Located, in a small village known as, Hedethale in the town of Nanjangud, this magnificent temple is an abode of Lord Vishnu. Established by the Hoysala King, Vishnuvardhana, in the 12th century, this temple has huge premises and is, one of the best temples for, disciples seeking tranquility. Inside this temple, you can find, the idol of the main deity, Sri Lakshmikantha Swamy, along with idols of Lord Narasimha Swamy, Lord Venugopala Swamy, and a captivating idol, of Goddess Andal Devi. The specialty of this idol is, though it looks like a normal idol in the light, during pooja and archana time, all the lights are switched off, and the pandit requests, every disciple, present there to closely observe the idol.
Once the aarti is placed, near the forehead of the Goddess, the eyes look real and seem like, looking straight into your, eyes. This kind of, realistic experience is rare, to find in any of the temples, across the world. One of the, less explored temples, this is truly an ideal example, of architectural wonders, in the entire Karnataka. As we move further inside a hall, you will find a Chavadi. As per a legend, this Chavadi was built by a Palegara, who had 16-daughters, and 16-son-in-laws. Hence, it became very problematic, for him to identify which person is, associated with which, daughter.
So an idea struck his head, to build a 16 faced hall (Chavadi), comprising of 16 seats, in the symmetric form so that, husband/wife could sit next to each other, and the Palegara finds it easy to communicate with, all of his sons-in-law. As there, was a tradition that a mother-in-law, should not see her sons-in-law directly, the Chavadi, therefore, was built in such a way that, if the Palegara stood with his wife under one mandapa, only he could see all his daughters and the sons-in-law together, whereas the Palegara’s wife could view, just her daughters, as her sons-in-law were, deliberately hidden behind, the pillars constructed.
Address – Hedethale Village, Karnataka 571312
Directions – If you are traveling, in your own vehicle, then take the route of SH17 towards Mysore, continue on Mysore-Ooty road, after crossing Nanjangud town, drive for around 5 km, before turning left towards Hedathale. By public transport: Plenty of direct buses ply from Bangalore to Mysore and Mysore to Nanjangud. From Nanjangud hire a private taxi or auto.
Contact Details – Narayana SV: +91 9880552361
Timings – 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM and 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
