Shivgange, a test of physical fitness

Sharada Peet of Sringeri Mutt

Nandi, a symbol of Shiva's power



steps leading to Shivgange peak

Shivgange is an ideal religious cum adventure trip for a family or group of friends. One has to travel on NH4 to reach Dobbaspet and take a left turn beneath the flyover. The total distance is 62 km from Blore.

After seeing the Yoganarasimha and Shiva temple one has to keep ascending

Things to see @ Shivagange are Sharada Peet, Pataganga, Yoganarashima temple, Veerabhadra temple, Hidden water spring ( accessible for lucky people ), and other small temples. Enroute one encounters different sizes of Nandi. There is a subramani temple and augustiya thirta too.

Try your luck to swipe the water from the spring

Ascending the hillock can be very tiresome and not meant for physically unfit. One should take care to wear good cushioned footwear with grip so that one avoids skids and slippery surface. The monkey’s enroute can be nasty, trying to snatch foodstuff and other eatables. They don’t grab at water bottles thankfully. It is better to leave behind foodstuff in the vehicle or at ground zero. Please don t be misguided by people advising you to leave behind your footwear at the ground level.


The temples have been modified with lime or chunna paint, destroying the originality of the Chola and Vijaynagar sculptures. One can witness the original beauty of artisan’s work in the desolate temple just besides Patalganga. These edifices are ignored by the priests and temple management. ASI should initiate proceedings to take over the temple to protect the heritage.

check out the original temple sculpture




Climbing to the peak of the Shivgange is quite physically demanding, it is better to undertake trip early morning @ around 7 am to 8 am or in the evening before 5 pm. One can really enjoy if one is inclined to live upto the challenge of overcoming obstacles in life. If one feels their knees are jerky and obese persons are advised to abort the ascent @ Veerbhadra temple which is the midpoint.



Get your bags packing if you are looking for checking out your physical fitness, forget threadmill test, Shivgange is a real litmus test for physical fitness.

Madhugiri Fort, moonlight trekking recommended

Madhugiri Fort – Reach for the skies :

There is so little information on Madhugiri Fort on the net, I decided to check out the facts. We drove from B’lore travelling on NH-4 which is tolled 6 lane road after Peenya. The drive upto Jallahalli cross could be testing in view of signals and repairs underway. Once we get past the hurdle, we reach the Belur cross and from thereon the drive is superb delight, the toll booth collects Rs 22/- for a car returning on the same day. We hit the Dobbaspet junction where one has to take the road below the flyover and one comes to the first junction wherein one has to deviate for Shivgange which is 7 kms away. The next main junction under the flyover leads on the left towards Koratagere and Madhugiri, which is 55 kms away on good road, except in portions where road is in various stages of construction. Watch out for nasty potholes.

The origin of the fort dates back to the Ganga period, who were great builders. They began construction and midway the territory was conquered by the Nolamba dynasty for a short period, who too left the fort unfinished, Vijaynagar empire feudal Raja Heera Gowda took up the task of finishing the magnificient fort which literally raises to the sky. After the fall of the Vijaynagar empire in 1565, the fort was under sieze by various feudatories providing protection for the few surviving nobles and royalties from the massacre unleashed by the sultans.


In 1678, the Fort was captured by Devaraja of Dalavoy dynasty, who were the commanders under Wodeyar’s and later turned out to be rulers. Hyder Ali annexed the fort after defeating the dalavoys in 1761. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were engrossed in waging war ( 4 Anglo mysore battles ) with the British and had very little time to complete the Fortification with Islamic structures.



After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the final battle with british @ Srirangapatnam the entire terriorty was leased to the Wodeyar family in 1830. The British manned the fort for a brief period and used the premises to jail the mutineers in 1857. Since the Fort was built in a impregnable manner, it served as barracks and prison. The same is now converted into a civil court.

The steps leading to the peak of the fort is steep in many a places. First one comes across a huge corridor with tanks for storage of rain water. The palace housing the kings and commanders are destroyed. The watch towers surrounding fort is still in pristine condition. The boundary walls are in various stages of collapse, which is being re-constructed by the ASI. The main gate is also being renovated. The enterance to the fort is majestic and there are jain basadi’s on its sides.

