Keshava temple that was constructed in the 12^th century is known for its architectural creativity of the Hoysala Kings. Samantha a General officer during the rule of King Narasimha III took up the initiative of Keshava Temple. Hoysala had many splendid rock cut temples but only Keshava Temple is surviving at present.

Somanthapura

Somanthapura situated on the banks of river Cauvery is a village known for its serene beauty. The major attraction of this place is the Keshava temple. Somanatha who was a commander during the rule of Hoysala dynasty got this temple constructed. Both religious and cultural activities are given equal importance.

The Temple 

It’s a wonderful temple engraved of rocks. It has got a beautiful borderline with interesting adorned campus and a large gate that welcomes all the visitors. You get see the temple which is placed upon an elevated platform in the shape of a star. The temple holds a beautiful art of sculptors. Inscriptions on the rocks portray some scenes of the Hindu mythology. Complete upper row of the temple walls is carved with the images of Lord Vishnu. At the entrance you can find 3 different holy places and 3 sanctums for 3 Lords that is adorned with interesting inscriptions and sculptors. The chamber located in the South is for Lord Venugopala that holds a hugs statue of the Lord Venugopala on a platform. Sanctum in the north is of Lord Janardhana with which has a huge idol of Janardhana and the central hall is for Lord Keshva. Initially it had a statue but later due to some disaster it got demolished. In order to attract the tourists some pillars of exclusive artwork is placed here. The upper part of the sanctums has obscure rock carvings that can be viewed from far distant.

From the above description of the temple it shows the hard work of the architects of the olden days who held both in combination the holy spirits as well as culture and tradition of the people. It showcases beautiful stonework and architecture of ancient Hindu mythology embraced elephants that are considered to be a bearer of the universe. One can say that this temple represents the entire universe.

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South India is known for its ancient artistic temples that represent its culture and tradition. One of the famous temples of Mysore is the Chamundi Temple that is situated on Chamundi Hills. Deity in this temple is Goddess Chamundi or Chamundeshwari.

The description of the temple

The main attraction is the Dravidian style of architecture through out the temple. Quadrangular structural pattern of the temple, the carvings on the pillars of the entrance all this comes under typical Dravidian art that gives a beautiful look for the temple. A huge pyramid style structure welcomes you at the entrance. You will find complicated designs done on the gateway. The temple has also got silver plated doors that hold many mythological figures done with great patience.

At first you get to see Lord Ganesha, the devotees stand in long queues in order to touch the footprints of Goddess Chamundi that is placed at the entrance of the temple. As you enter the temple you can find a beautiful sanctum on upon which you can find the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari. Goddess Chamundeshwari is worshiped with immense devotion and is believed to protect the entire city from any disaster. An additional attraction to all these is the statue of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III facing the idol representing immense devotion he had for the Goddess.

The festivals celebrated in the Temple

Dasara is the main festival celebrated at this place. Takes place for almost 10 days with many ceremonies and spectacular traditional shows done here. At this point of time you get see devotees coming from different parts of the state, senior priests chant Vedic mantras all through the day in front of the deity. Rathothsawa is another attraction of this festival where a huge number of devotees indulge themselves to pull the wooden chariot that was presented by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar. Here even culture and tradition is given importance as you can find many artists performing during the festival that represents Indian ethnicity. Religion, devotion, culture and tradition all these catch the attention of devotees and make them desperate to visit this place.

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Hill range of Karnataka called Biligiriranga hills or known as BR Hills is famous for its serene beauty and Biligiriranga Swami Temple. A place that holds blue sky, green mountains and blue lakes that creates a perfect picturesque for nature lovers. Located in the midst of Western and Eastern Ghats you can find a unique variety of flora and fauna.

You can find many unusual species of plants and animals in the thick forest of BR Hills. Apart from the sanctuary point of BR Hills it is also known for the Biligiri Ranganna Temple.

The Biligiri Ranganna Temple:

Location: Situated in Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka on the ‘White Cliff’ the highest peak of the BR mountain range.

 History: It was constructed at the ages of Lord Ram and Lord Parashurama found in the epic of Ramayana. It is said that the temple was built at the place where Lord Ram and Lord Parashurama was praying Lord Ranganatha and Sage Vasista installed the deity of this temple.

Description: Temple is beautifully placed on the top of a rock face and the stone pillars have beautiful messages carved that are associated with ancient facts. You also get see the artistic carved figures of Goddess Saraswati, Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, Lord Hanuman and others mentioned in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Lord Ranganatha and Goddess Lakshmi are worshipped here where people stand till the Pooja is completed. The deity of this place is worshipped under three names Srinivasa, Venkataswara and Ranganatha. Thousands of people stand in a long queue for to reach the temple and see the idol.

Festival associated with the temple: Ideal time to visit the temple is during car festival that takes place once in 2 years. People of that place get together and celebrate this festival with great devotion and enthusiasm.

How to reach the temple?

Accessing Mysore is an easy task and BR Hills is about 82kms from Mysore main town. You can find private and government buses to this place from different parts of the state. So please don’t miss this place if you turn up to Mysore.

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