The main story of this temple can be found here.
It was an incredible feeling when I got a chance to visit the Veeranarayana
Swamy temple at Belavadi again. I had started this year with a visit
to this temple in January. I do not know how it works, but I guess some
energy from the temple made sure I visited the temple again before the
year-end.
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| The seven doorways or Sapthadwara |
As I set foot inside the temple, I could sense the same incredible energy
that had swamped me last time, emanate from every single carved pillar. The
temple was as silent and as peaceful as before. I could barely keep myself
from literally hugging one of the pillars in gratitude.
It was just past sunset and as the evening sun withdrew with its last rays
sinking in the sky, the temperature began to dip making way for a crisp
winter night.
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| The glistening pillars |
The last time I was here, I could see the entire temple, but for the main
idols as the chief priest was away. This time however, the rest of the
temple was enveloped in the darkness of the evening while the main idols of
Veeranarayana and the idols of Venugopala and Yoga Narasimha glistened in
the flickering lights of the oil lamps at their feet.
Even as we entered we could see the idol in the main sanctum, deep inside
the temple from across many doorways. The priest told us that there are
seven doorways and hence it is called as Sapthadwara.
He also told us that on March 23rd each year the rays of the rising sun
crosses each of these doorways and lights up the idol of Veeranarayana. So
immaculate is the calculation in this wonderful piece of
architecture.
The idols are made of Saligrama while the entire temple is made of
soapstone. In fact, the idol of Venugopala has been described as the most
beautiful idol ever. Needless to say, all of us were sufficiently
mesmerized. Since photography inside the sanctums is strictly
prohibited, I cannot show them to you here but am hoping the description is
powerful enough to help you decide on a visit to this temple.
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| Close up of the pillars |
By now the darkness had completely descended so with a whole lot of
reluctance it was time to turn back, but not before glimpsing the almost
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn from the temple complex.
From my experience, I would strongly advocate visiting this temple on a
weekday early evening and spending some time just sitting on the stone
benches and absorbing the energy. The magic is unmistakable.
Location map:
Very nice
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