Famous Temples in Bangalore
Bangalore is graced with numerous tourist attractions, both in the city and in the surrounding areas. Famous blossoming gardens, magnificent historical sites, and other places of historical and religious interest embellish Bangalore’s profile. Among the many religious places ISKCON Temple, Shiva Statue, Banashankari Temple, Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy Temple, Dodda Ganesha Temple, Gavi Gangadareshwara, Dharmaraya Temple, Prasanna Veeranjaneya Temple, Sugreeva Venkateshwara Temple, Kanyakaparameshwari Temple, Venkataramanswamy Temple and Bull Temple are worth visiting.
ISKCON Temple:- Sri Radha Krishna temple which is an architectural masterpiece on a seven-acre hillock called the ‘Hare Krishna Hill’. It is built in the Neo-Classical style. There are four temple gates called the ‘gopurams’. All the gates are connected with a glazed glass canopy that forms the main hall that holds the Hari Naam Kirtan.Concerts and festivals are held in the open-air amphitheatre in the temple premises.
Shiva Statue:- This Temple is located on Airport Road. Shiva’s statue is a great attraction which pulls the devotees due to its grandeur, aesthetic values, scenic beauty.Puja seva (service) is free of cost for everyone. The Statue of Lord Shiva is about 65 ft. high. The Lord is in sitting posture on the Mount Kailash with Ganga flowing behind him. The statue gives a majestic look during the night with its lighting.
Banashankari Temple:- The temple is Situated on Kanakapura Road. IT is the most famous temple of Bangalore. Devotees believe that by worshipping the Goddess Banashankari in Rahukala one’s hardships and poverty will be removed. The temple celebrates its annual festival called Banashankari jatre, in the months of January or February. The festival comprises of cultural programmes, boat festival and Rath yatra. Skanda Purana says that it was here that Devi killed a demon called Durgamasura.
Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy Temple:- This is a historic temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated at Malleswaram, Bangalore. The word ‘kadu’means forest, which refers to the thick vegetation in the surrounding areas. History tells us that the temple had a relation with the Great Maratha leader Shivaji. Huge crowd of devotees visit the temple during Mahashivaratri festival.
Dodda Ganesha Temple:- The temple is situated in the N.R. Colony, Basavanagudi, Bangalore. The idol of Ganesha has an interesting story. Once, Kempegowda the founder Bangalore came across several huge rocks and boulders and a figure of Ganesha etched on one of them. He asked his sculptors to convert this figure into the idol of Lord Ganesha. The idol of lord Ganesha is about 18ft in height and 16ft in width.
Gavi Gangadareshwara:- The temple is located near Basavanagudi. It is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi.Devotees visit specially on Makara Sankaranti day. It is believed that at a particular time in the evening the sun’s rays fall directly on the linga inside the cave, passing through Nandi’s horns. History explains that Kempegowda built this temple in gratitude after being released from his five-year imprisonment by Rama Raya.
Dharmaraya Temple:- Dharmaraya Swamy Temple is situated in Bangalore city, Bangalore District, Karnataka. The Archeology survey department has undertaken the study of the stone, masonry and declared that the age of this temple is more than 800 years. The temple is known for Bangalore’s colorful Karaga festival. The temple is dedicated to Sri Dharma raja Swamy, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. A community known as Vahnikula Kshatriyas is in charge of the celebrations.
Prasanna Veeranjaneya Temple:- The Prasanna Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple is at top of a hillock in Mahalakshmi Layout in the city. The presiding deity Prasanna Veeranjaneya is carved out of a single monolithic rock is 22-foot.People worship the idol with great reverence. The huge rock depicts a simple figure of Anjaneya in a standing position holding the ‘parvatha’ in his right hand and the ‘Ghadha’ in his left hand with his palm resting on his thigh. On his chest is etched, the figure of Lord Sri Rama.
Sugreeva Venkateshwara Temple:- The temple is Located in Balepet area. The temple houses idols of Sugreeva and Venkateshwara. The inner shrine of the temple has an idol of Lord Venkateshwara placed on a pedestal. The Sugreeva idol is about six feet in height and appears like Hanuman.
Kannika Parameshwari Temple:- The Goddess is popular among the devotees in and around Malleshwaram.The Temple has a fascinating feature – Marble Mandira and Darpana Mandira (Mirror Mandir) depicting Rishis, Bhagavad-Gita and Vasavi history.
Venkataramanswamy Temple:- This is a small temple with some interesting Carvings, built by Chikkadevaraj Wodeyar. There are paintings of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on the walls and an idol of Venkatarama in the sanctorum. Built in typical Dravidian style, this temple has survived through the reign of Chikkadevaraj Wodeyar, Sultan Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan.
Bull Temple:- Bull Temple was constructed in 16th century and is dedicated to a sacred bull – Nandi carved out of a single granite block. The temple is a typical specimen of Dravidian architecture. Kallekai parse an annual festival is celebrated at the time of harvesting of peanuts during the month of Nov-Dec.Thousands of visitors throng the city to participate in the festival from all over the state.
Ranganathaswamy Temple:- Ranganathaswamy Temple is a temple in Bangalore, India. It is dedicated to Lord Ranganathaswamy. The temple is built in the Vijayanagara style of architecture and has beautifully carved granite pillars.