| Dharmaraya Swamy Temple | |
|---|---|
 Front view of the temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Bangalore Urban district |
| Deity | Pandavas |
| Festivals | Bangalore Karaga |
| Location | |
| State | Karnataka |
| Country | India |
  Location in Bangalore | |
| Geographic coordinates | 12°57′55″N77°35′00″E / 12.9654°N 77.5834°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Hindu temple architecture |
Shri Dharmaraya Swamy Temple is one of the oldest and most famous Hindu temples of the city of Bangalore, in Karnataka, India. [1]
The Dharmaraya Swamy Temple was built over eight hundred years ago by the vahni kula Kshatriya s roots back to chalukya dynasty and king someshwara mentioned in stone inscription at hottal taluk naded district Maharashtra , Continued in Bengaluru as one of the area's oldest social group, an agricultural community who tilled the soil and grew vegetables and flowers. [2]
The temple displays architectural features of buildings from the Western Ganga dynasty, the Pallava dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire. The temple may be more than 800 years old, the first buildings having been in existence before the current city of Bangalore was founded in 1530 by Kempe Gowda I, when he built a mud fort here. [2] The temple is built in the Dravidian style, with a gopuram, an ornate monumental entrance tower. Deities worshipped here include Dharmaraya, Krishna, Arjuna, Draupadi, Nakula, Sahadeva and Bhima. The Karaga festival is celebrated during the months of March and April. [3]
The Karaga festival starts from the temple each year. This street procession is led by a priest, dressed as a woman, who carries the "karaga", an enormous clay pot on his head and dances through the streets of the old city, in a ritual dedicated to Draupadi.The ritual is performed on the day of the full moon day. The ritual pot filled with water and adorned with decorations several feet high is carried by the priest, while dancers perform various acrobatic feats while following the procession accompanied by a number of musical instruments. The rituals have their origin in the Mahabharata, particularly in the vastrakshepa (stripping) of Draupadi, the exile of the Pandavas and the death of Draupadi's sons at the hands of Ashwathama. After all these trials and tribulations, she emerged as a symbol of strong and ideal womanhood. [4]
Gowdas, Ganacharyas, Chakridaararu are the ordained sects among the Vahnikula Kshatriyas to carry the tradition of conducting the Karaga. Chakridararu are those who perform the various pooja activities at the time of Karaga. These include the ghante poojaris, who are the gurus and carry out the temple rituals, the family of the Karaga priest, the descendants from the clan of Potaraja, Banka Poojari (announcers of the Karaga) and Kolkararu (messengers). These five families have a Kula purohita (clan priest), who is a Brahmin. He performs rituals as per the shastras (sacred texts). All the rituals are steeped in secrecy. Overall management and supervision of the festivities is done by Ganacharyas. All these categories of functionaries are supervised by the Gowdas, who ensure smooth functioning. [5] [ failed verification ]
On April 9, 2009, Shankar Narayan, as president of the Dharmaraya Swamy temple trust and Karaga festivities, became the first woman to lead the festival carrying the ritual pot. [5]
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and polyandrous marriage.
Kempe Gowda I, locally venerated as Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, or commonly known as Kempe Gowda, was a chieftain under the Vijayanagara Empire in early-modern India. He is famous for the development of Bangalore Town in the 16th century.
Arsikere is a city and taluka in the Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the second largest city in Hassan district, demographically. Arsikere city municipal council consists of 31 wards. This region is known for its coconut production and is also called Kalpataru Nadu. Arsikere is the taluk headquarters, a major railway junction in the South Western Railway which links Mangalore and Mysore to North Karnataka and a central place for tourists who visit nearby places that do not have rail access, such as Belur, Halebidu and Shravanabelagola, Harnahalli, and Kodimata.
Devanahalli, also called "Devandahalli", "Dyaavandalli", Devanadoddi, and Devanapura, is a town and Town Municipal Council in Bengaluru Rural district in the state of Karnataka in India. The town is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north-east of Bengaluru. Devanahalli is the site of Kempegowda International Airport. A multibillion-dollar Devanahalli Business Park with two IT Parks are coming up on nearly 400 acres (1.6 km2) adjoining the airport. An Aerospace Park, Science Park and a ₹10 billion (US$130 million) Financial City are also coming up. A new satellite ring road will connect the city with Doddaballapur. Devanahalli is situated near the upcoming ₹1,500 billion (US$19 billion), 12,000-acre (49 km2) BIAL IT Investment Region, to be the largest IT region in India.
Thigala are a social group found in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, India, particularly the city of Bengaluru and in Southern Karnataka. The caste is traditionally occupied as growers of flowers and vegetables.
Karaga is a folk festival of Karnataka which originated as a ritual dedicated to Draupadi as known in these parts as Droupadmma. The ritual is performed on a full moon day.
Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka.It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadeepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote is about 51 km from Mysore and 133 km (83 mi) from Bangalore.
Ranganathaswamy Temple is an ancient and famous Hindu Vaikhanasa temple in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, dating back to the 16th century C.E dedicated to Lord Ranganathaswamy. The temple is built in the Vijayanagara style of architecture and has beautifully carved granite pillars reminiscent of Hoysala influence. The sanctum sanctorum which houses idols of Sri Ranganatha Swamy, and his consorts Sri Bhudevi and Neela Devi. The temple is located in the Chikkapete (Chickpet) area of central Bangalore on Rangaswamy Temple Street. The road is named after the famous Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple.
Vaikhanasa or Vaikhanasagama is a tradition of Hinduism that primarily worships Vishnu as the Supreme God. The tradition draws its name from the philosophy propounded by its founder, Sage Vikhanasa.