The fort has multiple enterance known as Anthara Bagilu, Diddi Bagilu, Mysore Bagilu etc. There are a number mantapas located in various parts of the fort. There are number of springs across the fort. The ideal time to visit the fort is early morning which will be a trekking exercise and easy on the foot. The sunshine can add to the exhaustion. In case one does not have option it is better to carry an umbrella and sunscreen. The view of the madhugiri town is majestic from the watch tower. One can have beautiful view of the moon rise, if one happens to visit during the full moon time. The sunset too can be beautifully photographed.


Currently there are plans to relay the steps leading to peak of the Fort which can be cumbersome for children and elderly people. A ropeway can be considered too. The for needs landscaping and lot of greenery to be developed to preserve its structure, otherwise it is bound crumble in due course. An ideal trekking spot during full days is recommended in groups.

Lake rejuvenated - Hebbal

Rejuvenating old lakes, is a constant endeavour for B D A & BBMP. There is a constant effort to blend lost greenery, lakes, habitat with that of the concerte jungle. The real test of the success of this experiment is the arrival of Siberian cranes and various other migratory birds.

Well I chanced to stop my vehicle on the Hebbal lake which is under renovation and is visible from the Hebbal flyover when one speeds across to the new BIAL airport. Surprisingly the development is a caliberated move to maintain the nesting instincts of the birds.

The same lake has a walking track for enthusiasts which is free for fitness freaks before 8.30 am and bird lovers. Otherwise an entry fee is charged for adults @ Rs 10/- and camera is Rs 15/- and video Rs 25/- which is reasonable I suppose.

Love Birds too flock for privacy in this remote gardens, last time around I found couples were having a gala time mingling with their lovers without anybody disturbing their privacy. In a metro such privacy is rare sight.

There is a paid parking lot for safety of vehicles, the side approach road may not be in pristine condition. Hopefully it will all be decked up before the inauguration of the BIAL airport. There is a bus stop right at the enterance of the garden for buses coming from Yeswanthpur, Jalahalli, etc plying towards whitefield and K.R. Puram.

We should definitely give kudos to the BDA for the wonderful caliberated effort to resurrect the dying lake of Hebbal. It adds oxygen to the lungs of Blore Metro. This project is sponsored by M/s E.I.H @ cost of Rs 16.5 crores.

KOLAR, Rich heritage of ancient Ganga, Cholas & Vijaynagar Era temples

Kolar district is full of historical temples ranging from the Gangas, once upon a time in the 4 th century AD it was capital of the Gangas, then Gangas moved over to Talakad, Cholas defeated them in the battle @ Kolar and the Gangas moved away. Kolar is a semi arid zone which can become quite sultry during the summer. One of the unique features of Kolar district is prevalence of Persian tanks which are rare sight. A huge medical hospital and college of Devraj Urs is located just on the N H 4. Presently the NH 4 is on a massive upgradation into four lane all along the route. It is better to drive carefully in the night, many accidents take place on this route due to misjudgement. Let me just give a preview of the ancient temples.


KOLARAMMA TEMPLE  Kolar : This temple is located just after the bus stand one should seek guidance if one enters through the town, there is a Methodist church and a lane in between leads to the temple, on the left hand side. The architecture of the temple is very unique, luckily the temple has been under the protection of ASI. Most of the temples which have been left to private trusts have been plundered and destroyed. Melkote is a classic example. Even the gold ornaments adorning the deities have been stolen. The Gangas have built this Temple during the 11th century. On the enterance a massive doorway is filled with sculptures and dance poses of apsaras and menakas. The finesse of the artists are commendable. Maybe these artisans were the pioneers who later on passed their skills to the generations who created the magnificient edifices at Belur, Halebid and then culminated @ Hampi. The façade of the temple is filled with epics.

Ancient Temples in Kolar district :


The main diety is Durga. The temple is filled with incriptions also from the Chola- period. Our informal guides gave us the peek a boo idea on the battle carvings on the enterance. There is marriage mantap on the right hand side as one enters the temple premise. Raja Rajendra Chola was associated in completing the temple between 1012-1024 as per ASI signage.


