Nov 26, 2012

Around Bangalore- Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple in Nandi


Well, Nandi Hills is a very popular day-long excursion from Bangalore. But, have you heard of a village Nandi at the foothills of Nandi Hills, home for a 9th century Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple? I hadn't until I joined Bangalore Ascenders (BASC) for a day-long photography tour. BASC is a non-profit organization interested in outdoor activities and adventures organized by its-own volunteering members. If you are in Bangalore, want to get out but, don't know where? then just go ahead- read their website! You will definitely meet enthusiastic and friendly people of all ages :)

We, fourteen participants, took Bangalore-Cikkaballapur Passenger train which starts at 8:45am from Bangalore City station, ticket price Rs.11 oneway. Train takes about 2 hours to reach Nandi. With a brief introduction session by our event-organizer we started to Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple in two autorikshaws. The photoshoot went for around 2 hours in and around the temple complex. 


Okay, about the temple ... well, every temple in India is associated with an interesting legend from Hindu mythology, a long history from medieval time. Info I collected before I visited this place ... Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple was originally built by a Bana Queen Ratnavali. The temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.  Then the temple was extended by Chola ruler Rajendra by building the walls and the roof. King's statue is present here in the temple. It was then extended by Ganga rulers by building Arunachaleshwara temple to worship Lord Shiva as child. There is one Ganesha idol- Simha Ganapati which is very unique. Hoysala rulers constructed Uma-Maheshwara Temple with a magnificent marriage hall. The massive pillars of the hall have intricate and extensive carvings which are the trademarks of Hoysalas. 

Shringi Teertha is a temple pond which is believed to be dug by the divine Nandi using his horns. It is the source of South Pinakini river. The rest of the outer structures and mantapas were built by Vijayanagara Rulers in 13th century where you can see the yali (hippogryphs or charging horses) pillars and the withering superstructures which are built of bricks and lime mortar. 


Nearby village is Muddenahalli and we went there in a canter- standing! Muddenahalli is the place where Bharata Ratna Sir M Vishveshwarayya lived. He was an Indian engineer held in highest regard, who designed flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad those days and also responsible for the mesmerizing beauty- Krishnaraja Sagar Dam and Gardens in Mysore. September 15th is celebrated as Engineers Day in his honor. It was a great opportunity to see the artifacts belonged to him especially, the Bharat Ratna medal. Nearby is his cenotaph with a small garden. We left the place with a feeling of pride for having visited such a great and sincere engineer's house and cenotaph.


It was a great outing- photography, architecture and history and new faces!
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Leave a comment to share your thoughts :)

To check more places around Bangalore click HERE.

This post is linked to Our World Tuesday.

If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

28 comments:

  1. well written post...

    beautiful photos...

    thanks

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  2. Love the first picture. I had been to this place long back, beautiful temple and while we trekked to Skandagiri, we rode to Mudenahall but was ot able to visit the museum as it was closed.

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    1. Thank you Ajeya. Yeah, the clouds make the picture unique.

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  3. the first pict is an awesome shot

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  4. Awesome shots. Its been a while since i visited Nandi hills.

    http://www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

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  5. Superb captures of an incredible place and a very interesting, fascinating post for the day, Kusum!! I really enjoyed reading it, as I do all of your posts. Hope you have a wonderful week! Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you Sylvia, glad you enjoyed this article too!

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  6. What a great road trip to a beautiful place.

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  7. This is a beautiful temple with excellent craftsmanship.

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  8. What stunning shots of this beautiful place.

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  9. The first pic is indeed a beauty. I actually kept looking at it for sometime. And love this group idea, really helps people who have no clue but want to seek out some great places! The other pics are great too.

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    1. Thank you Jenny! Yeah, the group is good with friendly people of all ages!

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  10. Indian temples always fascinate me. the craftsmanship and details are amazing. the top photo is beautiful.

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  11. Beautiful!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  12. Wow these are really great temples! Haven't been to India but Ive seen remnants of this tradition in Cambodia and Indonesia. Amazing works of art.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by. Soon plan a trip to India too!

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  13. Great place to visit. I am marking it for my next trip.

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    1. Thank you Indrani, I am sure you will have a great time there!

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  14. Hi Kusum,

    Awesome shots. Enjoyed watching/reading your blog. Just wanted to know, if you know of a contact number here for enquiry purposes. That would be really helpful.

    Thanks
    Shwetha

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  15. Its Great Place To Visit,Thanks For Sharing Information

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  16. Very informative. Thank you very much. I would like to know the telephone number of the Priest so that I can contact and visit this weekend.

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