| Cheluva-Rayaswami Temple |
| Melkote is one of those towns where we can find every nook and corner showcases our heritage and erudition. It is at an altitude of about 900 metres above the sea level.This town was once considered the knowledge storehouse by scholars and musicians. One can find that whole town life revolves around two main temples Cheluvarayaswamy and Tiruanrayana. |
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| There is Yoganarasimhaswamy temple on a hill overlooking the main temple.There are numerous legends and myths attached to this place. It is believed that Rama, Krishna and Balarama worshipped here at different timezones |
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| History |
| During the Saint Ramanjacharya's time the place was known as Yadavagiri or Yadavadri. It is also associated with Ramanujacharya, renowned saint. When Muslims raided the temples during that period, Ramunujacharya was instrumental in restoring the deities. It is also believed that one Muslim princess joined the saint and merged with the idol. Hence the temple also has an idol of Bibi Nachiyar. |
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| Apart from the temples, this place has been a haven for Sanskrit scholars. There is a century old Sanskrit college and 28year old Academy of Sanskrit Research. In this premise lie the two 30f eet pillars, Rajdwara, a classified monument believed to be 1000 years old. Legend behind this is that the famous sculptor Jakkanacharya challenged his rivals to build enterance to Melkote in single night. Here rivals cheated by sounding the gong just past midnight when it actually supposed to sound at 5 am. Upset by this Jakkanacharya left the place leaving an unfinished pillar. To this day the pillars look unfinished and ravaged by time. |
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| Melkote located near Mysore in Karnataka houses an ancient shrine to Vishnu, worshipped as TiruNarayana. This shrine is known for its long standing association with the spiritual leader Ramanujacharya. Melkote is also known as Yadavagiri, yatistalam, Vedadri and Narayanadri. |
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| The presiding deity here (moolavar) is known by the name Tiru Narayana, while the processional image of Vishnu goes by the name Selva Pillai or Sampath Kumara. Vishnu's consort is known by the name Yadugiri Taayaar. The image of Selvappillai is housed in the angamandapa. There are shrines to Yadugiri Taayaar and Kalyani Nachiyaar. The temple tank is known by the name Kalyani theertham. |
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| Legend has it this image of Vishnu was held in worship by Bhrahma. It is believed that the festival image Sampatkumara was worshipped by Rama and his son Kusha; hence the name Ramapriya. Legend has it that Krishna installed this image here at Melkote. |
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| Melkote has two distinct temples. The Tirunarayana temple at the foothills and the hill temple to Yoga Narasimha. Legend has it that the Yoga Narasimha temple image was installed here by Prahlada. |
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| King Bittideva of Karnataka who embraced the Sri Vaishnava way of life and patronized the saint Ramanujacharya, assumed the name of Vishnuvardhana and built five shrines known as the Panchanarayana temples. It is believed that at that time the Narayanapura shrine was in ruins and that both the images of Tirunarayana and Sampathkumara were missing and that Ramanujacharya discovered the image of Tirunarayana in the midst of Tulasi shrubs on the Yadavagiri hill and installed it back in the temple. |
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| Legend has it that during the Muslim raids of South India, the festival image of Melkote was stolen and taken away and that Ramanujacharya restored it from the court of the ruler. It is said that it a muslim princess had gotten attached to the image of Selvappillai and that being unable to part with it, she followed the Acharya to Melkote and then merged into the shrine there. In honor of this, there is an image of Bibi Nachiyar here. |
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| This temple is known for its Vairamudi Sevai in the month of March-April, when the image of Selvappillai is adorned with a diamond crown and taken out in procession. It is traditional belief that this crown is not to be looked at when it is not worn by the festival image; hence each year, during the occasion, the officiating priest picks up the crown from its chest with his eyes blindfolded and then places it upon the head of the image of Selvappillai. Thousands congregate to celebrate this occasion each year. |
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| How to Reach |
| On Bangalore- Mysore Road one has to take a right turn after Mandya, go past Pandavapura and take on Melkote. |
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Distance : From Bangalore 160kms, Mysore 60kms.
Nearest Town : Mandya
Nearest Railway : Mandhya
Nearest Airport : Mysore Airport. |
