Originally Bhoga Nandishwara was not in my plan. Not because
I didn’t want to visit it but because I was not aware about it at all when
planning my day to visit two hills Nandi and Skandagiri on the same day. We started
for the Nandi Hills to see mesmerizing view of rising sun then while going through Nandi to
Skandagiri (that we were going to trek)… our driver told us about this famous
& one of the oldest temples of Karnataka.
Initially I was thinking that both these temples Yoga Nandishwara
and Bhoga Nandishwara were same or like shrine were different but located in
the same premises. But only after visiting Bhoga Nandishwara I realized how
much wrong I was. It is one of the captivating temple till date I have seen and
could have committed a sin to my religion(travelling) if anyhow I would have
missed it.
This temple is located in the foot of Nandi Hills in a
village called Nandi
Village
 |
| Long Way to Front Gate... Glimpse of Hill Behind Temple |
After entering through the main big gate of the temple,
there is a long way to go to the temple behind which a hill(not sure whether it
is Nandi Hill) is standing tall like a shield to protect it from any kind of trouble.
Then we saw a board with details of the temple written on it. According to that
the temple is perhaps the finest and most ornate of the Dravidian Temples in
Karnataka. This is a twin temple built side by side. One is dedicated to
Bhoganandishwara and another one to Arunachaleshwara. Like this all details are
mentioned there.
 |
| Area before Front Gate on both sides of Long Way |
Undoubtedly this temple is having a kind of architecture
that can attract anyone towards it. We roamed and explored almost every corner
of it and were in no mood of getting out of it. On top of this at that day one
couple was going to tie their knots forever.
We two(me & my friend) were also enjoying all their customs that
they were performing.
 |
| Stone Ratha Chakra... |
 |
| Front Gate |
 |
| Inside Temple... imagine how grand it would be |
Then other friends of us came and dragged us to other parts
of the temple. Eventually we reached to the very big open area and in that one
Kalyan Mantapa was standing. It has amazing images carved on the pillars, roofs
etc. It was looking spectacular. Again
we took a lot of pics there.
 |
| Gate to Shringi Thirtha |
 |
| Notice Kalyan Mantapa on left |
And then was a big pond having steps all around it which is
called as Shringi Thirtha pond. It is said that Nandi the bull of Shiva plunged
his horns(Shringa) in the ground here to take water out. It is said to be the
source of south Pinakini
River
 |
| Shringi Thirtha |
In short this temple is a must visit temple if you are
visiting Nandi Hills. Being in the foot of the hill makes its presence more eye
catching as I caught that view more in my eyes than in lens of my camera. Also
its architecture is somewhat different that make this temple a must visit for
any Bangalorean atleast J.
General Information with Day Plan:
Date of visiting : 20-Oct-2013 Sunday
Distance from Bangalore : approx 70 km from Silk Board
Entry Fee : No entry fee is there
Plan for the Day : Bangalore->Nandi Hills->Bhoganandishwara->Skandagiri->Bangalore
1 comment:
Finally its good 2 hear that u have some appreciation of words for the driver .....and the explanation of the marriage and rituals that was going on during your visit ...and all the foreigners with the traditional Indian attire during that marriage ....and again the wholeheartedness of South Indian people now a days who are basically conservative about the religious activities but still they are allowing foreigners 2 visit the Dravidian temple....Basically the mindset of our Indian people is improving day by day... Thnx for all those info...
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