Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a hill (betta in Kannada) located in the Gundlupete Taluk,

Chamarajanagar district Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is the southernmost district in the state of Karnataka, India. It was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in 1998. Chamarajanagar town is the headquarters of this district. It is the third leas ...

of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

at a height of 1450m and is extensively wooded. It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wild life including

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

s. Dense fog predominates and covers the hills round the year and thus gets the prefix ''Himavad''(in the language of

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

) and the temple of Venugopalaswamy (Lord

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

) gives the full name of Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta. Its geographic coordinates are: Latitude 12.97°Ne and longitude 77.56°E.

Access

It is approximately 220 km from

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

and 75 km from

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

on the Mysore

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

road -10 km away from Gundlupete, which is 60 km away from Mysore. There is a motorable road all the way to the top of the hill. No entry for private vehicles, visitors have to take the Govt bus organised by the Karnataka state transport from the Foothills. Materials used for pooja (prayers) alone such as flowers, fruits, Incense sticks etc. are permitted. Other food items are not permitted to be carried in. All these materials should be carried in non-plastic bags. Visitors are allowed from around 8:30am till 4pm. Overnight stay on top is not allowed. Private vehicles are not allowed beyond the forest check post. One has to make use of the mini bus arranged by forest department to visit the temple. Per person round trip ticket will cost Rs.60 First bus will operate at 8:30 am and last bus is at 4:00 pm. There is a forest department guest house at the top of the hill, which is not available for public, only public servants on official duty are allowed to use it. Best Season to Visit the temple is in winter and in Rainy.

History

The temple was built in hoysala Era in 1315. King Chola Ballala built this iconic temple. Later the Wodeyars

Wodeyar dynasty The Wadiyar dynasty (formerly spelt Wodeyer or Odeyer, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore), is a late-medieval/ early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city. ...

of Mysore improved the hill temple.

Temple

The temple is dedicated to ''Gopalaswamy'', which is one of the names of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

God

. The ''

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...

'' of the temple is single-tiered and rests on the compound wall of the enclosure. A ''dhwajastambha'' (flag-pillar) and a ''bali-peetam'' (

sacrificial altar Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly ex ...

) is present in the ''mukha mantapa'' (inner-porch). The parapet wall of the façade of the ''mukha mantapa'' contains the sculpture of '' dashavatara'' (the

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

s of the Hindu God

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

) with the centre portion of the sculpture depicting ''Krishnavatara'' (the

in which he appeared as

). There is a ''shikhara'' tower over the ''garbha griha'' (

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...

). The ''garbha griha'' contains an idol of

holding a flute under a tree.

is flanked by his friends and the

posture Posture or posturing may refer to: Medicine * Human position ** Abnormal posturing, in neurotrauma ** Spinal posture ** List of human positions * Posturography Posturography is the technique used to quantify postural control in upright stance in ...

is that of a dance with the left big toe resting on the right one. The panel also features several characters and icons from Krishna's avatar. Lord Gopalaswamy's idol is flanked by his consorts,

Rukmini Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an in ...

and

Satyabhama Satyabhama, also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen-consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as the incarnation of Bhudevi, the goddess and the personification of the earth. She aided Krishna in defeat ...

Legends

Legend says that sage Agastya, performed intense penance and as a result lord

blessed this place and promised to reside here. As this was a place of worship and penance, it used to be called as 'Hamsatheertha', which means the lake of swans in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. Swan acquires a mythological significance in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, symbolizing knowledge, tranquility and salvation.

Wild life

Being a part of the Bandipur National Park, the hills are frequented by grazing wild elephants. The place is also known for its views of the surrounding hills, valleys and visitors may also see sunrise and sunsets from the top.

Location

This temple is located in the heart of Bandipur National Park, Is a vital habitat of wildlife such as Tiger, leopard, Wild Dogs and other herbivores such as Indian Gaur, Chittal, Sambar etc. Venturing beyond the temple premises is an offense as per Wildlife Act 1972, The Forest department is concerned by the increase in number of tourist visiting the temple and causing disturbance. Trekking, Picnicking, partying other activities are punishable offense. Hence visitors are instructed to refrain from venturing beyond the temple premises. To minimize disturbance on wildlife entry timing has been changed to 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. And permitted time to return is 1 hour 30 minutes with effect from 01/Feb/2011.

Gallery

File:GOPALSWAMY HILLS 012.jpg, The Road to GS Hill File:Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta.jpg, The hillroad File:GOPALSWAMY HILLS 107.jpg, File:2012-bandipur-gopalaswamy.jpg, Views from the hill File:Bus to the hill top.jpg, Bus service to the hill top File:Hindu Temple Entrance.jpg, The temple arch File:HimavadGopalaswamyBetta01.JPG, The temple road File:Gopala Swamy Temple in Bandipur National Park.jpg, View of the temple File:2005-himavad-gopalaswamy.jpg, The temple courtyard

References

{{coord, 11, 43, N, 76, 35, E, source:cawiki_region:IN, display=title Hills of Karnataka Geography of Chamarajanagar district Hill stations in Karnataka Tourist attractions in Chamarajanagar district