The Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi (also spelt Sibi) is located in the Tumkur taluk of

Tumkur district Tumakuru District is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is the third largest district in Karnataka by land area with an area of 10,598 km2, and fourth largest by Population. It is a one-and-a-half-hour drive from ...

, in the

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 ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. Seebi is located on National Highway 4, just 20 km north of

Tumkur Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

city.

History and legend

Entrance mantapa of the Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi

According to the renowned British Raj era historian and

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

B. Lewis Rice Benjamin Lewis Rice (17 July 1837 – 10 July 1927), popularly known as B. L. Rice, was a British historian, archaeologist and educationist. He is known for his pioneering work in deciphering inscriptions, especially in Kannada, and in Sansk ...

, legend has it that once a merchant carrying grain on bullocks stopped at Sibi. When a pot of grain was boiled on a projecting rock, its color turned blood red causing the merchant, his attendants and the buffalos to swoon. While in the unconscious state, the god Narasimha appeared in the merchant's dream and informed him the rock was his abode and that the merchant should build a temple for him at that spot as atonement for desecrating his abode. A small temple was thus built by the merchant. In more recent times, the consecration of a larger temple over the pre-existing shrine was taken up by three wealthy brothers: Lakshminarasappa, Puttanna and Nallappa who were the sons of Kacheri Krishnappa, a

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

in the court of King

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

of the

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...

. Story goes that Nallappa had a dream in which the god Narasimha promised him eternal happiness if a temple was raised where it stands today. The completion of the temple construction took ten years. The Narasimha Swamy temple is a simple yet elegant '' Dravidian'' structure built around the end of the 18th century. The main deity of the temple is

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

, an

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 appearanc ...

(incarnation) 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

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" within t ...

.Rice B.L. (1887), pp196-197, ''Mysore: A Gazetteer Compiled for Government - vol 2'', Asian Educational Services,

Architecture and murals

The tower over the entrance is three tiered and the temple has a large ''

prakara A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. A ...

'' (bounding wall) which makes for a large court yard. The open ''

mantapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

'' (hall) leads to a closed ''mantapa'' (or ''navaranga'') which has minor shrines for several Hindu deities:

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, Ambegal Krishna, Sriranga (a form of Vishnu in the reclining posture),

(Vishnu with the head of a Lion),

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

and Saptamatrika. The main attraction in the temple are the

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

paintings on the ceiling and walls of the ''mukhamantapa'' (entrance hall) which depict courtly as well as religious themes such as scenes from the Hindu ''

purana Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

s'' (epics): the ''

Bhagavata The Bhagavata tradition, also called Bhagavatism, refers to an ancient religious sect that traced its origin to the region of Mathura. After its syncretism with the Brahmanical tradition of Vishnu, Bhagavatism became a pan-Indian tradition ...

'', the ''Narasimha Purana'', the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The murals follow the same artistic idiom found in the murals of the

Daria Daulat Bagh Daria Daulat Bagh (literally "Garden of the Sea of Wealth') is a palace located in the city of Srirangapatna, near Mysore in southern India. It is mostly made of teakwood. Srirangapatna is an island in the river Kaveri, about 14 km from ...

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...

. According to the critic Veena Shekar, the art of mural paintings migrated to Karnataka and the murals in this temple are "folkish" in character.Miller, Sam (2012), ''Karnataka: Chapter from Blue Guide India'', Chapter: North Bangalore, Section: Sibi and Sira, Blue Guides,, According to the art historian George Michell, the murals of this temple are among the best from the Mysore period and the courtly paintings depicting processions exude a

Mogul Mogul may refer to: History *Mughal Empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty Persons * Magnate ** Mogul, Secret Service codename for President Trump ** Business magnate, a prominent person in a particular industry **Media mogul, a person who ...

influence.Michell, George (2013), ''Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums'', Chapter: Karnataka, Section: Bengaluru, Sub-section: Sibi, Roli Books Private Limited, The murals on the walls and ceiling are divided into three rows: The first row depicts the ''Krishna Leela'' ("Krishna's play") of the god

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 ...

, the second row depicts a scene from the court of Maharaja

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (14 July 1794 – 27 March 1868) was the twenty-second maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Also known as Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the maharaja belonged to the Wadiyar dynasty and ruled the kingdom for nearly seventy y ...

with Nallappa (one of the sons of the Dewan Krishnappa) in attendance, while the third row depicts a scene from the court of

Haidar Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

and his son

with Kacheri Krishnappa, and Ravanappa and Venkatappa (maternal uncles of Nallappa who held high posts) in attendance. According to Veena Shekar, based on the style, the portrait of Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar III (who ruled after the death of Haider and Tipu Sultan) may have been incorporated in the early 19th century. The ceiling of the main entrance ''mantapa'' has a mural in which the god Krishna plays the flute to other cowherd friends while watching Tipu Sultan fighting a Tiger. The ceiling has four beams each with a mural: the first depicts riderless horses followed by elephants; the second depicts horsemen wearing conical caps (common during the Vijayanagara era) with some horsman in gallop, others carrying flags and a couple on foot; the third depicts horseman, some riding and others on foot followed by elephants and a cart carrying cannons. Michell concurs regarding the likeness these murals bear to the ones in the Virupaksha temple at Hampi as well as at the Siddheshvara temple at Holalgundi, also a late 18th-century construction.Michell, George (1995), p228, ''Architecture and Art of Southern India: Vijayanagara and the Successor States 1350-1750'', Chapter:Paintings, Cambridge University Press,

Gallery

Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi.JPG, Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi Another view of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, View of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Another view of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, View of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Another view of dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, ravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg, Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi

References

External links

* * * * {{Cite web, last=Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple, date=, title=Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple - Google Search, url=https://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en-gb&sxsrf=ALeKk03TVEPMvhLSL47IYVaN5V6Pj5YZTA:1606421853544&q=Seebi+Narasimha+Swamy+Temple&ludocid=12838570342262592383&lsig=AB86z5XRrqOGykQc2onuqghBJF_Y&kgs=3a9bd445286db156&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/local, url-status=live, archive-url=, archive-date=, access-date=2020-11-26, website=www.google.co.in Hindu temples in Tumkur district Narasimha temples