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Lord Shiva is one of the trinities and has been regarded as the destroyer among the three. He is considered the supreme power and is someone who is responsible to maintain an equilibrium. There are a lot of shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and every temple has its own history and legend. We can see many old temples of Lord Shiva and it is true that he would leave everyone mesmerised in his divine form. Lord Shiva is always prayed symbolically and he does not have a defined form, it is u who has imagine him in different ways and thus adorn him with a silver or golden mask.
Saying so, it is now time to visit one of the most beautiful Vijayanagara architecture of Shiva temple in the Ulsoor town of Bangalore city, The Someshwara Temple is one of the oldest temples of Bangalore.
PC : Dineshkannambadi
Ulsoor - What's in the name?
It is believed that Ulsoor was known as Halasuru and was gifted to the founder of Bangalore city, Kempegowda by the Vijayanagara empire and he built this temple dedicating to Lord Shiva on the banks of the lake of Halasuru. During the British rule the name Halasuru got colonized and became Halasuru.
The temple has beautifully carved pillars and produces music upon touch. There are a lot of carvings and inscriptions on the walls of the temple. The most attracting part of the temple is the flag-post or the huge Dhwajasthamba right in front of the temple. The amazing part of the temple is such that all trinities can be worshipped under one roof, yes; the temple offer prayers to Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as well along with Lord Shiva and that adds to the uniqueness of the temple.
PC : Gkpandey
The temple premises has shrines of Arunachaleshwara, Panchalingeshwara,Nanjundeshwara and Bhimeshwara (different forms of Lord Shiva). There is also a shrine dedicated to Goddess Parvathy who is worshipped as Kamakshamma. It is delight to pay a visit to this temple during the Maha Shivaratri festival and a lot of devotees flock in to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. The temple also celebrates the annual festival of Kamakashamma, the idol of the Goddess is taken round the temple on a procession and it attracts a lot of devotees.
Legend of Someshwara Temple
It is said that, KempeGowda, while on a hunt accidentally rode to a far away place from his capital Yalahanka and rested under a tree. While he slept, he dreamt about the Lord asking him to construct shrine using the treasure buried underground and the same was followed.
PC : Dineshkannambadi
Another legend speaks almost the same however, instead of Kempe Gowda it says that the king of Yalahanka King Jayappa Gowda had a similar dream of an old man and telling him that there was Sjiva Linga buried underneath and a shrine and a shrine had to be built dedicating it to Lord Shiva.
Though, the base of the temple is built using the Vijayanagara architecture style, the temple belongs to the Chola Period. A recent excavation has also revealed that the temple had a tank which is approximated 1200 years old.
Take a tour around this vintage, yet amazing temple in Bangalore and let us know how you felt.
