Bull Temple Bangalore
 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.
¤ About Bull Temple In Bangalore
The "Bull Temple" is situated in Bangalore - the capital of
Karnataka. The sculpture of bull is the holy deity in the temple, also
known as "Nandi Temple". The gigantic bull measuring 4.57m
in height and 6.10 m in length is carved out of a single rock. It is a
sculptural magnum opus.
This Bull Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva's Vahana (vehicle), Nandi
the bull. Large number of devotees visits the enormous monolithic
statue of the sitting bull every day.
Nandi the bull of Shiva faces the temple of Lord Shiva haunch at the
back with sculptures of God Surya and Goddess Candra on their chariots
drawn by horses. There is a small Lingam shrine bedecked with the
exquisite Gopuram. The underground "Sri-Gavi Gandadhareshwara
Temple" holds its own charm, every year on 14th January known as
Makar Sankranti festival, it is believed that a ray of light passes
between the horn of a Nandi outside the temple and lights the idol
kept inside. The Bull temple is full of liveliness during the
Shivratri festival.
Non Hindus are not allowed in the temple. There are continous festive
celebrations throughout the year assisted by the musical programs held
in the temple premises.
Timings: Entry to the temple
is free and the daily timings are from 6a.m. to 8 p.m.
¤ Bull Temple - Ancient Legend
The legend has it that the surrounding area of the temple, known as
Sunkenahalli was cultivated for groundnut. A bull started grazing in
the well-grown groundnut crop, at this, a farmer got furious and hit
the bull with a club. Immediately the bull sat down becoming
motionless and was transformed into a stone. Poor farmers were left
stun and felt guilty. For their repentance they decided to build a
temple for the bull, to their surprise the bull was growing in height.
The worried farmer then prayed to Lord Shiva who advised them to
redeem 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.
Farmers followed the Lord's advice and the bull stopped growing. Still
one can see the trident place on bull's forehead.
Since then farmers offer their first crop of groundnut to the bull.
The farmer's hold a Groundnut fair known as Kadalekayi Parishe, near
the temple premises every year, to show their thankfulness. It is one
of the worth visiting places in Bangalore.
¤ Architecture
The Bull temple Bangalore is a typical specimen of the Dravidian-style of temple
architecture constructed by Kempe Gowda. The temple is nestling in
Basavanagudi housing a scared bull of Lord Shiva, it is believed that
the source of the river Vishwa Bharathi originates from the feet of
the Nandi. There is a Ganesh temple inside the premises with a large
deity all made of 110 kilos of butter. The deity of butter is
distributed as a prashada (God's food) every four years.
Farmers offer the first groundnuts to the sacred bull. The
Bhoganandiswara temple at the foothills of Nandi Hills goes back to
the period of the Banas, Cholas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar Kings.
The image has been carved out of single granite rock. The original
color of Nandi bull was gray which has now turned black due to the
application of coconut oil by the devotees.
¤ Festivity
Anually, Kadalekayi Parishe -the Groundnut Fair is held near the
temple during the month of November- December when the groundnut crop
is harvested. Farmers offer the first groundnuts harvest to the sacred
bull. Thousand of visitors and devotees throng the temple site from
all over the state.
¤ Accessibility To The Bull Temple
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus regularly
operates from the all over the state to the Park. Coaches of B.T.S.,
I.T.D.C., are also available. Tourist coaches and taxis are also
available for the park. |
