Bull Full View
God Bull Photo
The "Bull Temple" is located in
Bangalore, 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 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.Hindus are only
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.
Architecture
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. It 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.
Legend
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).
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.
Main Attraction
In
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.
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