The Thimithi or firewalking ceremony is a Hindu festival originating in Tamil Nadu, South India that is celebrated a week before Deepavali, during the month of Aipasi of the Tamil calendar. The fire-walking ceremony is in honour of the goddess Draupati Amman, who is considered the incarnation of goddess Mariamman, and is practiced not only in India, but also in countries with large Tamil populations like Sri Lanka, Fiji, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Réunion, South Africa and others.
Varthur is a suburb situated in the Eastern periphery of Bangalore City and part of the internationally famous Whitefield township. Varthur is a Hobli and part of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. Varthur was a Legislative Assembly in the state of Karnataka but was split into three legislative assemblies C.V.Raman Nagar, Mahadevapura and Krishnarajapura in the year 2008. It is also one of the wards of BBMP. It is located in South-Eastern Bangalore between old Airport road and Sarjapur road. Varthur is very close to ITPB.
Bengaluru Karaga is an annual festival celebrated in the Halasuru Pete which is also known by Tigalare Pete, primarily by the Vahnikula Kshatriya community. Based on their heritage story, they built temples to Draupadi and Dharmaraya. Adishakti Draupadi is the community Deity of the Vahnikula Kshatriyas, one of the foremost communities in Karanataka state. The Dharmaraya Swamy Temple itself is more than 800 years old. It was built by the Vahnikula Kshatriyas, one of the city's oldest communities that was into agriculture and horticulture. The Karaga festival is generally led by the Vahnikula Kshatriyas. Karaga is one of the many traditions of worshiping Adisakti Draupadi Devi. Karaga pooja and festivals have been celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka since ages. Its practice is in use in some parts of Kolar district and Bangalore in the state of Karnataka. It is learnt that there are forty lakh people belonging to the Vahnikula Kshatriya community living throughout the state: Hoskote, Malur, Kolar, Bengaluru and Anekal taluks have high populations of the Vahnikula Kshatriya community in both urban and rural areas. Basically, this community depends upon agricultural and horticultural activities.
Bangalore (Bengaluru), the capital of Karnataka state, India, reflects its multireligious and cosmopolitan character by its more than 1000 temples, 400 mosques, 100 churches, 40 Jain derasars, three Sikh gurdwaras, two Buddhist viharas and one Parsi fire temple located in an area of 741 km2 of the metropolis. The religious places are further represented to include the few members of the Jewish community who are making their presence known through the Chabad that they propose to establish in Bengaluru and the fairly large number of the Baháʼí Faith whose presence is registered with a society called the Baháʼí Centre. In the demographically diverse, major economic hub and India's fastest-growing major metropolis of Bengaluru, the number of religious places of each religion reported reflects growth in proportion to the population growth. According to the 2001 census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's population is Hindu, roughly the same as the national average. Muslims comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while Christians and Jains account for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Anglo-Indians also form a substantial group within the city.
Immadihalli is a suburb situated in the Eastern periphery of Bangalore City and part of Whitefield township. Immadihalli was a part of the Varthur Legislative Assembly, but now belongs to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BBMP[1]. Immadihalli belongs to Mahadevapura Legislative Assembly in the state of Karnataka with effect from the year 2008. Immadihalli is very close to ITPL, which is heart of IT in Bangalore. Immadihalli belongs to a green belt area so there are no industries located in and around. Immadihalli was one of the largest milk producing villages in Bangalore.
Shri Kuruvathi Basaveshwara temple at Kuruvathi is one of the ancient and historic temples at the extreme south-western corner of Hoovina Hadagali taluk, Vijayanagara District, Karnataka, India. This temple is on the bank of Tungabhadra river, 10 km from Halavagalu and 2 km from Mylara and 36 km from Ranebennur and 326 km from Bangalore.
Neendoor Subrahmanya Swami Temple is an ancient lord Murugan temple located in the Neendoor, Kottayam district. The Neendoor Subrahanya Swami Temple is a historic site which has brought glory and fame to the local area. Myths say that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa worshipped at this temple. The deity of the temple is Lord Muruga. Neendoor Subrahmanya Swami Temple hosts the arattu festival, which is celebrated on a grand scale on the Medashasti day in April–May every year. The Ottanarangamala Samarppanam is one of the important rituals of this temple.
The Karnataka Tamils are a social community of Tamil language speakers living in Bangalore, capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka and Mysore, Mandya, Kolar Gold Fields, Chamrajnagar, and other districts of old Mysore Kingdom. According to The Hindu newspaper, Tamil-speaking settlers migrated to Bangalore in four major waves, the first after the 10th century; the second during the Vijayanagara period; and the third, in the 18th century, after the need for government service required by British East India Company who built the train tracks in Bangalore. Lastly now most Tamilians move to Bangalore for work. However some may say both kannadiga and Tamil were there from the first. According to census 1991, people speaking Tamil as mother tongue in Bangalore formed about 21%. There are 2.1 million Tamils living in Karnataka as of 2011 Census report.
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Chikka Tirupati is a Hindu temple dedicated to Venkateshwaraswamy, the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located in Chikka Tirupathi Hobli of Malur Taluk, in the outskirts of Bengaluru in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is considered similar to the Tirupathi Venkateswara temple. Vishnu is worshipped as Venkateshwara and his consort Lakshmi as Alamelumangamma. Chikkathirupathy is 15 km (9.3 mi) from taluk headquarters Malur, 26 km (16 mi) from ITPL and 30 km (19 mi) from Koramangala.
