Nandi The Holy Bull

Nandi The Holy Bull
Originally uploaded by flickr photographerno1

Bull Temple Bangalore

Bull Temple was constructed in 16th century and is dedicated to a sacred bull - Nandi carved out of a single granite block. The temple is a typical specimen of Dravidian architecture. Kallekai parse an annual festival is celebrated at the time of harvesting of peanuts during the month of Nov-Dec, thousands of visitors throng the city to participate in the festival from all over the state.


¤ About The Bull Temple

The "Bull Temple" is situated in Bangalore - the capital of Karnataka. The sculpture of bull is the holy deity in the temple, also known as "Nandi Temple". The gigantic bull measuring 4.57m in height and 6.10 m in length is carved out of a single rock. It is a sculptural magnum opus.
This Bull Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva's Vahana (vehicle), Nandi the bull. Large number of devotees visits the enormous monolithic statue of the sitting bull every day.

Nandi the bull of Shiva faces the temple of Lord Shiva haunch at the back with sculptures of God Surya and Goddess Candra on their chariots drawn by horses. There is a small Lingam shrine bedecked with the exquisite Gopuram. The underground "Sri-Gavi Gandadhareshwara Temple" holds its own charm, every year on 14th January known as Makara Sankranti festival, it is believed that a ray of light passes between the horn of a Nandi outside the temple and lights the idol kept inside. The Bull temple is full of liveliness during the Shivratri festival.

Non Hindus are not allowed in the temple. There are continuos festive celebrations throughout the year assisted by the musical programs held in the temple premises.


Timings: Entry to the temple is free and the daily timings are from 6a.m. to 8 p.m.



¤ Legend

The legend has it that the surrounding area of the temple, known as Sunkenahalli was cultivated for groundnut. A bull started grazing in the well-grown groundnut crop, at this, a farmer got furious and hit the bull with a club. Immediately the bull sat down becoming motionless and was transformed into a stone. Poor farmers were left stun and felt guilty. For their repentance they decided to build a temple for the bull, to their surprise the bull was growing in height. The worried farmer then prayed to Lord Shiva who advised them to redeem a trident buried a few feet away from the bull and place the trident on the forehead of the stone statue to stop it from growing. Farmers followed the Lord's advice and the bull stopped growing. Still one can see the trident place on bull's forehead.

Since then farmers offer their first crop of groundnut to the bull. The farmer's hold a Groundnut fair known as Kadalekayi Parishe, near the temple premises every year, to show their thankfulness. It is one of the worth visiting places in Bangalore.


¤ Architecture

The temple is a typical specimen of the Dravidian-style of temple architecture constructed by Kempe Gowda. The temple is nestling in Basavanagudi housing a scared bull of Lord Shiva, it is believed that the source of the river Vishwa Bharathi originates from the feet of the Nandi. There is a Ganesh temple inside the premises with a large deity all made of 110 kilos of butter. The deity of butter is distributed as a prashada (God's food) every four years.

Farmers offer the first groundnuts to the sacred bull. The Bhoganandiswara temple at the foothills of Nandi Hills goes back to the period of the Banas, Cholas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar Kings. The image has been carved out of single granite rock. The original color of Nandi bull was gray which has now turned black due to the application of coconut oil by the devotees.


¤ Festivity

Anually, Kadalekayi Parishe -the Groundnut Fair is held near the temple during the month of November- December when the groundnut crop is harvested. Farmers offer the first groundnuts harvest to the sacred bull. Thousand of visitors and devotees throng the temple site from all over the state.


¤ Accessibility To The Bull Temple

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus regularly operates from the all over the state to the Park. Coaches of B.T.S., I.T.D.C., are also available. Tourist coaches and taxis are also available for the park.