District: Chamarajanagar
Town: Yelandur
Temple: Gaurishwara Temple
Gaurishwara Temple is located in the Yelandur Taluq in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka.
Gaurishwara Temple – Overview
Yelandur was a prominent town during the Chola Rule in Karnataka. The Gaurishwara Temple is a major pilgrim and tourist attraction here.
Gaurishwara Temple – History
The Gaurishwara Temple was built by a feudatory of the Cholas, Singadepa, who ruled this region in the sixteenth century. Devabhupala, as Singadepa was known, built this beautiful temple in 1550 AD. Somehow, this temple was not maintained well and was allowed to get into a dilapidated state within a period of 100 years. But in 1654-55, it was rebuilt by Devabhupala’s grandson Mudhabhupa.
Gaurishwara Temple – Architecture
The Gaurishwara Temple was built in the Dravidian style, though it does not have the distinctive Gopura or entrance tower that marks this style. The temple also has beautiful carvings on pillars and walls depicting scenes from mythology. There are carvings of Andhakasuravadha, figures of Narasimha, Sarabha, Dhakshinamurthy, Vali, Sugriva and Kalinga Mardhana Krishna.
It also has the beautiful Stone Chains that mark the Chola temples of this region. Beautiful rings carved out of stone, with no joints, hang down from the corners of the entrance. These rings look like bangles, so the Mahadhwara is known as ‘Bale Mandapa’. Bale means bangles in Kannada.
How to Get to Gaurishwara Temple
Yelandur lies at a distance of 155 km from Bangalore. Bus services can be availed from Bangalore, Mysore and other places.
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