One of the renowned, and ancient temples, in Bangalore, this shrine is a cave temple of Lord Shiva. This temple is said to have been built by Maharishi Gautama, and Bharadwaja Muni, in the Vedic epoch. In the 16th century AD, this archaic shrine got renovated by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore, after being released from the captives of Rama Raya. Famous for its architectural wonder, this shrine attracts lots, of devotees.
It is believed that, if you worship this deity, with utmost devotion, all sorts of eye defects, will be cured. This pilgrim place, in Bangalore, has four monolithic pillars, out of which, two pillars embody, Lord Shiva’s Damaru, and Trishul. The main attractions of the Gavi Gangadhareshvara temple, are the two granite pillars, that support the colossal quoit, of the sun and moon, while the other two have, have several carvings of Nandi on the top.
The temple was, built more than three centuries ago, and faces the south-west direction.
There are two structures, in this temple called Chandrapana and Suryapana. Each of these structures consists, of a mammoth disc, on top of a supporting pillar. On an auspicious evening, of Makara Sankranthi, sun rays pass-through the Nandi idol and directly fall, on the Shiva Linga. This is a very unique moment, that comes only, once a year, on January 14th. Therefore, hundreds of disciples throng this temple, just to have a glimpse of the Lord, in that sunlight.
As per a belief, this temple comprises two secret tunnels. The first tunnel, lead you to, the Garbha Gudi, or the sacrarium of the Shivagange temple, which is situated around 50kms from, Bangalore. However, if you choose to, go in the second tunnel, it will take you, straight towards, Varanasi. Several people, term this, as an astounding aspect, and scientists are still, trying to figure out the real, reason behind this, miracle.
According to mythology, the holy river Ganga flows, constantly from the locked hair of Lord Shiva, in this place in a form of a thin, stream. Engraved out of a monolithic, huge boulder, Sri Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple also consists, of idols like Agni Deva, the fire God. As the Lord is, placed inside a cave, it will be very cool, and placid inside.
Temple timings – 6 AM to 12:30 PM, and 5 PM to 8 PM.
Address of this Temple – Gavipuram Extention, Kempegowda Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560019
