A Trip to Melkote..

The Sculptured Pathway around the Temple Pond

The famous pond of the temple called - Kalyani greets you when you reach there and which i think is portrayed in many old kannada movies..The Temple is equally marvelous.

Mantapa along the Pathway

I came to know about this place thru one of my colleagues..He'd been there thru ISKCON. He told me there is an institute or you can say an ashram and a research center for the mother of all languages - Sanskrit..That really interested me, on top of that there are farms which produce herbal products.
But the fact that renders it an aura is but its antiquity..ya you heard it correct.
Melkote is located near Mysore in Karnataka and houses an ancient shrine to Lord Vishnu worshipped as TiruNarayana.This shrine is known for its long standing association with the spiritual leader Ramanujacharya. Melkote is also known as Yadavagiri, yatistalam, Vedadri and Narayanadri.
Legend has it this image of Vishnu was held in worship by Bhrahma. It is believed that the festival image Sampatkumara was worshipped by Rama and his son Kusha; hence the name Ramapriya. Legend has it that Krishna installed this image here at Melkote. Melkote has two distinct temples. The Tirunarayana temple at the foothills and the hill temple to Yoga Narasimha. Legend also has it that the Yoga Narasimha temple image was installed here by Prahlada.

The Temple's View from the Pond

Such was the hospitality of the residents of Melkote that they were reluctant to let Ramanuja leave for Srirangam. Hence, Ramanujacharya made an image of himself and left it behind. It is to be noted that Ramanuja's body in its preserved state is maintained at Srirangam and that there is another image of Ramanuja at Sriperumpudoor near Chennai.
That's all about the legend and the history associated.

Now about the travelogue. We - my family along with my aunt's family started in the morning from Bangalore around 6am and took the mysore road. As soon as we entered Mandya the drive was scenic to say the least with lush green fields on both the sides. 3 hours into the journey and we were at the base of the temple.
We all got out of the vehicle ready to pose for the snaps alongside the big temple pond and the sculptured mantapa and the pathway around the pond. This is just a demo of the skills in architecture and sculpturing of the artisans of those times. It takes you altogether into another dimension.
After taking some snaps, we headed for the steps that lead to the temple. This truly was a gem of a walk to the sanctum-sanctorum..soothing breeze, walking through the carved and sculpted structures is just amazing. We had convos about the history and a bit of leg pulling all along. Everybody liked the scenic beauty with the calm breeze all along.

A Structure on the way up to the Temple


Sculpture to detail of Lord Krishna

Inside the temple the spiritual atmosphere was augmented by the mantra chanting of the ladies. At the top there's also a fort kinda enclosure which is a treat to the eyes and i think might've given the place the name "Melkote".

We offered our obeisances and descended the steps satisfied with the darshana. Were hungry and raring for the breakfast..
Went to the other important temple at the base which also was a beautiful piece of south indian architecture.
There was a light drizzle as we came out and found a small hotel nearby for the much needed breakfast.
Had sumptuous food with the typical south indian touch. The idlis were one of the best you can have and the puliyogare was equally tasty.


View from Halfway


Pond from the Top

Headed to shravanabelagola, the account of which would make this really long, so let me not go into it. Headed from there right back to bangalore and reached home after a somewhat tiring journey.