The
"Bull Temple" is found in Bangalore the capital
of Karnataka. , the bull is honoured as Shiva's mount in this
temple on the same platform as the Vishvanath Temple. It is
also called "Nandi temple". The temple has a giant
bull (4.6 metres tall), carved out of a single boulder. It
is a sculptural masterpiece. In Kannada, Basava means bull,
which gives the name Basavanagudi to the locality. The temple
has a giant bull (4.6 metres tall), carved out of a single
boulder. It is a sculptural masterpiece.
Bull Temple it faces the Shiva temple. A statue of Nandi the
bull of Shiva is inside flanked at the back with statues of
God Surya and Goddess Candra on their chariots drawn by horses.
Non Hindus are not allowed in the temple. The temple is busy
always with some ceremony or other going on. On weekends there
are musicians who are performing at the temple. The Bull Temple
is dedicated to Lord Shiva's Vahana (vehicle), Nandi the bull.
Here you can find a huge monolithic statue of the sitting
bull that draws a large number of people to this place every
day.
The temple has a grey granite sacred bull, Nandi, after which
the temple has been named. The sacred bull has been carved
out of a single granite block. It measures 4.57 mt in height
and 6.10 mt in length. The Bhoganandiswara temple at the foothills
of Nandi Hills goes back to the period of the Banas, Cholas,
Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar Kings.. Bhoganandiswara, Umamaheswara
and Arunachaleswara are enshrined here. The kalyanamandapa
is of great beauty here.The Yoganandiswara temple atop the
hill goes back to the Chola period. It received extensive
patronage from the Vijayanagar Kings. The pillars and metalwork
deserve special mention.The image has been carved out of single
granite rock. The original colour of Nandi bull was grey which
has now turned black due to the application of coconut oil
by the devotees. The statue of the bull has been carved out
of a single rock. The temple built by Kempe Gowda, a typical
example of the Dravidian-style temple, is situated in Basavanagudi.
The temple has a huge monolithic bull 4.5m tall and 6m long.
It is believed that the source of the river Vishwa Bharathi
originates from the feet of the Nandi. The bull has a small
iron plate on its head to prevent it, as tradition says, from
growing. Also there is a Ganesh temple, with a large deity
made of 110 kilos of butter. The deity of butter is broken
up and distributed every four years. In Kannada, Basava means
bull, which gives the name Basavanagudi to the locality. This
is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore situated in basavanagudi
dedicated to Nandi, the mount of Lord Shiva. Kempe Gowda built
this temple in the 16th century. The magnificent Nandi, 15
feet tall and over 20 feet long has been carved out of single
granite rock. Farmers offer the first groundnuts to the sacred
bull.
One can see in the shrine atop the hill a massive garlanded
black and shiny Nandi (Shiva's mount, the bull) ensconced,
which dates back to 1786. The size of the Nandi is overwhelming.
At the back is a small Lingam shrine. Its modern Gopuram rises,
gracefully and majestically. The underground "Sri-Gavi
Gandadhareshwara Temple" is equally fascinating, where
on every year on January 14th (Makara Sankranti) it is believed
that a ray of light passes between the horn of a Nandi outside
the temple and lights the idol kept inside. Three levels of
excavations have been carried out in the cave. One can see
the black stone Hanuman. On the way to the Bull Temple there
is one a temple dedicated to the Elephant God Ganesha. The
Bull temple is a buzz with great activity during the Shivratri
festival. The surrounding area, known as Sunkenahalli had
groundnut growing farmers. A bull started grazing on the well-grown
crop enraging a farmer who hit the bull with a club. The bull
sat stunned and was suddenly transformed into a stone. The
shocked farmers then decided to build a temple for the bull
to atone for what they had done, but were shocked to see that
the bull was growing taller! The worried farmer then prayed
to Lord Shiva who advised him to retrieve a trident buried
a few feet away from the bull and place the trident on the
forehead of the stone statue to stop it from growing. This
was done and the bull stopped growing. The thankful farmers
decided to place their first crop of groundnut as an offering
to the bull. Though in reality there is a trident on the forehead
of the bull, this story is a legend and lacks historical evidence.
Hence, this handsome Bull Temple was built and the bull apparently
took the hint and stayed away from the groundnuts. The thankful
farmers continue to hold a Groundnut Fair (kadalekayi parishe)
near the temple premises every year, to show their gratitude.
It is one of the places to visit in Bangalore. Kempe Gowda
got constructed many temples dedicated to Anjaneya (God of
Power), Vinayaka (God of good fortune), Nandi (Shiva's bull
mount).
In the moth of Nov. & Dec. every year, when the groundnuts
have been harvested, Kadalekayi Parishe (The Groundnut fair)is
held near the temple. The first groundnuts are offered by
the farmers to the sacred bull. Dodda Ganapati, a manificent
image of the Lord, is enshrined adjacent to the Bull temple.
It is believed that the source of the river Vishva Bharti
originates at the feet of the statue.
