Kote Venkataramana Temple is a

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 ...

temple in

Krishnarajendra Road Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is popularly called ''Rajarshi'' ( sa, rājarṣi, li ...

Bangalore 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 ...

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 ...

dedicated to the god

Venkateshwara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology Venkatesw ...

. The temple was built in 1689 in Dravidian and

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

style by King Chikka Devaraja

Wodeyar 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. ...

, then ruler of

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 ...

Temple plan

The late 17th century Venkataramana temple is located near the old fort ("fort" is ''kote'' in Kannada language) adjacent to what was once the residence of Mysore Wodeyar royal family, and later became the palace of

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 ...

, a later ruler 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 ...

.Michell (1995), p. 71 The temple consists of a sanctum (''

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''M ...

'') which is connected to a central hall (''

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, ...

'') by a vestibule. The walls of the sanctum and vestibule (antechamber) are plain but for a row of deity sculptures in

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

at the base. On the whole the temple exudes modest decorative work and follows the general plan used in the temples within the palace complex in Mysore. The hall ceiling is supported by pillars that have "clusters of colonettes" alternating with '' yalis'' (mythical beasts from Hindu legend) in all four directions. This appears on each of the central columns. The main festival celebrated here is

Vaikuntha Ekadashi Vaikuntha Ekadashi () is a Hindu occasion and festival. It is primarily observed by Vaishnavas, who regard it to be a special Ekādaśī. It coincides with '' Mokṣadā Ekādaśī'' or Putrada Ekādaśī. It is observed on the 11th lunar da ...

when thousands of devotees throng the temple. This temple provided the setting for the treasure hunt in the book

Riddle of the Seventh Stone ''Riddle of the Seventh Stone'' is a 2010 novel by Monideepa Sahu. This fantasy novel for children is set in Bangalore, India. The book was longlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award for 2011. Plot summary Set in a herb shop on a bust ...

Gallery

File:Mantapa (hall) in Kote Venkataramana Swamy Temple at Bengaluru.JPG, Ornate mantapa (hall) leading to the sanctum in Kote Venkataramana temple in Bengaluru (Bangalore). Central ''Yali'' pillars support ''mantapa'' ceiling File:Mantapa (hall) pillars in Kote Ventakaramana Swamy Temple at Bengaluru.JPG, Close up of ''Yali'' pillar inside the mantapa in Kote Venkataramana temple in Bengaluru File:Gopura (tower) over shrine in Kote Venkataramana Swamy Temple (17th century) at Bengaluru.JPG, A

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

(tower) in the Kote Venkataramana temple in Bengaluru File:Yali Pillar of mantapa (hall) in Kote Venkataramana Swamy temple at Bengaluru.JPG, ''Yali'' pillar at Kote Venkataramana temple in Bengaluru

References

Notes

{{Hindu temples in Karnataka 17th-century Hindu temples Hindu temples in Bangalore Vishnu temples 1689 establishments in India