SOMESWARA TEMPLE : Kolar One of the finest Vijaynagar era temples, they wanted to outclass the Ganga rulers. In their quest, they have built a gopuram in the enterance which marvel unrivalled. One does not feel like leaving the place if one keeps studying the artisans imagination. The presiding diety is a Shiv Linga in the temple, and there are other structures one looks like a dancing mantap, which occasionally backed up for marriages too. It is so elegant one feels that one should tie the knot and enact one’s marriage for sake of history. The temple’s architecture is superably laid out in such a small area.




KURUDUMALE MAHAGANPATI TEMPLE : It is located before the Mulbagal town around 11 kms on the left there is a signage of Karnataka tourism which guides to the main temple, which is Mahaganapathi temple. We were lucky to find a family performing the abishek to the temple, which is almost on the verge of collapse. We got an information that V. Hegde has promised funds for renovation, otherwise this magnificient temple is in ruins. I hope renovation work is carried out to preserve this ancient temple from the Chola period.



SOMESWAR Temple  ( Kurudumale )Another temple which is in pristine condition is located before the main temple. The temple priest can be little extracting type, one has to be careful. But he has a encyclopedia of knowledge on the history. He was pointing to a carving on the pillars and telling us that the king was a man of few words, ( Chola king ) He used to direct his architect with the temple plan, budget and time frame to complete the edifice. This has been beautifully carved out on the pillars. A number of other deities statues which may have been uprooted in the secluded temples beyond the compound wall is placed inside the main time of the durga diety.


SRIPADA NARASHIMA TIRTHA  (Mulbagal) Enroute to Tirupathi one gets to see this place on the outskirts of Mulbagal right on NH4. We went into the temple and had a dharshan of the Venugopal swamy temple, and there is a bridavan, and Narashima teerta kund with some history behind it. The Pejawar mutt is connected to Sripada Brindivan, total of 15 bridavans are present. Somehow I was not very comfortable because it seemed to be a secluded society for the caste members only. We may caught at the wrong time during lunch time where everybody was busy enjoying their meals, and the main hall for darshan was closed. One does find lot of information on the internet regarding the activities of the community and the mutt. So I need not dwell in detail in this travelogue.



RAMALINGA TEMPLE  ( Avani) It was the ancient capital of the cholas and they have built a beautiful edifice, but most of the statues have been stripped away by either vandalisers or smugglers to be sold abroad. The main Shiv Linga is worshipped in the temple and this temple seems to be predecessor for Kotilinga temple. There are any number lingas surrounding the temple and on top of the Lav Kush hills. There is a Basava theerta stal one has to trek or go up to the main road and park their vehicles and trudge, our guide helped us to check out this exclusive spot, which is missed by many a tourists. The spring from the water is in pristine condition and is being used by the local villagers for their drinking purpose. ( one find frogs floating on the pond which not a downer for villagers maybe they purify the water much more than chlorine.)




LAV KUSHA HILL : @ Avani, one has the beautiful Lav Kush hillock, which is fabled to have hoisted the Sita ma along with their sons Lav Kush. The twins were supposed to have born on this hillock, Sita Devi used to perform pooja and penance on this hillock, check out the rock and roll rock. The temple dedicated on the hillock is a great view point.



SHANKAR MUTT  Avani A wonderful Sharada Devi is the presiding diety at this temple. It is located just next to Ramlinga temple. We wanted to avoid this place but destiny bought us back to this temple after the climb to Lav Kush Hills. My camera battery ran out and for re-charge we spent nearly 30 minutes, and the poojary gave us a preview on the history of the temple. The poojary was repenting the fact that there are very few girls in the Haveck Brahmin community. Most of them are educated and prefer to marry well settled boys in other profession. The solution to this problem can be bought forth if the poojaries form an association and fix the fees levels for various poojas. It has to be open and transparent other there is general mis trust of the public. Hindus are generally averse of spending money on poojaris. The discipline of having archana ticket which is as low as Rs 2/- can be issued, parking tokens can be issued by temple and pooja items can be sold with minimum profit etc. Temples have prospered where there is no collection by poojari, because devotees according to their level of affordability contribute to the hundis or buy pooja tickets.



