Banashankari Devi temple, Bangalore

The Banashankari Devi temple in Bangalore is one of the older temples of the city. When it was built, it belonged to the outskirts of Bengalooru, possibly with thick trees and not many houses around it. It was built in 1915, according to a notice. Today, the temple is at the heart of activities, with the metro construction on at full swing just in front of it, and a crowded junction and a BMTC bus terminus next door.

We head to the temple, which is unique in many different ways. The faithful flock to Goddess Banashankari with varieties of offerings. The word ‘Banashankari’ is made up of two words - vana or bana meaning forest, and Shankari meaning the consort of Lord Shiva. There is a famous Banashankari Devi temple in Badami, Bagalkot in Karnataka. 

A view from the parking lot

Getting inside the temple is a little tricky if you are coming from the direction of Jayanagar, but once you enter, it is all worth it! There is ample parking space inside for a small fee, and facilities include paid restroom as well. The temple is being renovated and developed continuously, thanks to devotees' donations. We park and have to walk to the other end of the compound to keep our footwear. We wash our hands and feet at the row of taps just next to the footwear stand and proceed.

One of the features of this temple is that special prayers are held for the Goddess during the Rahu Kalam, which is traditionally considered to be an inauspicious time by most Hindus. The superstitious ones avoid doing any important tasks during the Rahu Kalam. However, here the special prayers are held during the Rahu Kalam! A small board outside indicates the prayer timings. 

Devotees enter the main temple of Banashankari Devi through a small door on the side. We enter and pay our respects to Lord Ganesha. The queue moves straight on (we cannot do a pradakshinam here) to Goddess Banashankari. 

Amma is beautiful in black stone, with a silver crown, and in a silver sheath. She is depicted in a rare form as riding her vehicle, the lion. Strangely, what looks like a tortoise is seated in the traditional position of the deity’s vehicle (facing the Goddess). We are heralded forward by the incessant crowds. Next to Devi Lord Shiva is worshipped. We pay our respects to the Lord, and walk to the front of the shrine, away from the queue to stand and pray in peace. 

We step out on to the covered circumambulatory path, where some people are lighting lamps on lemon peels. This is believed to be a special offering to Banashankari Devi. We complete the pradakshinam, and pay our respects to the navagrahas, housed in a small shrine to the left of Devi. 

The pillared circumambulatory path

We then head out to the shrine of Shakhambari Devi. Shakhamabri means the Goddess who feeds the hungry. ‘Shakha’ means vegetables, and ‘ambari’ means one who bears. A small well and a peepul tree stand in the compound just in front of Devi’s shrine. The utsava murthys of Devi and Lord Shiva are worshipped just before Shakhambari Devi. We pay our respects to them, and move out of the queue to do a pradakshinam.

Goddess Shakhamabari's shrine

We complete our prayers, and head to the footwear stand. It is early evening, and the crowds are picking up. Having had a peaceful darshan, we slowly head out.

The well and tree

I hope you enjoyed today’s temple visit. Next week, we will go to another devalayam. Till then, take care, and stay devout! 

Santhome Parish Church, Bangalore

This week let us take a small detour and head to Hulimavu, in South Bangalore. A spanking new church stands tall and catches our attention. We curiously walk in eager to add to Devalaya Tirtham. The church has been coincidentally consecrated only a few hours before we visit! 

The church

There is a roomy parking lot in the compound, but it might not suffice on Sundays and festive days. We park and go straight in. The ground floor holds a newly inaugurated community hall. The priest’s office is to the right of the hall before the entrance. We spot balloons and steamers floating around. A board directs us to the church, which is in the first floor. 

It is early evening, and the devout have returned after their prayers, leaving us to be the only ones apart from the church staff. The building is lovely, with French styled windows and a charming dark grey brick wall. We spot a notice that tells us to leave our footwear outside before we enter. However, we cannot find a designated footwear stand, so we leave it in a corner before we step in.  

