Lakshmiramana
Swamy Temple:
Lakshmiramana
Swamy Temple is one of the oldest temples in the city. An inscription
found in Banni Mantap in Mysore mentions a grant for God Lakshminarayana
in 1499 A.D. by an order of Vijayanagar King Narasa Nayaka, father of
the famous Vijayanagar emperor Krishnadevaraya. An inscription in the
temple dated November 30, 1851, records that Krishnaraja Wodeyar III
renovated the tower built over the Mahadwara (the main entrance). Raja
Wodeyar, whose figure of about 2 feet is to the right side in the Prakara,
built the original tower. The chief deity in the sanctum sanctorum is
Nambinarayana, a form of Vishnu, holding the discus and the conch. The
cell to the right contains his consort, the Goddess of the temple. There
is also a good figure of Venugopala, which is about 4 feet. Venugopala
is said to have been a special object of worship before the Prasanna
Krishnaswamy Temple, another temple in the fort, was built. Kantirava
Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638-1659) built the handsome mantapa on the rear
side of the temple. The temple is also historically significant, as
it was the venue for coronation ceremonies of the five-year-old child
Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. As there was no suitable building in Mysore
for the coronation, the Britishers placed the child king on the throne
in this temple on June 30, 1799 after the death of Tipu Sultan earlier
on May 4 of the same year. The temple is located on the western part
of the fort, inside the Palace, near the Residential Museum.
There are two interesting incidents associated with this famous temple.
According to one legend recorded in the Annals of the Mysore Royal Family,
Virarajayya, a chieftain of Karugahalli, failed in his attempts to prevent
Raja Wodeyar from passing through his dominion to the temple of Srikanteswara
at Nanjangud. Hence, to avenge his defeat at the hands of Raja Wodeyar,
Virarajayya bribed the priest, Srinivasaiah, to offer poison mixed in
the holy water (thirtha) to the king, when he came to the temple to
offer his daily prayer. While offering the Thirtha to the king, Srinivasaiah
became nervous and his hand began to tremble. On questioning, the priest
confessed to the fact that the holy water was mixed with poison to cause
the death of the Maharaja. Raja Wodeyar, having firm faith in God Lakshminarayana,
drank the spoonful of holy water already offered to him. A miracle happened
and the holy water turned from poison into nectar in his throat. As
a punishment, the priest was transferred from the Lakshminarayana Temple
to a temple at Kannambadi, now submerged under the waters of Krishnaraja
Sagar. The ears and nose of the Karugahalli chief were cut off. His
fort was destroyed and the booty from his treasury was offered to Goddess
Chamundeswari. As an offering to God Lakshminarayana for saving his
life, Raja Wodeyar built the Mahadwara to the temple with a tall tower
(Gopura) embelished it with golden finials. The second miracle relates
that a half-blind Brahmin was cured of his blindness around the year
1599 at the interposition of Raja Wodeyar. The two feet statue of Raja
Wodeyar in the temple commemorates this act. He is seen standing with
folded hands (Anjali Mudra).
Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple:
Krishnaraja Wodeyar III built Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple. He built
the temple dedicated to Krishna, as he is the founder of the Yadu dynasty.
The construction was started in 1825 and completed in 1829. He presented
about 40 bronze images of gods and goddesses, saints and sages, each
inscribed with his name, besides the name of the image. Likewise, in
a shrine here stands the statues and metallic figures of Krishnaraja
Wodeyar along with his wives with labels on their pedestals. It is also
worshiped, besides the main deity. In the prakara or the enclosure of
this temple is a small cell enshrining a figure of the sage Atri. According
to tradition, the figure of Atri was set up, as he was the gotra-rishi
of the Maharaja. Besides the Maharaja, the first priest of the temple
also belonged to Atreya Gotra. In the shrine of Ramanujacharya are kept
three small stone figures of Paravasudeva, Anathasayana, and Rajamannar
(a form of Krishna). Like Varahaswamy Temple, the Navaranga (the central
pillared hall) of Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple has murals on its walls.