BANGARU TIRUPATI  There is a short cut route from Avani to Bangaru tirupathi, which is of recent origin. It was built in 1964, it can be assumed an old temple was updated to current temple. A small Balaji is installed on the hilltop, which is to be viewed thorough a stone mesh. It is ornamented with gold. A parking ticket is issued in the enterance for vehicles along with archana ticket which is only Rs 2/- Another temple is the Padmavathi temple which is located diametrically opposite. Lot of landscaping is under progress in and around the temple.


KOTILINGESWAR TEMPLE  Bangarpet : This place is supposed to be filled with 1 crore lingas, so far they managed to install around 80 lakhs, which I doubt very much. However we have trust what is dished out to us in good faith. The mission is to complete installation of 1 crore linga. I presume devotees are encouraged to sponsor installation of Lingas, which I failed to check out. There is a Sai baba meditation hall, and devi, Vishnu, Bramha and Maheswar statues in the premise. The huge Linga and Nandi is embedded to the ground.



We just managed a hetic one day trip, I was tired to the core driving, shooting and trekking. We had covered a distance of 280 kms from morning 6.30 upto 10. pm. But it was a heady feeling that we could pack adventure with religious tour. The total cost of the trip was well under Rs 2000/- inclusive of food, dharsan and fuel.

KOLAR DISTRICT TEMPLE TOUR ( SHOESTRING BUDGET )

Ancient Temples in Kolar district :

Kolar district is full of historical temples ranging from the Gangas, once upon a time in the 4 th century AD it was capital of the Gangas, then Gangas moved over to Talakad, Cholas defeated them in the battle @ Kolar and the Gangas moved away. Kolar is a semi arid zone which can become quite sultry during the summer. One of the unique features of Kolar district is prevalence of Persian tanks which are rare sight. A huge medical hospital and college of Devraj Urs is located just on the N H 4. Presently the NH 4 is on a massive upgradation into four lane all along the route. It is better to drive carefully in the night, many accidents take place on this route due to misjudgement. Let me just give a preview of the ancient temples.

KOLARAMMA TEMPLE  Kolar : This temple is located just after the bus stand one should seek guidance if one enters through the town, there is a Methodist church and a lane in between leads to the temple, on the left hand side. The architecture of the temple is very unique, luckily the temple has been under the protection of ASI. Most of the temples which have been left to private trusts have been plundered and destroyed. Melkote is a classic example. Even the gold ornaments adorning the deities have been stolen. The Gangas have built this Temple during the 11th century. On the enterance a massive doorway is filled with sculptures and dance poses of apsaras and menakas. The finesse of the artists are commendable. Maybe these artisans were the pioneers who later on passed their skills to the generations who created the magnificient edifices at Belur, Halebid and then culminated @ Hampi. The façade of the temple is filled with epics.
The main diety is Durga. The temple is filled with incriptions also from the Chola- period. Our informal guides gave us the peek a boo idea on the battle carvings on the enterance. There is marriage mantap on the right hand side as one enters the temple premise. Raja Rajendra Chola was associated in completing the temple between 1012-1024 as per ASI signage.

SOMESWARA TEMPLE : Kolar One of the finest Vijaynagar era temples, they wanted to outclass the Ganga rulers. In their quest, they have built a gopuram in the enterance which marvel unrivalled. One does not feel like leaving the place if one keeps studying the artisans imagination. The presiding diety is a Shiv Linga in the temple, and there are other structures one looks like a dancing mantap, which occasionally backed up for marriages too. It is so elegant one feels that one should tie the knot and enact one’s marriage for sake of history. The temple’s architecture is superably laid out in such a small area.


KURUDUMALE MAHAGANPATI TEMPLE : It is located before the Mulbagal town around 11 kms on the left there is a signage of Karnataka tourism which guides to the main temple, which is Mahaganapathi temple. We were lucky to find a family performing the abishek to the temple, which is almost on the verge of collapse. We got an information that V. Hegde has promised funds for renovation, otherwise this magnificient temple is in ruins. I hope renovation work is carried out to preserve this ancient temple from the Chola period.

