Today’s guest post comes from a wonderful travel blogger or bloggers to be more precise, Dhiraj Shenoy and His wife Amrutha, coming over from Team G Square. They love treading the off the beaten track and bring forth these lesser known magnificent places through their crisp commentary and terrific captures. If you want a taste of the rich heritage and culture of India, do read their travel experiences and I assure you won’t leave disappointed. In this blog post, he shares one such ancient temple near Bengaluru. Read on...
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C R Patna or Channarayapatna is a taluk Headquarter situated on the Bangalore – Mangalore Highway NH 48, about 40 km from Hassan. There is a lovely Hoysala temple here, dedicated to Lord Chennakeshava and built during the 11th Century. Though simple in its external architectural features, the temple interiors are grand, as in every Hoysala temple.
Lord Chennakeshava Temple
The artwork on the ceiling is an excellent example of the Hoysala architecture. The pillars, dwarapalas (guards) and the door frames are extremely intricate and decorative. The garbagriha (sanctum sanctorum) houses a beautiful life size idol of Lord Chennakeshava (Vishnu). There is also an idol of Kalingamardana (rarely seen in the form of an individual idol elsewhere) inside the temple. The front porch of the temple is a later addition by the Nayakas of Holenarsipura. There is a Garuda Khambha (pole) in front of the temple.
Idol of Kalingamardana
Central ceiling inside the temple
Broken ceiling
A Pillar in the temple
Dwarpala at the entrance of the sanctum
Inscription giving details of the temple construction
Garud Khamba
The Legend of this place as explained by the temple priest is as follows, “Kotalur (original name C R Patna), was once ruled by the Hoysalas and they built a temple here dedicated to Lord Chennakeshava”. This temple became famous in those days as people suffering from various diseases got cured after offering prayers here. Once, the prince of Holenarsipura was suffering from polio and all the efforts of the Nayaka King in curing him went in vain. It was then that the royal priest advised him to take the prince to the Chennakeshava temple in Kotalur and perform some rituals there. Acting accordingly, the Nayaka King took his son to the temple and performed the necessary rituals. In no time, the prince was cured of Polio and after this instance, he was renamed as Channa Raya and the place was renamed as Channarayapatna in the honor of the god who saved him.
Rear view of the temple
Though the temple was restored some time ago, there seems to be a failure in maintenance. This being a live temple and situated amidst a town, should have been strictly maintained.
Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore – NH 48 – C R Patna
Distance from Bangalore: 130 km
Places to visit around: Anekere, Nuggenahalli, Mosale, Hassan, Shantigrama and Many more.
45 Comments
An interesting destination! Well captured
ReplyDeleteI have personally visited Blog of Team G Square before and have liked their Pics.
ReplyDeleteThis Post was no different.
Best Wishes :)
Fascinating and intriguing post and excellent captures for the day, Arti, as always! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Another good account Dhiraj and thanks to Arti for bringing it here...
ReplyDeleteSad to see the heritage complex crumble in midst of a bustling town!
wonderful, I really enjoyed this tour :)
ReplyDeleteReally some brilliant detail in this temple.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful information about Chennakeshava temple. I am sad that we Hindus are least bothered in preserving our heritage. Despite being a live temple the apathy by the management is unpardonable.
ReplyDeleteSo magical. I especially love the shot of the temple.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots of the the lesser known temple.
ReplyDeleteDear Arti
ReplyDeleteHow are you? Just trying read as many posts as possible. I missed so much during stay abroad and now I have to go back to the deserts in few days. :-(. I like the idea of hosting guest posts and we will know much more about places. My special thanks to you, Dhiraj and Amruta for this nice article.
Let me see what all I have missed. I wont be able post any thing this time. Cant get used to kitchen and did not have a kitchen in Sahara ha ha .
Have a nice week
Interesting destination indeed. I'm gonna be shameless and ask what food tastes good there... ;)
ReplyDeleteseems very intresting thanks fr sharing:)
ReplyDeleteThere is so much culture and history in India, the sad part is when they don't maintain it and keep it alive. Wish we Indians were more aware of how much we have and not acknowledge!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Dhiraj and Amrutha for this beautiful and interesting post .And a special thanks to you Arti for presenting this post on your blog .
ReplyDeleteLoving this post, thanks for the introduction to Team G Square.
ReplyDeleteDhiraj's posts are always wonderful. Like you said, he covers the temples and heritage site off the beaten track. I had visited Channapatna over 30 years ago and it was still a village and the temple not so decrepit.
ReplyDeleteWith each post of yours my list of places to cover increases.. Thanks a lot Arti and TeamGSquare for sharing this..
ReplyDeletewell proportioned temple...thanks for sharing Arti.
ReplyDeleteVery nice and interesting photos and reportaz Arti!
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
@Arti Thanks a lot for another wonderful post.Nice photographs.
ReplyDeleteI want to add my thanks to Team G Square for a terrific post and marvelous photos!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
thanks for the information
ReplyDeleteits nice to know about this place
will keep in mind when i go to bengluru
A great place and great clicks...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the share. And i am excited to know your wife's name Dhiraj...:)
This is indeed wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures, interesting place. Thank you for sharing. :):)
ReplyDeleteLovely post by TGS!
ReplyDeleteLove to see you here TGS.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a virtual tour.. India has such beautoful places to visit ..
ReplyDeleteand i have a long list to see them in my lifetime
Bikram's
i like the legend. well documented !
ReplyDelete~laura
nice place...
ReplyDeletealso thanks Team G Square...
Wow! Stunning photos again. Very interesting stories about this place.
ReplyDeleteThe design of the central ceiling or pillars is tasteful and the inside looks cool.
ReplyDeleteThe houses behind Garud Khamba are cute,colorful.
I thought the many venerable old temples dot in the modern city.
Have a nice week ahead!
Arti , thanks for having us in your wonderful Blog .
ReplyDeleteThank you @ everyone for appreciating the beauty of this temple .
@ Vishal , No food is served at the temple , but there are many restaurant in C R Patna .
interesting!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful places indeed.The snaps are perfectly complimenting the post.
ReplyDelete@Team G Square Oh, My pleasure entirely. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful article and gracing this little yatra diary of mine :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating place to visit.
ReplyDeletewow .. that was quite an interesting story to know how the name evolved!!!
ReplyDeleteregards
rahul
Hubby and I probably will not be able to visit this area, as Bangalore is in the south. We plan to tour the northern part of India.
ReplyDeleteLove the history and photos. Thanks so much for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteThe intricacy of the carvings always amazes me.
ReplyDeleteWonderful temples, the first one seems to be quite ancient of all, loved it ... nice pics :-)
ReplyDeleteYour work is so appreciated. Beautiful way for readers to know about temples and heritage in different places in India. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI’m so attracted by the different architecture style from the Western's as well as ours. The ornate carving is mysteriously fascinating and somewhat short and thick pillar is imposing. As inside is dim and looks cold, I’d feel separated from the outside world. Thank you for taking us off the beaten track, Arti.
ReplyDeleteFantastic..
ReplyDeleteIt has been a while, I read blog posts..I am slowly clearing the backlog..I read all your posts that I missed in the last few weeks..
I always look forward to your great posts Arti..!
Delighted you stopped by... Your suggestions, feedback are really appreciated. Thanks a lot :) Hope you visit again!
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