Bull Temple
Basavanagudi (temple of lord Basava, the divine bull), built in the 16th Century, this temple is the oldest temple in the Bangalore city.
Bull Temple Sketch by a Colonial era artist.
Pencil drawing by Thomas Daniell dated 1 May 1792. (Source : bl.uk)
N
andi is considered as the vehicle of Lord Siva.The inner area of the temple is built in the typical Vijayanagara style architecture with a Chola style gopura (gateway tower).
Vijayanagara plans typically consist of a open hall in from of the sanctorum and boldly executed composite pillars.
The Chola style towers is a pyramidal structure with series of terracotta images all the way to the top. The pinnacle is decorated with massive horns.
Nandi The inner shrine of the temple has a giant image of Nandi, carved out of a giant monolithic boulder. This 15 feet tall idol is one among the largest Nandi's in the country. The whole idol is applied with oil,charcoal black and decorated with garlands as part of the customs.
Also note the metal Trishula ( Trinant ) at the forehead.
Temple is open from 6am till noon. Again opens at 5:30pm and closes by 9:30pm.
Fair Every November/December the temple hosts a festival/fair called Kadalekai Parishe (Groundnut Fare). Local farmers offer the first harvest of their groundnut to Nandi, the divine bull. There's an interesting legend associated with this tradition at the Bull Temple.
Tall Pillar In the vicinity of the Bull Temple is the 6meter (20feet) tall monolithic pillar. The base is executed with carvings of a flute player and a divine bull (Nandi)
Bugle Rock
Bugle Rock (Kahale Bande) is a massive sheet of rock around the Bull temple. It is an abrupt rise above the ground of peninsular gneiss as the main rock formation. The age of this formation is about 3,000 million years, making it one on the oldest exposed surfaces on earth, on can walk up on. This formation is contiguous to the rock at Lalbagh tower.
Dodda Ganesha Temple Literally meaning the 'big Ganesha' temple, this temples architecture too looks similar to the Basavanagudi (Bull Temple). This is also a 16th century temple. The idol is a carved out of a single granite boulder , 18feet tall and 16 feet wide.
The interesting aspect is, this Ganesha is covered with 100kg of butter. It never melts.In every four years, this is replaced and distributed among the devotees.
Karanji Anjaneya Temple This temple dedicated to lord Hanuman, is located about 100 feet from the Nandi temple. This temple houses a giant image of Hanuman carved out of an 18feet boulder.
[#tip] Combine the Bull Temple visit with other major attractions and ancient temples around this area. This locality called Basavanagudi is the get a flavour of life in the traditional Bangalore style.
See the itinerary idea to explore Bangalore : 1 Day or 2 Days