Do you wish to have a darshan of ‘Lord Shiva Linga’ on the last Monday of ‘Kaarthika Maasa’ in Bangalore? If so, drive to Basavasamithi Layout of Vidyaranyapura (next to BEL Circle), where you can see Lord Shiva Linga, which is the biggest in the City. This newly constructed temple, which was inaugurated on March 3, 2005 by Dr Shivakumara Swamiji of Sri Siddaganga Mutt, Tumkur, is spacious and away from the buzz of the city. Since this temple is located amidst residences, many people are not aware of the existence of this beautiful temple.

Inside the temple, there is a beautifully carved and gigantic ‘Shiva Linga’ statue. It is five and a half-feet in height and is designed and carved out of a single granite rock at Shivarpur near Malur Taluk in Kolar district.

Apart from the Shiva Linga statue, which is installed in the middle of the sanctum sanctorium, you can see Ganapathi and Parvathi on either side of the ‘Shiva Linga’. There is a big bull installed in front of the ‘Lord Shiva Linga’ as well.

There is another unique statue which is behind the temple. As per Sri Shankara Gowda Biradar, General Secretary of the Temple Trust, this statue is called Chandikeshwara. As per legend, Sri Shankara Gowda says, the God is deaf as well as blind which is why the devotees should touch his feet and pray to him before entering the main temple. Since Chandikeshwara is closely related to Shiva, it has been installed just behind the Shiva Linga statue.

As per Shankara Gowda, the order for making the ‘Shiva Linga’ statue was given during 1999 and 2000. At that time, the amount paid towards carving this statue was just Rs 1,13,000. After having carved this statue in Shivarpur, it had been transported to Bangalore. While this beautiful temple is located at Basavasamithi Layout of BEL Colony in Vidyaranyapura, which is fast growing, it is pity that the approach road to this temple is not directly linked with the main road and as such this temple is not visible to the people from the main road.  
After the installation of Lord Shiva Linga statue in the temple, authorities concerned have also installed statues of ‘Navagrahas’. These ‘Navagrahas’, though smaller in size, have been carved out elegantly. The person who carved these beautiful ‘Navagrahas’ is Manjunathachar of Attoor Layout near Yalahanka, a well-known and an award-winning sculptor of recent times.

There are different types of poojas offered to Lord Shiva Linga on Mondays and on occasions like ‘Makara Shankranthi’ and ‘Shivarathri’. The devotees are more especially on Mondays of ‘Kaarthika Maasa’. Apart from devotees, a group from ‘Sanathana Dharma’ will come to this temple and do ‘bhajan’ every Monday evening. Also, a group called ‘Akkana Balaga’ from BEL Layout in Vidyaranyapura come here for prayers and bhajans.

Even before the construction of the Shiva temple, members of Basavasamith of BEL Colony of Vidyaranyapura and nearby areas used to come together to celebrate ‘Shankranthi’, ‘Shivarathri’, ‘Basavajayanthi’, etc.
The members of the Samithi also promote cultural activities among children, provide help to the aged and feeble, honouring retired citizens.

There are any number of BMTC buses if you want to visit the temple. One is No 276 from Majestic to Vidyaranyapura. But the stop to alight at Vidyaranyapura is Nanjappa Circle. From here, one has to walk towards Basavasamithi Layout to reach the temple.