The murals depict the stories from Bhagavata, the epic work relating
to Krishna. The murals of these two temples are excellent examples of
the unique 19th Century Mysore paintings. In the sanctum sanctorum is
a beautiful image of Lord Krishna in crawling posture, Ambegalu Krishna.
It is made of chlorite schist. He has a butter ball in his hand and
has a juvenile expression. This temple is famous for Krishna Janmashtami
celebrations. From here starts the religious processions organised during
the eight days of Lord Krishna's birthday celebrations.
Varahaswamy Temple:
This temple is also known as Shveta Varahaswamy Temple. It is located
near the southern entrance of the Fort, from where tourists are allowed
into the Fort to visit the Palace. It is a fine Hoysala structure, especially
the shrine of the goddess, which has an elegantly carved doorway, well-executed
pillars and a tower. The Navaranga has stucco niches at the sides of
the entrance. The pillared hall has also well executed mural paintings
on its walls. The paintings represent scenes from Ramayana and Bhagavata
and in particular the exploits of Krishna. The temple has images with
inscriptions on their pedestals, prabhavalis etc. The inscription on
the processional image records that its donor was Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar
(1672-1704). Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar is said to have procured the stone
image of Shveta Varahaswamy from Srimushnam, in the present Tamil Nadu,
and consecrated it at a newly built temple in Srirangapatna, then capital
of Mysore. However, the temple was destroyed by Tipu Sultan and the
idol was shifted to Mysore and installed in the sanctum sanctorum of
this temple in 1809. It is stated that Dewan Purnaiya had this temple
built with the materials of a Hoysala building in the Shimoga district
as per the wishes of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. In the temple are kept
two inscribed images of Srivaishnava Acharyas, Desikar and Jiyar. Desikar
is also known as Vedanthacharya, as he was a popular Sri Vaishnava teacher
and author in the 13th and 14th centuries. The inscription on the figures
not only state their names but also reveal that they were presented
by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III to the temple at Mysore which he built in
1829. There are also masons' marks and letters in several places in
the building, including an inscription Maya Bhadra in characters of
the 12th or 13th century on the south outer wall of the shrine of the
goddess. It is not clear what this expression means, whether it refers
to the niche itself or to the artist who made it. The temple is within
a high walled enclosure and the south-eastern wall has a mural representing
Rama Pattabhisheka, the coronation of Lord Rama. The painted inscription
below the panel states that the painting was executed on Monday the
second of the bright half of the month Magha in the cyclic year Bhava
of Saka era 1797 (1875).
Gayathri Temple:
Gayathri temple is a recent structure. It was constructed by Jayachamaraja
Wodyear, the last Maharaja of Mysore, in 1953. The Maharaja was a great
devotee of Goddess Devi, including Gayathri. He had named his eldest
daughter as Gayathri Devi. Within its enclosures are three shrines dedicated
to Savitri, Gayathri and Lakshmi. The Navaranga has the sculptures of
Ganesha, Shiva, Surya and Maha Vishnu. The famous sculptor of Mysore,
Shilpi Siddalingaswamy, has carved all these sculptures.
Trinesvaraswamy Temple:
Trinesvaraswamy Temple, dedicated to the three-eyed Shiva, is located
in the north-east corner of the fort, facing the Palace, directly corresponding
to the Gayathri Temple, providing a perfect symmetrical structure. It
is a large Dravidian structure, facing the west in the Palace Fort.
It is an ancient temple and existed even prior to Raja Wodeyar (1578-1617).
It was located outside the original Mysore Fort, on the bank of the
Devaraya Sagara or popularly known as Doddakere. When the fort was enlarged
during the time of Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638-1659) and his
successor Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar (1659-1672), the temple came within
the new fort. The temple was enlarged and renovated. Kanthirava Narasaraja
Wodeyar constructed a verandah and consecrated five Lingas and several
deities including Dakshinamurthy, Kshetrapala, Kumara and Surya. His
own stone image in Anjali Mudra or folded hands was also installed.
