List of Chola temples in Bengaluru

Last updated

A stone sculpture in Chokkanathaswamy temple Domlur chola stone art 10th century,bangalore.jpg
A stone sculpture in Chokkanathaswamy temple

The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. In Bangalore the Cholas ruled nearly a century. The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power, including the present-day Bengaluru. During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I—around 1004 AD—the cholas captured Bangalore after defeating the Gangas. During their rule, they built many temples in and around Bangalore with the Chokkanathaswamy temple, Mukthi Natheshwara Temple, Choleswara temple and the Someshwara Temple being prominent ones. The Chokkanathaswamy temple at Domlur, whose earliest inscriptions date back to the 10th century AD, [1] is the oldest temple in the city. [2] Originally built by Raja Raja Chola I, [1] the temple was later renovated by the Hoysalas and Vijayanagara rulers. [3] The temple's deity was Lord Shiva, but later a Vishnu temple was built for the local residents who were mainly Vaishnavas. [1]

Contents

The Chola Rule in Karnataka was curtailed with loss of Western Gangavadi in 1117 AD by the Hoysalas, but Eastern Gangavadi (part of Mysore district) was recovered by 1125 AD under Vikrama Chola and Chola territories in Kannada country existed till the rule of Emperor Kulothunga Chola III. However Tamil habitation in Karnataka, especially in Mysore district, precedes the Chola period and continued afterwards as well. Hoysala Kings built Someshwara temples throughout their kingdom. The typical Someshwara temple has a lotus pond or a taverekere included.

The Someshwara temple at Madiwala was built around 1247 AD. [4] The Someshwara Temple at Halasuru, one of the oldest in the city. While the main deity is Nandi, other gods like Brahma and Vishnu are also worshiped here. [5] It was later renovated by Kempegowda who built the Rajagopura and constructed walls around the temple. [6] The 800 year-old Kaalikaamba Kamatheshwara Temple at Nagarathpet is the second largest temple in the city. [7]

Apart from religious practices, the temples were utilized for scholarly activities thus providing employment for the people. [8]

List of temples

No.NameLocalityPeriod/Earliest inscriptionRefs.
1 Domlur Chokkanathaswamy temple Domlur 10th century AD [1]
2 Halasuru Someshwara Temple Halasuru [9]
3 Eshwara Temple, Kengeri, Bangalore Kengeri 1050 AD [10]
4 Dharmesvara Temple Kondrahalli1065 AD [11]
5 Sri Madduramma Temple Huskur11th century AD [12] [13]
6 Old Madiwala Someshwara Temple, Bangalore Madiwala 1247 AD [14]
7 Kaalikaamba Kamatheshwara Temple Nagarathpet13th century AD [15]
8 Someshwara Temple, Marathahalli Marathahalli 1508 AD [16]
9Sri Veerabhadra Swamy temple Thindlu 10th Century AD

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolar district</span> District of Karnataka in India

Kolar district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domlur</span> Neighbourhood in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Domlur is a small township located in the eastern part of Bangalore city in India. Domlur was included in the erstwhile Bangalore Civil and Military Station under the British Madras Presidency till it was transferred to the Mysore State in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mysore district</span> District of Karnataka in India

Mysore district, officially Mysuru district, is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division. Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. The district is bounded by Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Mandya district to the east and northeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolar Gold Fields</span> City in Karnataka, India

Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) is a mining region in K.G.F. taluk (township), Kolar district, Karnataka, India. It is headquartered in Robertsonpet, where employees of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) and BEML Limited and their families live. K.G.F. is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Kolar, 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka. Over a century, the town has been known for gold mining. The mine closed on 28 February 2001 due to a fall in gold prices, despite gold still being present there. One of India's first power-generation units was built in 1889 to support mining operations. The mine complex hosted some particle physics experiments between the 1960s and 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Bengaluru</span> Account of past events in Bengaluru, India

Bengaluru is the capital city of the state of Karnataka. Bengaluru, as a city, was founded by Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud fort at the site in 1537. But the earliest evidence for the existence of a place called Bengaluru dates back to c. 890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishnuvardhana</span> Ruler of Hoysala in the south of the Indian subcontinent (r. 1108–1152 CE)

Vishnuvardhana was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in c.1108. Originally a follower of Jainism and known as Bitti Deva, he came under the influence of the Hindu philosopher Ramanuja, converted to Hindu Vaishnavism and took the name "Vishnuvardhana". His queen Shanthala however remained a Jain. This was the transition period from Jainism to Hinduism. Vishnuvardhana took the first steps in creating an independent Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against his overlord, the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI, and the Chola Empire to the south. He recovered parts of Gangavadi province from the hegemony of the Cholas in the battle of Talakad, and parts of Nolambavdi. According to historian Coelho, the Hoysalas gained the dignity of a kingdom due to the efforts of Vishnuvardhana, whose rule was packed with "glorious" military campaigns. According to historians Sen, Chopra et al., and Sastri, Vishnuvardhana was a "great soldier" and an "ambitious monarch".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Chalukya Empire</span> 10th–12th century empire in western Deccan, South India

The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the modern Bidar district of Karnataka state, and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Before the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and Central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta empire after a successful invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur region defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kengeri</span> Suburb in Bengaluru Urban, Karnataka, India

Kengeri is a western suburb of Bangalore city, located along Mysore Road.It is bordered by Nagarbhavi and Ullal to the north, Rajarajeshwari Nagar to the east, Kumbalgodu to the west and Uttarahalli to the south.