The entrance to the church on the first floor

We walk in through the tall wooden doors to the welcoming hall. It is a wide and roomy hall, with a few pews on both sides. Maybe they will add to the seating over time. There is a balcony prayer section as well. The steps outside continue to the balcony. As we sit admiring the church, the secretary walks in and greets us warmly. He excitedly tells us that the community hall of the church was inaugurated just this morning. It turns out that the church was consecrated just a year back. After exchanging pleasantries, he excuses himself to get back to work, and leaves us to continue with our prayers. 

The altar is large. A tall cross with the Christ upon it stands at the back. Mosaic images on the wall depict the holy family of Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus on one side of the cross, and Jesus on the other side. We go close to the altar to pay our respects. There are donation boxes on either side of the altar. Small pictures of saints like Father Chavara (a Keralite Syrian priest who was canonised in 2014), and Saint Alphonsa (a Keralite Syrian nun – the first Indian to be canonised – in 2008), adorn the wall. Other saints like St. Sebastian, St. John, and St. Paul also adorn the wall. The way of the cross (the steps that Jesus has to take on his way to be crucified – being made to wear the crown of thorns, carrying the cross, stumbling on the way et al), is also depicted in a picture format.

We sit for a while and absorb the silence in the devalayam. After having our fill of the peace, we reluctantly make our way outside, to face the cacophony of the road again!

I hope you enjoyed this brief account of today’s tirtha. Next week, we will go to a different devalayam. Until then, take care, and stay devout! 

Ragigudda Anjaneya swami temple, Bangalore

This week I’ll take you to the famous Ragigudda Anjaneya swami temple at JP Nagar, Bangalore.

We enter the arch of the temple to the narrow street that leads to the main gates. Finding a place to park here is quite a tough job. We have come on a Saturday, which makes it all the more difficult as the temple is open for longer hours. We somehow park in a by lane and move on. The devout can buy flowers, coconuts and other offerings from the vendors who sit around near the temple gates. 

We enter the gates, and go to deposit our footwear. There is an interesting practise at the Ragigudda temple. As we enter, we should put our footwear in gunny bags that hang on a stand. Then we continue in the queue and give the cover to the staff, and pick up the tokens. This is a hygienic practice to ensure that the staff need not touch anybody’s footwear!

The queue moves on, past the Hanuman Dhara that flows from the Hanuman temple, which is on a higher level. On the way we wash our hands at taps, and a constant flow of water on the ground ensures that our feet are washed as well! 

The Hanuman Dhara stream that flows from the Hanuman temple. Note the Garuda on the top

The winding covered path leads us to the Ganesha temple first. As we enter, we can buy rice bags from the counter. This is offered to Annapoorneshwari Devi, who sits a little ahead. The rice is used for the annadanam at the temple. Just ahead of us is Suryanarayana, the Sun God, seated on his chariot drawn by seven horses. We pay our respects to him, and go ahead to prostrate before Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. Just opposite to him is the murthy of Annapoorneshwari, the Goddess of food and nourishment. Next to Lord Ganesha sits Lakshmi Devi. We pay our respects to them and exit to the path that continues.

The front view of the Ganesha temple

The Ragigudda temple is built on a small hillock, which makes the path uneven. Steps have been built on the rock, and the stairway is covered, but narrow. A quick climb leads us to the shrine of Lord Anjaneya, the epitome of strength and loyalty. Just before we enter, a murthy of Lord Shanmukha welcomes us at the entrance. 

The view of the Hanuman temple from below

The queue leads us to the left, where Lord Shiva sits. A copper coloured Nandi sits before him. The Lord is in his Shivalinga form, in a distinct green shade. Perhaps it is a saligramam or an emerald? Despite the crowd, we manage to admire the beauty of the Lord, and go ahead.

We walk on to bow before Lord Hanuman. He stands in black stone, covered by a silver sheath. We accept the aarathi and teertham, and move ahead to the shrine on the Lord’s left. Lord Rama, Sita Devi, and Lord Lakshmana are worshipped here. As is customary, Lord Hanuman is also present with them. We pay our respects to them, and exit the main shrine. 

We walk down the steps and accept teertham and puliyogare prasadam distributed at the foot of the stairs. Ahead to our right is the dining hall, and a little ahead is a stage for cultural programs.

We take the small path behind the dining hall that leads us to the stone carvings. The trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara are carved on a stone that stands larger than life! We slowly make our way out, and walk the distance back to the exit, past the Hanuman Dhara.

