Yalandur is a

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

and town in

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 ...

in southern

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. It has historic and cultural importance in this region. Along with three other taluks, it was officially included into Chamarajanagar district when the district was notified upon bifurcation of Mysore district in 1997.

Historic importance

It was under the rule of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

in the 15th and 16th centuries. When it came under the rule of

Wadiyar 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 Mysuru, in the early 18th century, Dewan Purnaiah, a notable

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 el ...

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, 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 allia ...

from here, was gifted the

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

of Yalandur and its surrounding villages by

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 ...

- the King of Mysuru, in appreciation of the great service rendered to the

Mysuru 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 ...

State by

Purnaiah Purnaiah (Purniya) (1746 – 27 March 1812), aka Krishnacharya Purniya or Mir Miran Purniya was an Indian Administrator and statesman and the 1st Diwan of Mysore. He has the rare distinction of governing under a sultan and a maharaja, Tip ...

or the Prime Minister.

was instrumental in making the

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

into a strong empire and greatly admired, as son of the soil, for having developed the region with several visionary works.

Economy

Geography

Yelandur is located at .Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Yelandur
/ref> It has an average elevation of 555

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

s (1820

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

). Yalandur is the taluk and city in

Chamarajanagar Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is a town in the southern part of Karnataka, India. Named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile king of Mysore, previously known as 'Arikottara'. Chamarajanagara is the headquarters of Chamarajanagar distr ...

district in

state of

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 ...

. It consists of 33 villages. It is situated about 59 km south-west of

and about 150 km south of

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

on National Highway

NH 209 National Highway 948 (previously designated NH 209), is a highway in India which connects Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu with the city of Bengaluru. It is a spur road of National Highway 48. It passes through Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. The r ...

. In history it was called Cholendra Simha Chaturvedi Mangala and Yele Induru. Later on, it changed into Yalandur.

Demographics

There are 33 villages and the taluk headquarter town of Yelandur being the only urban center. The town has a population of had a population of 8583. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Yalandur has an average literacy rate of 58%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 50%. In Yalandur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

Gaurishvara temple was built in 1550 A.D during the reign of Devabhupala (Singadepa). This temple was rebuilt in 1654 -1655 by Muddabhupa, grand on Devabhupala, as the old temple was highly dilapidated. The temple has some unique features which makes it very distinctive. Though there is no towering entrance gopura (as is common in South Indian temples), it has a mahadwara or gate called "Bale Mantapa" (Bangle entrance) which has exquisitely stone carved themes, on the walls and pillars, depicting mythological stories of Andhakasur

(slaying of demon Andhakasura),

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 ...

(half man – half lion god) in various manifestations of

Dakshinamurthy Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...

and Sharaba,

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhairava ...

, Kalingamardhana Krishna, Vali and

Sugriva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishk ...

. Monolithic stone chains (stone carved rings - 20 cm each) adorn the four corners and the door side of the entrance which gives the name of Bale (Bangle) Mantapa to the temple entrance. Another important temple in the town is

Varahaswamy Temple Sri Varahaswamy Temple, also called Bhu Varahaswamy Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Varaha, situated at hill town of Tirumala in Tirupati, located in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh state, India. The temple is situated on the ...

Varaha Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...

is the third avatar of

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 ...

. A very rare temple of this kind. Every year on the day of Holi, a festival of colors there will be a procession of God varaha in around the temple. One more curious thing in the temple is the idol

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 ...

which is there in south-west corner, is believed to be more worshiped God in the town. It is a very small idol and there is evidence that it is growing in the shape of Ganesha. The famous Kannada poet Sri Shadakshara was from Yalandur. The temple in the town is well known for ornate chains carved out of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

stone.

Education

Mahadwara (grand entrance) to Gaurishvara temple at Yelandur

Tourism

B R Hills The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills (as referred to in biology and geology) is a hill range situated in south-western Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is called Biligiri Ranganatha ...

is one of the major tourist destinations in the taluk. At a height of 5,091 feet above sea level, this hill stretches from north to south for about 16 km. It has been designated as a

tiger reserve Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protectin ...

in view of its tiger population. Kyathadevaraya Gudi (or K Gudi) is another popular tourist destination located within BR Hills.

Image gallery

File:Yelandur. Mariamma Temple.jpg, Mariamma temple File:Yelandur Vigneswara Temple.jpg, Vigneswara Temple File:Yelandur.ITI.jpg, Technical School File:Yelandur.JSS School.jpg, JSS School File:Yelandur2.jpg, The town File:Yelandur3.jpg, Yelandur

References

{{commons category Cities and towns in Chamarajanagar district