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The Shiva Temple at Nandi

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praveen

Life is a dream
Staff member
Nandi is a small town at the bottom of the well-known hill resort, Nandi Hills, situated at a distance of about 60 kms north-east of Bangalore, and is famous for the ancient Shiva temple, popularly known as Bhoganandishwara.

The temple as it appears today is composite. The Cholas, the Hoysalas, the Vijayanagar Kings and the Pallegars of the middle ages, all have contributed to the making of this structure. It is of great interest to students of art and archaeology as a specimen of South Indian sculpture of about the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] century, and it is fortunately in a good state of preservation. It is considered as one of the most ornate among the Dravidian temples in this part of the state.

Several inscriptions of the Chola period are found in the courtyard and around the temple. According to an inscription, it is believed that the original shrine of Shiva was constructed by Rathnavali, the queen of the Bana King Vidyadhara, in the year 804 A.D. A copper plate inscription records certain grants made to the temple by the Rashtrakuta king Govinda. An inscription relating to the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] century, refers to the reign of the Nolamba king Nolambadhiraja, and records the details of three temples. Judging from the character of the various inscriptions and the style of architecture, the later additions appear to have been executed during the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] century.

The temple of Bhoganandishwara is a very large structure in Dravidian style, facing east and having a large ‘mahadwara’. It is a double temple consisting of two separate shrines standing in a line, with two Nandi Mandapas in front, and having a small intervening shrine. The north shrine is called Bhoganandishwara and the south shrine Arunachaleshwara. Each temple has spacious halls in front and a fine tower at the top. The pillars of the hall and the ceiling are exquisitely carved with idols on all sides, and with Shiva and Parvati in the central panel. In the main hall is a peculiar figure of Vinayaka, about a metre in height, with a small lion face and a lean proboscis, popularly called as Simha Ganapathi, which is considered as a rare specimen of its kind.

In front of the shrine stands a magnificent four-pillared ‘kalyana mandapa’ built a highly polished black stone. The pillars are beautifully carved from top to bottom with marvelous elaboration of details and exquisite workmanship. The ceiling over these pillars has figures of the ‘dikpalas’ carved in the different tiers.

The open hall in the front is supported by twelve polished black pillars, which are very neatly dressed and finely sculptured in three panels all round. Nearby stands a fine stone umbrella with a tall staff. The outer walls of the temple are also carved with friezes of swans and fine figures at intervals. Behind the shrine runs a stone screen with figures of Dakshinamurthy and Nataraja.

During the Vijayanagar times, the two Nandi shrines were joined by a shrine of Shiva, known as Maheshwara. To this period belong the shrines of the two goddesses in the ‘prakara’, one for Prasanna Parvathi, and the other for Apitha Kuchalamba. Both the shrines have a row of large figures carved on the outer walls which represent the marriage of Shiva and Parvathi. To the north of the enclosure is a large square pond known as ‘Shringi Tirtha’, which is surrounded by a pillared verandah having three entrances. A little away from the temple, at the approach to the Nandi hill, is a huge monolith bull, beautifully sculptured. The biggest festival at Nandi is held during Maha Shivarathri, when thousands of devotees and tourists assemble from all parts of Karnataka.
 
Nandi Hills.

Few words about Nandi Hills.
Nandi Hills or Nandidurg is a natural formation of a large monolithic mass (4851 ft height), at 60 kms distance north of Bangalore.

It has a rich History behind. Top of the Hill has a large Fort covering 97 acres area. The ancient Yoga Ndeeswaraswami Temple on the top was built by a Chola King. There are old Tamil inscriptions on the walls of the Temple. When I visited the Nandi Hills for the first time in 1967 I had my breakfast and Lunch in the house of the Temple priest prepared by his family. In those days there were no eateries on the Hills. Today it is a bustling holiday resort crowded with the newly rich employees of IT industry. There is a beautiful tank called Kalyani (Amruthasarovar) on the hills which is filled with good water throughout the year.

Nandi Hills is the birth place of three important rivers of South India, Palar, Pennar (South Pennar) and Arkavathi a tributary of Kaveri.

Many people may not be aware that Neelakanta Brahmachari who was involved in the famous Collector Ashe Murder case had lived in an Ashram as Swami Omkarnath at the foot hills of a hillock opposite of Nandi Hills till his death.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
 
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