District: Shimoga
Town: Talagunda
Temple: Pranaveshwara temple
Pranaveshwara Temple
Praneshwara Temple Talagunda. Photographer Amarrg
Talagunda was known as Sthanagundur and it was a place of religious learning or agrahara. This place is the earliest agrahara found in the state of Karantaka.
Pranaveshwara Temple- Overview
Talagunda was a place where subjects like Vedas, Vedanta, grammar and philosophy were taught under a Gurukul system. The Kannada language was taught here at the primary level. Students and teachers were also distributed food and clothes over here.
Pranaveshwara Temple – History
This temple is a highly respected shrine of Lord Shiva. There is a stone slab with inscriptions next to the temple. There is also a pillar with inscriptions in Sanskrit in front of the temple. The inscriptions were made in the mid 5th century under the rule of Santivarma by Kubja, a court-poet.
The inscriptions describe Kadambas as Brahmins who had turned into conquerors and they praise Brahmins as “Gods on Earth”, and speakers of Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedas. The Kadambas, the foremost Kannada dynasty, were Hindu in origin and the earliest known temples in Karnataka are connected to them. The town of Talagunda in the Shimoga district is believed to be the original home to the Kadambas.
How to Get to Pranaveshwara Temple
Talagunda is located in the Shikaripura taluk of Shimoga district in Karnataka. The village of Talagunda is located around five kilometers away from Balligavi. Balligavi is around 72 km from Shimoga and 12 km from Shikaripura town in Shikaripura taluk.
The Talagunda is a very popular tourist spot in the Shimoga district with hundreds of devotees visiting the Pranaveshwara temple every year. The best time to visit Shimoga is in October as the weather gets especially pleasant at this time.
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