Greatness of the Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple!

 

 

Greatness of the

Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple!

In our spiritual journey we have very far. Our next destination is Bangalore’s Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple. This temple has many features that will take you by amazement. Built in the 9th century, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is also popular as the Gavipuram Cave temple. Coming to the unique features of this temple, the two huge discs on the foreground of the shrine. The next thing that will attract your attention at the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple is the idol of Agni deva or the fire god. Here the Agni deva is depicted as the Lord with two heads, seven hands and three legs. History says that the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple is the only temple in south India with such a unique idol of the Agni deva. The temple is also known for having a beautiful sculpture of Nandi [Lord Shiva’s mount].

As soon as you enter the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple you will find that Shakti Ganapathi is waiting to bless you with his twelve hands on the left side. No one can miss the tallest Shivalinga at the inner sanctum of the temple. The temple is so precious to the people of Karnataka, that they have protected it under the Karnataka Ancient and Historical Monuments, and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1961. On the occasion of Shivaratri, the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple attracts thousands of devotees.

Now its time to tell you about the most interesting fact about the temple. You experience magic on the 14th of January. On this day,  the Sun throws its light on the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple, in a very peculiar way.  It first lights the back of the statue of Nandi and passes over its horns and reaches the feet of the Shivalingam. I bet you haven’t seen such magic anywhere in the world before. While this occurs, the priests perform Abhishekam with milk to the presiding deity. It is truly a blessing to see such a sight!

-Kruti Beesam