By the side of this statue stands the image of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar,
also in Anjali Mudra. The temple has a Prakara or enclosure with a lofty
Mahadwara or outer gate. The Mahadwara is said to have been originally
surmounted by a tower (Gopuram). The tower is said to have been destroyed
during the 18th century. Inside the Mahadwara are two niches at the
sides having figures of Ganapathi and Bhairava. In the north-west of
the Prakara are a number of Naga stones set up under a Peepul tree.
Around the Prakara are several Lingas and shrines of Parvathi, Chamundeswari,
Suryanarayana and Sankaracharya. The Sankaracharya figure is of marble
and is a later addition. The Navaranga has two entrances, one on the
west and the other on the south. To the left of the Sukhanasi entrance
is a figure, less than half a meter in height, of the sage of Trinabindu.
According to local legend (Sthala Purana), Sage Trinabindu performed
penance at this spot on Shiva. Shiva appeared before him and the sage
consecrated the Lingam here. Hence, the Lingam is Trinesvara or Trinayanesvara,
the three-eyed Shiva. Facing the south entrance is a cell, which contains
the metallic figure of the god. It is flanked by two niches containing
figures of Ganapathi. On the south outer wall of the Navaranga are two
niches enshrining figures of Virabhadra and Dakshinamurthy. The latter,
seated under a tree in the posture of meditation, has four hands, three
holding a rosary, Rudra Vina, a book and the fourth in Chinmudra or
teaching pose. The pedestal is sculptured with the figures of seven
sages. In a niche in the Prakara, facing the south entrance, are the
two figures of Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar and Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar.
The temple attracts a large number of devotees during Shivaratri celebrations.
Special worship is arranged during the four Jhamas or every three hours
of the holy Shivaratri night till early morning.
Someswara Temple:
The Someswara Temple is situated in the north-east side of the fort.
It consists of three cells standing in a line. The middle cell has a
Linga, the right cell Goddess Somasundari and the left cell Narayana.
In front of the Narayana shrine are the figures of nine planets 'Navagrahas'
on a raised platform. Maharani Vanivilasa Sannidhana set up all the
images, except the Linga, over a century ago. The Linga is said to be
very old. The south outer wall has a niche enshrining a figure of Dakshinamurthy.
This temple was of importance during Dasara when Jayachamaraja Wodeyar
was using it for religious purposes during the daily Durbar or conduct
of the court.
Kodi Bhairava Temple:
To the south-east of Someswara Temple stands the shrine dedicated to
Kodi Bhairava. The temple derives its name because it was located on
the weir or 'Kodi' of Devaraya Sagara, now a dried up tank popularly
known as Doddakere. This Shiva's temple is historically significant,
as it is associated with the founders of the Mysore royal family or
the Yadu dynasty. According to tradition, it is in this temple that
the two young princes from Gujarat (Dwaraka), Yaduraya and Krishnaraya,
took shelter, before fighting the Karugahalli chief and restoring the
kingdom to the then royal family members. Yaduraya married the princess
and became the progenitor of the Yadu dynasty. This little shrine has
an image of Bhairava of about a metre height. In its four hands are
a trident, a drum, a skull and a sword as its attributes. It is flanked
on the left by the image of Bhadrakali, holding a sickle in her uplifted
right hand and on the right a female chauri-bearer.
Bhuvaneswari Temple:
The temple of Bhuvaneswari is located on the northern side of the Palace
Fort, corresponding to the Varahaswamy Temple in the south. Jayachamaraja
Wodeyar built the Bhuvaneswari Temple in 1951. It is in Dravidian style.
Mysore's famous sculptor Shilpi Siddalingaswamy carved the main idol
of Bhuvaneswari. The temple also houses the images of Surya, Maha Vishnu,
Maheswara, Rajarajeswari, Ganapathi and Chamundeswari. A large 'Surya
Mandala' is also in possession of the temple. This copper plate was
earlier in the Palace and was later handed over the temple by Jayachamaraja
Wodeyar. A special worship is made to this 'Surya Mandala' on the auspicious
day of "Ratha Sapthami" in the month of January-February.