Vira Someshwara (1234–1263) was a king of the Hoysala Empire. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and he had to face Seuna incursions south of the Tungabhadra river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political history of medieval Karnataka</span> History of Karnataka region of India

The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries in Karnataka region of India. The medieval era spans several periods of time from the earliest native kingdoms and imperialism; the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region; and the domination of the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion. The origins of the rise of the Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth-century birth of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi which was the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halasuru Someshwara Temple, Bengaluru</span> Hindu Shiva temple in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Halasuru Someshwara Temple is located in the neighborhood of Halasuru in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the old temples in the city dating back to the Chola period, it is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Major additions or modifications were made during the late Vijayanagara Empire period under the rule of Hiriya Kempe Gowda II.

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 Bangalore 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 Bangalore, 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.

Chokkanathaswamy temple, at Domlur in the Indian city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India, is dedicated to the deity known as Chokkanathaswamy or Chokka Perumal. It is one of the oldest temples in the city. The temple has numerous Kannada and Tamil inscriptions that have been documented in the Epigraphia Carnatica Vol 9, Bangalore District (1905ed). Based on these inscriptions the temple is at least as old as 1200 CE.

Old Madiwala Sri Someshwara Temple located in Bangalore city, Karnataka, India is dedicated to the deity Someshwara. It is one among the oldest temples in the city and dates back to the Chola Empire period. The temple belongs to the early 12th century.(1247 AD).

Sri Madduramma Temple, located in Huskur in the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Madduramma. It is the oldest temple dates back to the Chola period. Every year the Grand festival is celebrated during March or April month.

Dharmesvara Temple located in Kondrahalli, Bangalore Rural, Hoskote Taluk in Bangalore, Karnataka, India is dedicated to the deity Dharmesvara. It dates back to the Chola period 1065 AD. The temple also has 5000 years history and as informed by the temple in charge Mr. Manjunath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group of temples at Magadi, Karnataka</span> Hindu temple in Karnataka, India

The Ranganatha Swamy and the Someshwara temples are located in the historic town of Magadi, about 41 km from Bangalore, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. These temples are protected monuments under the Karnataka state division of the Archaeological Survey of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karnataka Tamils</span>

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 Tamils were there from the very beginning. 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.

There are nearly a thousand inscriptions in Tamil in the Southern Karnataka districts of Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar and Mandya in India. Nearly one third of these inscriptions are found in the Kolar District. Of all the inscriptions collected and published in the Epigraphia Carnatica Vol X for Kolar district, a fourth are in Tamil. The Tamil inscriptions start to appear around 1000 AD, after the conquest of the region by the Chola dynasty king Rajaraja I. Even after the Cholas left the area, the Hoysala and later the Vijaynagar kingdoms continued to use Tamil in the inscriptions.

Vira Ramanatha was a king of the southern portion of the Hoysala Empire. In 1254 CE, Hoysala king Vira Someshwara divided his kingdom between his two sons, Narasimha III who ruled from Halebidu, their original capital, had got the greater part of the ancestral kingdom and Vira Ramanatha Deva obtained the remaining part consisting of the present Kolar district and the Tamil territories conquered by the Hoysalas in the south, and ruled from Kannanur Kuppam near Srirangam. Like his father Narasimha II, Someshwara stayed back at Kannanur with Ramanatha where he was killed in 1262/1263 CE in a war with Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I of the Pandya dynasty.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Priyanka S Rao (19 May 2012). "Chokkanatha: The city's oldest temple". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. U B, Githa. "A Chola temple in Domlur!". Deccan Herald . Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  3. Priyanka S Rao (16 May 2012). "History on the walls of a temple". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  4. "Ancient temple; bustling junction". Deccan Herald. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  5. "Souvenir of the Chola dynasty". The New Indian Express. 2 January 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. S. K. Aruni (11 October 2013). "The kalyani that holds a 1,000-year history". The Hindu . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  7. MK Madhusoodan. "Heritage temple in ruins; govt unmoved". DNA Syndication. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  8. De 2008, p. 7.
  9. Dynamics of Language Maintenance Among Linguistic Minorities: A Sociolinguistic Study of the Tamil Communities in Bangalore. Central Institute of Indian Languages, 1986. 1986. p. 7.
  10. Patrao, Michael (2 February 2009). "A place of historical significance". DeccanHerald. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  11. Saligrama Krishna Ramachandra Rao (1993). Art and architecture of Indian temples. Kalpatharu Research Academy. p. 222.
  12. Mysore & Padmanabha 1973, p. 247.
  13. Rao 1993, p. 214.
  14. "Ancient temple; bustling junction". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  15. Madhusoodan, MK (16 January 2011). "Heritage temple in ruins; Karnataka government unmoved". Daily News and Analysis . Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  16. S.K. Aruni (11 January 2012). "Of inscriptions and the medieval period". The Hindu . Retrieved 26 August 2014.

Bibliography