This is not only a pilgrimage
centre but it also boats of a fish sanctuary. It has several temples, which
were initially constructed by the Cholas and then renovated and repaired by the
Hoysalas. Unfortunately, the temples are not as well known as the temples of
Halebidu and Belur though this place too is located in Hasaan district.
Hasssan is native to many
places with Hoysala temples such as Belur, Halebidu and Ganga
style temples in Shravanabelogala. However, this town, though located on the
banks of the Cauvery, is relatively unknown to both tourists and pilgrims.
This is Ramanathapura, a fish
sanctuary and a temple town in Arkalgud taluk, located about 50 kilometres from Hassan.
Ramanathapura is among the
few fishing sanctuaries located across the Cauvery and fishing is banned in
this area. This ban has helped a variety of fish thrive in the sanctuary.
One of the most well-known
fish found here is Deccan Masheer, Black Masheer or Tor khudree, which belongs
to the carp family of freshwater fishes.
It is considered to be the
greatest game fish in India
Other fishes seen here
include Rohu or Rahu, which also belongs to the Carp family, and the Maithili Brahmins and Kayasthas of Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh treat it as one of their most sacred foods and they eat it on all
auspicious occasions: Butter fish-these look like smaller versions of angel
fishes and they are mainly classified as ornamental fishes: Katli Mahseer, which
is also called copper masher and its is found in Krishna river too. In
Karnataka, it is called Billi Meenu: Carnatic carp, which is a species of
ray-finned fish. It is also called Barbodes carnaticus and it was first was
described by Jerdon in 1849 when he came across this species in Bhavani river, Nilgiris: Spiny Eel, Freshwater shark and many other species
are found here.
Pilgrims come here to visit
the Rameshwara temple. This temple is generally classified as a Hoysala
structure and there are five other temples. There is the Agastheswara, Durga
Rameshwari, Lakshminarasimha, Subramanya, Pattibhirama temples also. All the temples
are built in Dravadian style. The Lakshminarasimha temple was built during the
reign of Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar. The Subramanya
Temple
To this day, pooja at the
Subramanya temple is performed by Madhwa priests. This temple features
Subramanya as a seven hooded serpent. The car festival of Subramanya is held on
Maragashira Shuddha Shasti and a cattle fair and rural exhibition are part
of the festival which draws devotees from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu apart from
Karnataka.
The Agashteshwara temple has
a beautiful shrine dedicated to Shiva. Apart from the Shiva Linga, the temple houses
idols of Mahaganapathi, Parashurama, Lakshmi, Chamundi and other deities.
The Durga Rameshwari temple is an important Shakti Stala. The idol of
the deity was installed by Shankaracharya. There is a Sanskrit Vedic patashala
here
The idol of Pattabhirama temple
is believed to have been consecrated by a rishi named Saubari or Soubhari, the
son of Kanva Rishi.
Soubhari lived under water
for twelve years when a king called Mandhata was ruling the area. One day, Soubhari
came across the king of the fishes playing in the water with his children and
grandchildren. This made Soubhari feel that he too should get married and that
he too should have children and grandchildren. He then married all the fifty
daughters of Mandhata.
The car festival of this
deity is on Mrigashira Ramanuja saptaha.
The Prasanna Rameshwara
Temple
Hassan is the city nearest to
Ramanathapura and this village is well-connected by road.
No comments:
Post a Comment