The Town of eight hills

It is a town that we come across when we go to Biligiri Ranga Hills (BR Hills) from Bangalore. It was believed to have been first established by the Cholas. Therefore, it was then called Ilamaraduru Nadu in ancient Tamil Scripts.

On their part, the Cholas called it Cholendrasimha Chaturvedi Mangalam. Kannadigas called it Hadhinadu Pranthya.

The town is also part of the smallest taluk in the district in which it is located. It is surrounded by eight hills of which Biligiri is the most famous.

The town boats of a couple of historic and unique temples. There is a temple dedicated to Varaha, one of the Dashavatars of Vishnu.

Varaha is the third avatar of  Vishnu and there is also a shrine of Ganapathi here at its south-west corner. This Ganapathi is growing every year.

The other temple is that of Gaurishvara.It a Vijayanagar style structure constructed around 1550 when Devabhupala or Singadepa was the local ruler. It was subsequently rebuilt during  1654 -1655 by Muddabhupa, grandson of Devabhupala.

The temple has a unique entrance called Bale Mantapa (Bangle entrance) which features some of the most exquisite stone carvings on the walls and pillars. These carvings depict mythological stories of the slaying of the demon Andhakasura, Lord Narasimha  in different postures, Vali, Sugreeva and Krishna.

The carved stone chain rings - 20 cm each- adorn the four corners and the door side of the entrance and this gives it the name of Bale Mantapa. The entrance was built by Muddabhupa or Mudduraja in 1654 (We can see similar stone chains in the temple in Talakadu).

During the Vijayanagar Empire, this town and its surrounding areas were known for its riches. Till Independence, it was the jagir of a former Dewan of the Mysore Kingdom. After 1847, the Imam properties were abolished and taken over by the Government and this town initially came under Mysore district.

A few decades ago, it became part of Chamarajanagar district. Today, it stands at the entrance to the busy BR Hills Road. However, only a handful of the thousands of tourists, wildlife enthusiasts and Nature lovers who throng to BR Hills give a second glance to this town.

Not many realise that they would have missed a date with history by not spending time here. This is the town of Yelandur, which once was the jagir of Dewan Purnaiah. The jagirship continued till 1947 when it was abolished and the place integrated with the rest of the district.

Yelandur is surrounded by eight hills: to the East rises the magnificent Shwetha Giri (Billigri), to the South-East is Mallinatha Giri, to the South is Suragiri, to the South-West Shankareshwara Giri, to the West Mallikarjuna Giri, to the North-West Shambulingana Giri, to the North Srisaila Giri and to North-East Nirmala Giri.

All these hills are accessible from this town which is an oasis of greenery. The town has produced several great personalities such as Narashima Bhatta, the Ayurvedic expert (1790), Sanchi Honnamma (1680) and Vishalaksha Pandit, the Jain Vidwan.        

Yalandur is the smallest taluk in Chamarajanaar district with just 33 villages. It is situated about 60 km south-west of Mysore and about 150 km south of  Bangalore.

In history days, the town was called Ramachndra Yelanbure. Later.  it became Yelandur. Today, it is known as the town surrounded by eight hills. 

The clothed Ganapathi

It is one of the oldest shrines in Udupi district. It was once one of the 365 temples in Bakrur near Udupi. But today though not many temples survive, the Batte Vinayaka Temple is among the three dozens that have survived the ravages of time.

The temple is unique and it attracts a large number of people. As the name itself suggests, it is Known as Batte or cloth Ganapathi. The deity in the temple faces north and it always wears a piece of clothe around its waist.

Apart from the clothe, the Ganapathi is encircled with small bells around the waist and it has pleated hair. The idol is found to be leaning towards the West.

Every day,  owners and drivers of vehicles  visit the temple to seek the blessings of  Ganapathi. There is a belief  that if  Ganesha gives his blessings, nothing will happen to the vehicle.

The temple is believe to have been built earlier to the Alpua rulers who ruled Barkur. The Alupas were powerful feudatories of the Chalukyas of Badami and they built several temples here.

Another unique feature is that there are five foot prints on a rock in front of the temple. This temple was never locked for centuries but since the last three years, the temple management is locking the doors of the structure as a precautionary measure.

There is another Ganapathi temple nearby called the Bairagi Ganapathi Temple at Chowlikeri. This temple was constructed by the Cholas.

This temple too has an interesting story. There was a beautiful tower in front of the Bairagi Ganapathi Temple. It is so called as the idol was installed by a Bairagi or mendicant. It would sound the gong twice a day-once at noon and another time during the night. The sound can no longed be heard as a truck hit the tower, making it lose its tryst with time.

Another temple is the Rathnagarbha Ganapathi at Ranganakere, three kms from Barkur towards Mandarthi. This temple was bult by the Alupa rulers along with a small pond known as “Rathna Kere”.
Locals say this Ganapathi had treasures in his belly. It was broken by a thief and taken away, leaving the idol mutilated. It was this story that led to the saying, “Ee Oorina Odeyana Hiriya Magana Koralu Muridu Karulu Bagedu Nodu”. (Break open the throat and  stomach of the elder son (Ganapathi) of the Lord of this village).

The Channa Keshava Temple here is also in ruins and miscreants have dug it up at several places in search of treasure.

Barkur is well connected to both Udupi and Mangalore and of course Honnavara.