Nandi Temple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Temple interior with Nandi idol.
Temple interior with Nandi idol.
One of the biggest Nandi idols in the world.
One of the biggest Nandi idols in the world.

Nandi Temple (or Basavanagudi Nandi Temple) is located in Basavanagudi, a neighborhood of Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka, India. The temple is exclusively for the worship of the sacred Hindu demi-god, the bull Nandi, Lord Shiva's vahana.

The temple was built in 1537 by a local ruler under the Vijayanagara empire in the Vijayanagara architectural style. The ruler, a feudatory chief named Kempe Gowda, also founded the city of Bangalore.[1] The temple is named after the large granite Nandi monolith placed on a plinth in the temple shrine (garbhagriha) which has become blackened from years of being rubbed with charcoal and oil.[2] The temple is a small one, consisting only of the shrine fronted by a porch in the Vijayanagara style. The current tower (vimana) over the shrine was constructed in the early 20th century and is adorned with Shaiva figures and motifs.[3]

It is said to house one of the largest Nandi idols in the world. The height of the idol is approximately 15 ft and it is approximately 20 feet long.[4]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Nandi Temple. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
  2. ^ Nandi. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
  3. ^ Tower. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
  4. ^ Basavanagudi Nandi Temple. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.

[edit] External links


 This Karnataka-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 This article about an Indian building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

⋅