The holy trinity carved on rocks

We leave after a fulfilling darshan. I hope you enjoyed today’s tirtha. Next week we will go to another devalayam. Till then, take care, and stay devout! 

Kapaleeshwarar temple, Mylapore, Chennai

Chennai is an interesting city. It is cosmopolitan yet retains the typical old world charm. There are parts of the city where disco lights and party beats rule the scene, and right next door the strains of the veena would sing sweetly, and the fragrance of fresh filter coffee surround the air!

Mylapore is one of the oldest localities of Chennai. It is where art and culture find home amidst the chaos and din. There are many classical art classes held in and around Mylapore. It is a very colourful place too, with small lanes that sell everything from gold to vegetables to the sacred thread (worn by brahmin males). Lord Kapaleeshwarar sits in the centre of this old locality in his beautiful and ancient temple. Today, let us visit the Lord and pay our respects to him.

Lord Kapaleeshwarar is a form of Shiva. He is named so because of the kapali or skull that he holds. Brahma and Vishnu fought over Lord Shiva’s fire lingam, and in order to win the contest, Brahma cheated. A furious Shiva plucked out the fifth head (which is supposed to be on top of Brahma’s head), as a punishment. This left Brahma with only four heads. Lord Shiva is said to have used this skull as a begging bowl (I will write a detailed post on this legend later). 

Image courtesy - PlaneMad via Wikimedia Commons

There are two entrances to the temple. Built in typical Pallava architecture, the tall gopuram and an equally huge set of gates welcome us inside. There is a large tank in front of the west gate. 

Temple tank 

Image courtesy - Nsmohan via Wikimedia Commons

We enter through the east gate, after leaving our footwear at the footwear stand. As we enter Lord Narthana Ganapathy welcomes us. To his left is the shrine of Lord Jagadeeshwarar. Next to the Lord are the Navagrahas. We walk ahead, with the circumambulatory path easing to our left. Lord Annamalayar, the presiding deity of Thiruvannamalai is installed in a shrine. Next to him, is his consort, Unnamulayar Amman. 

We continue on the path to greet Palani Andavar. The Lord Subramanya who sits in Palani is said to have renounced the world. He stands on top of Palani hills in only a small loin cloth, and no ornaments. To our right is a shrine dedicated to Shringara Velavan, another form of Lord Subramanya. Here the Lord is depicted as a handsome man, decorated in silks and jewels, and is worshipped with his two wives Valli and Devayani.

Valli Devayani sametha Sri Shanmukhan by Raja Ravi Varma

Image courtesy - Redtigerxyz via Wikimedia Commons

To our left is the large Navarathri mandapam. It is an open hall supported by pillars. Cultural programs are frequently held in this hall. The day we visit, a religious group is conducting a sandalwood grinding drive. We are told that it is a seva, and anyone can offer to grind sandalwood paste in the large round stones that the group is carrying around. The ground paste will be used to adorn Lord Brihadeeshwara at Tanjore. We excitedly join in, and grind some sandalwood as our small contribution to the Lord.  

Image courtesy - Sinha via Wikimedia Commons

We then continue on the path to pay our respects to Lord Kapaleeshwarar and his consort, Devi Karpagampal. A small board says only Hindus are permitted inside the temple. We cross the tall golden flag mast (kodimaram), and first enter devi’s sannidhi, which lies to the right of the Lord’s. We pay our respects to Ambal, accept the kumkumam prasadam and proceed to circumambulate the small enclosed shrine.

We proceed to the Lord’s sannidhi, which is fairly crowded. Kapaleeshwarar is worshipped in a lingam as usual. We offer our prayers to the Lord and step out after accepting the vibhuti prasadam. With the Lord are the 63 nayanmar (Tamil Shaivite poet saints) immortalised in stone around the shrine. Goddess Durga and Lord Chandikeshwara are also present in the Lord’s shrine.

We are ushered out as it is almost 12.30 p.m., closing time. We step out, and make our way to the exit, happy to have had a good darshan of the Lord.

Next week I shall take you to a different devalayam. Till then, stay safe, and stay devout!