SOMESWAR Temple  ( Kurudumale )Another temple which is in pristine condition is located before the main temple. The temple priest can be little extracting type, one has to be careful. But he has a encyclopedia of knowledge on the history. He was pointing to a carving on the pillars and telling us that the king was a man of few words, ( Chola king ) He used to direct his architect with the temple plan, budget and time frame to complete the edifice. This has been beautifully carved out on the pillars. A number of other deities statues which may have been uprooted in the secluded temples beyond the compound wall is placed inside the main time of the durga diety.

SRIPADA NARASHIMA TIRTHA  (Mulbagal) Enroute to Tirupathi one gets to see this place on the outskirts of Mulbagal right on NH4. We went into the temple and had a dharshan of the Venugopal swamy temple, and there is a bridavan, and Narashima teerta kund with some history behind it. The Pejawar mutt is connected to Sripada Brindivan, total of 15 bridavans are present. Somehow I was not very comfortable because it seemed to be a secluded society for the caste members only. We may caught at the wrong time during lunch time where everybody was busy enjoying their meals, and the main hall for darshan was closed. One does find lot of information on the internet regarding the activities of the community and the mutt. So I need not dwell in detail in this travelogue.

RAMALINGA TEMPLE  ( Avani) It was the ancient capital of the cholas and they have built a beautiful edifice, but most of the statues have been stripped away by either vandalisers or smugglers to be sold abroad. The main Shiv Linga is worshipped in the temple and this temple seems to be predecessor for Kotilinga temple. There are any number lingas surrounding the temple and on top of the Lav Kush hills. There is a Basava theerta stal one has to trek or go up to the main road and park their vehicles and trudge, our guide helped us to check out this exclusive spot, which is missed by many a tourists. The spring from the water is in pristine condition and is being used by the local villagers for their drinking purpose. ( one find frogs floating on the pond which not a downer for villagers maybe they purify the water much more than chlorine.)

SHANKAR MUTT  Avani A wonderful Sharada Devi is the presiding diety at this temple. It is located just next to Ramlinga temple. We wanted to avoid this place but destiny bought us back to this temple after the climb to Lav Kush Hills. My camera battery ran out and for re-charge we spent nearly 30 minutes, and the poojary gave us a preview on the history of the temple. The poojary was repenting the fact that there are very few girls in the Haveck Brahmin community. Most of them are educated and prefer to marry well settled boys in other profession. The solution to this problem can be bought forth if the poojaries form an association and fix the fees levels for various poojas. It has to be open and transparent other there is general mis trust of the public. Hindus are generally averse of spending money on poojaris. The discipline of having archana ticket which is as low as Rs 2/- can be issued, parking tokens can be issued by temple and pooja items can be sold with minimum profit etc. Temples have prospered where there is no collection by poojari, because devotees according to their level of affordability contribute to the hundis or buy pooja tickets.

BANGARU TIRUPATI  There is a short cut route from Avani to Bangaru tirupathi, which is of recent origin. It was built in 1964, it can be assumed an old temple was updated to current temple. A small Balaji is installed on the hilltop, which is to be viewed thorough a stone mesh. It is ornamented with gold. A parking ticket is issued in the enterance for vehicles along with archana ticket which is only Rs 2/- Another temple is the Padmavathi temple which is located diametrically opposite. Lot of landscaping is under progress in and around the temple.

KOTILINGESWAR TEMPLE  Bangarpet : This place is supposed to be filled with 1 crore lingas, so far they managed to install around 80 lakhs, which I doubt very much. However we have trust what is dished out to us in good faith. The mission is to complete installation of 1 crore linga. I presume devotees are encouraged to sponsor installation of Lingas, which I failed to check out. There is a Sai baba meditation hall, and devi, Vishnu, Bramha and Maheswar statues in the premise. The huge Linga and Nandi is embedded to the ground.

We just managed a hetic one day trip, I was tired to the core driving, shooting and trekking. We had covered a distance of 280 kms from morning 6.30 upto 10. pm. But it was a heady feeling that we could pack adventure with religious tour. The total cost of the trip was well under Rs 2000/- inclusive of food, dharsan and fuel.