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 bull in Hinduism, known as Nandi, Lord Shiva's vahana, or animal mount. The word "Nandi" means "joyful" in the Sanskrit language.
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 Saivite figures and motifs.[3]
It is said to house one of the largest Nandi murthis in the world. The height of the murthi is approximately 15 ft (4.6 m) and it is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) long.[4]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Nandi Temple". http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mysore/nt01.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Nandi". http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mysore/nt02.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Tower". http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mysore/nt03.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Basavanagudi Nandi Temple". http://www.saigan.com/heritage/temple/nandib.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
External links
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