World of Books and Travel

Today we went early morning to Sri Nagareshwara Temple at Begur. We had reached there by 7.20 a.m. By then there was already a a long queue. Still it was nice to wait and have a darshan of Lord Shiva on this important day of Shivaratri. The gopuram constructions are still going on. We left there by 8.40 a.m.

Another great place we visited was Mahakuta (Mahakoota) Kshetra, an ancient temple built by Chalukyas. Mahakuta is a small town surrounded by hills and cool atmosphere, located 14 kms away from Badami, in Bagalkot District. Mahakuta is renowned for the Mahakuteshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, built in Dravidian style. In the courtyard, there are 15 small temples with intricate sculptures. The temples, built by Chalukyan dynasty, are dated to the 6th or 7th century. Mahakuta was once a great center of shaiva cult. Now only in one temple poojas are performed. Another beautiful attraction is a natural pond called Vishnu Pushkarni. There is a small shrine in the centre of the Vishnu Pushkarni tank and in it is a Shiva linga (universal symbol of Lord Shiva) called Panchamukha linga ("five faced linga"), one face for each direction and one on top. This pond is now used as a relaxing joint by the visitors. This place is often called Dakshina Kasi because of its religious im...

On Shivaratri Day, we wanted to visit another Shiva temple, and hence decided to visit the ancient Shiva temple at Begur, off Bomanhalli on the Hosur highway. We reached there very early in the morning, by then the devotees were just arriving in singles and groups. I was amazed to see the 1200 year old Shiva temple, built in granite, by the Cholas. (Raja Raja Chola). The temple is not tall, but spread across. I chose another day to go there leisurely to take some photos and get some details of the age old temple, from the people who knew about it. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Panchalingeswara. The main deity is Sri Parvati Sametha Nagaeshwara Swamy Linga. The temple complex enshrines Panchalingas i.e.Nageswara, Kaleswara, Nagareswara, Karneswara, and Choleswara. Sculptures depicting stories from the Panchatantra are carved all around the garbagriha wall. I was told that this place had got the name Bengaluru, much before the Bangalore city got its name. Nageshwara temple a...