Bangalore Shiva Temple

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One of the latest tourist attractions of Bangalore city, the IT hub of India, is the Shiva temple on Old Airport Road. This temple is on the backside of Total Mall, a.k.a. Kemp Fort Shopping Complex.

The temple is open all 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Unlike the other South Indian temples, it does not have a tower. The highlight of the temple is the massive icon of Lord Shiva. 

It is a commercialized private temple. You can only enter the temple through the passage where the shops are on either side. After entering the temple, you can find an extensive list of specialized poojas and other rituals, and everything has a price tag. The temple authorities claim that the money goes to some charities.

Near the entrance, there is a big sculpture of Lord Ganesha. After that, there is a shrine named Jyotirlinga, for which you must pay additional fees to enter. This is a long shrine where you can find the representation of all 12 Jyotirlingas. Similarly, there is another shrine named 'Char Dham' for which you need to pay additionally. This shrine has artificial caves and icons representing Hardwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. There is also an artificial cave and snow Shiv Linga representing Amarnath.

The center of attraction of the temple is 65 feet tall Shiva. Seated in yogic posture with artificial mountains on his backside, an artificial pond stands in front of him. The other side of the pond has Nandi facing him. It is designed, so that water (representing the river Ganga) keeps flowing out of his head.

Near the pond, the icons of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesh are found. There is a separate shrine where Navagrahas (nine planets) are found along with their respective consorts.

I would not suggest you visit this temple if you are a pure devotee. If you are a mere traveler, who would love to see various sites, you should pay attention to this place.

Happy travelling.



Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.


 
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

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