After our rendezvous with Amrutheswara temple in the morning, we reached Bhadravati by noon for a brief sojourn at the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. The modest temple with a rich history, tucked in the center of the town was abuzz with the footfall of the morning worshipers when we reached there. They were trying to finish their prayers, worships, pooja and get the blessings of the lord before the temple closed for the morning.
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| Front entrance to the temple |
The earth was baked crisp by the early summer sun and we had to scamper for cooler grounds after stepping barefoot out of the car. All the coconut water we had devoured after the Amrutheswara temple visit had long evaporated during our traverse through the multiple twists and turns to reach this temple.
Even before we walked into the temple, the aroma of the fresh hot 'prasada' or temple offering that was being served generously to the devotees under the giant Peepal tree wafted towards us. We had to ignore that for the time being, while we rushed towards the temple, to get at least a few minutes before the doors closed.
The floor of the 13th century temple, shielded by the makeshift shelter, was marginally cooler than outside and as our toes relaxed, we could finally take in the essence of this ancient monument.
This is another fine yet simple Hoysala structure. A small flight of stairs leads to the first level. This level which is about a meter high from the ground level runs as a platform all around the temple for the devotees to perform their 'Pradakshina' ( walk clockwise around the temple).
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| The well worn elephants at the temple base |
The star shaped platform has elephants at equal intervals at the base, indicating a strong foundation by supporting the weight of the temple on their backs. The noon sun ensured I once again had to scamper on my toes to get some images of these magnificent carvings.
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| Another view of the elephants at the temple base |
Another small flight of three steps led to a narrow open mantapa supported by the typical lathe turned pillars in true Hoysala style. The temperature suddenly seemed to drop by another couple of degrees. The stone seating on either side looked very inviting, but others before us were already soaking in the soothing comfort of the soft soapstone.
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| A view of the outer wall |
We stepped inside the closed mantapa that led to the sanctum. Illuminated entirely by modern day lighting, the otherwise dark interiors led to the inner sanctum where the main deity 'Lakshmi Narasimha' sat majestically. I was trying to imagine the temple before the advent of electricity, when the dim glow of traditional lighting would have been the only way to see the richly decorated idols within. Since no photography is allowed inside, I leave it to your imagination to make up the images.
The priest brothers who were taking care of the proceedings wrapped up their priestly duties and came out to sit on the seats in the outer mantapa. Ranganatha Sharma, the elder brother and Shreenivasa Sharma, the younger brother come from a family that have been associated with this temple for over 95 years. This had resulted in a strong bond with the temple and as happy as they were to share its stories we were equally happy to listen.
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| Another view of the outer wall |
The refreshing breeze was highly relaxing and as each of them handed out the 'prasada and theertha' ( holy offering and holy water) to the last minute devotees exiting the temple, they fondly regaled us with some interesting facts about this ancient structure.
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| The outer mantapa |
Bhadravati town, gaining its name from the river Bhadra on whose banks it stood has grown and prospered around the temple almost engulfing it. It was initially known as Venkipura and then Benkipura, from there to Lakshmipura and then finally came to settle as Bhadravati. People from around the town however seem to be well aware of the religious significance of this temple as the temple sees a good flow of devotees even on a normal day.
Ranganatha Sharma told us that Rama himself has come to this temple to rid himself of a curse and
Yudishtra has come here to atone for all of his sins of killing his own kith and kin during the Kurukshetra war. Some legends suggest it was Arjuna who visited the temple.
Along with Lord Narasimha in the inner sanctum, the closed mantapa also hosts Lord Ganesha, Goddess Sharada Devi, Lord Krishna and Lord Purushottama. The Ganesha here is devoid of his usual weapons and therefore supposed to be very powerful in granting the gifts of both knowledge and wealth.
The temple is as cool as an air-conditioned temple in summer and warm during monsoon and winter, he said. The seats in the open mantapa where they were sitting right now, were used by village elders to pass judgments in conflicts and other cases needing mediation. He added that the Peepal tree outside the temple was more than 1000 years old.
"Did you see the man on the north eastern side wearing a full coat?", asked Ranganatha Sharma. "That was the man who oversaw the entire temple construction", he added. History states that the temple was restored by Hoysala Veeranarasimha who was the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana’s grandson.
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| The temple carvings which we will visit in part II |
We will visit the man in the overcoat in part two of this article where we can take a walk around the temple and see the other carvings too.
Location map:
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