ofabout 6.1 metres, the idol of Nandi in this temple is said to be one of the biggestin the world. This unique feature attracts many devotees and tourists to theplace. Opening Time: 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Address: BullTemple Rd, NR Colony, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru – 560004 (MAP) Phone: +91 80 2667 8777 History of the Bull Temple Nandi, meaning‘joy’ in Sanskrit, is the sacred bull according to Hindu beliefs. Though theNandi statue appears to be black in color, it was not really the case when itwas built. The idol was originally grey in color. But as devotees continuouslyapplied charcoal and oil to the statue, it blackened over the years. Accordingto a myth, the iron plate on the bull’s head has been placed there by LordShiva to stop the idol from growing. An inscription atthe temple states that the Vrishabhavathi River flowing through Western part ofBengaluru has its origins from a spring located beneath the Nandi statue. Architecture of Bull Temple Bangalore The temple is estimated to have been built in theyear 1537 by a ruler named Kempe Gowda, who is famous as the founder ofKarnataka’s capital city, Bengaluru. Thoughmuch of the temple has been unchanged throughout the centuries, the present ‘Vimana’ that towers over the shrine was built during theearly 20th century. The architecture of the temple is heavily influencedby the Vijayanagara style, prevalent during the 1500’s. The idol of Nandi iscarved from a single stone of granite, and features a Shivalingam behindit. Meanwhile,the Vimana is adorned by Shaiva motifs. The Legend of the Bull Temple There is an interestinglegend involved in the construction of the bull temple. According to native myths, thearea was well-known for its rich cultivation of groundnuts and peanuts.But there was a bull in the region which used to damagethe crops. As the damages grew bigger andbigger, the farmers became worried and eventually decided to build a temple forthe bull in hopes of appeasing it. Miraculously,the bull stopped rampaging the crops after the construction of the temple.The farmers, overjoyed that the bull has been pacified, began conducting a groundnutfair beside the temple. The festival, known as ‘Kadalekai Parase’ in the nativelanguage, still continues in the region and is very popular with locals.It is traditionally held in the months of November or December, wherein thefirst harvest of the crops are offered to the Nandi Temple by the farmers. How to Reach Bull Temple, Bangalore You can reach theBull Temple through the following ways: By Air The BengaluruInternational Airport is the nearest airport to the Nandi Temple, and is located approximately 38kilometres away. By Rail Nearest railwaystations include the Bengaluru City Junction Railway Station, Krishnadevaraya Halt Station,Nayandahalli Station and Jnana Bharati Halt Station. By Road The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)runs buses regularly through the Basavanagudi route.As such, getting to the Nandi Temple by bus is recommended if you are not toofamiliar with the region. If you are traveling by car,then you can take the Corporation-Lalbagh-Basavanagudi route. Make sure to havea GPS device or an app installed on your smartphone. This will make travelingeasier. Nearby Temples There are manytemples nearby that are worth a visit: Dodda Ganesha Temple This temple has aunique idol of Lord Ganesha which is made from butter. Approximately 110 kilograms ofbutter is used to create the statue once every four years. And atthe end of the four-year cycle, the statue is broken and the butter isdistributed among the devotees. The most amazingfeature of the idol is that during the four years of its existence, the butternever melts even once. This temple is constructed inthe Dravidian style, similar to the Nandi Temple, and attracts numerousvisitors who visit it primarily to take a peek of the huge Ganesha statue. Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple Dedicated to LordShiva, the temple is also known by the name Gavipuram Cave Temple. And as the name suggests, the main inner sanctum is located inside a cave. The entire templeis carved out from a monolithic rock. Believed to have been built during the 9thcentury CE, it was the 16th century ruler Kempe Gowda who revamped it. A unique aspect of the temple isthat its stone discs are placed in such a way that they illuminate theShivalinga inside the temple for about an hour once a year. Manyconsider this as an architectural wonder. Sri Govardhana Temple Dedicated to Lord Krishna, this is a relatively newtemple and is designed as a cave. It is supposed to resemble Mount Govardhana which Lord Krishna isbelieved to have lifted in his younger days. Sightseeing in and Around the Bull Temple, Bangalore In addition totemples, some of the places nearby that you can visit include: Bugle Rock Garden Bugle Rock garden,bull temple, Bangalore The Park has numerous trees and makes for a perfectstroll. In fact, the state government dubbed it as a“walker’s paradise.” Statues of famous people from Karnataka including KempeGowda, D V Gundappa, Mokshagundam and Visvesvarayya are also displayed in thegarden. The place is also famous for the many types of bats that live there. Anestimated 750 to 1,000 people visit the Bugle Rock Garden every day. Lalbagh Botanical Garden Just a few kilometers away from the Nandi Temple is thefamous Lalbagh Gardens. The place houses the largestvariety of tropical plants in India and was built during the time of Hyder Ali, and his son Tipu Sultan. Spread over 240 acres,the place is said to have more than 1,000 species of flora, with trees whichare more than a 100 years old. Another huge attraction of the place is theLalbagh Rock, which is estimated to be at least 3,000 million years old,making it one of the oldest rock structures in the world. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1131741058.4830157.1704633668556%40mail.yahoo.com.
