About 13 km south of Bangalore is the village of Vasanthapura off Kanakapura road. With ponds, forests and rocky terrain, it used to be the favourite picnic spot of city dwellers decades ago. Today, the fast paced growth of the City has almost engulfed the place. However,  the old charm of the place has been well retained by the ancient Vasantha Vallabharayaswamy temple here. Well connected by buses, it is just a stone's throw away from the City.

What is special about this temple, believed to be over a 1,000 years old, is that Lord Venkateshwara himself appeared here to mitigate the difficulties of mortals. The legend goes that a long time ago, many sages were engaged in religious pursuits in the Himalayas. Amongst them, Sage Mandavya, after a visit to Badarinath, came south of the Vindhyas in search of a Badarikashram in the south and stayed at Melkote for quite some time. But not satisfied with his penance, he wandered all over for a proper place and came to the hillock here.

After a deep penance, he had a dream that Lord Venkateshwara himself appeared in the form of a stone and ordained that a temple be built on the hillock. He would take the form of  Vasantha Vallabharayaswamy to uplift the people from their sufferings and also give darshan to devotees who cannot visit Thirumala.

By that time, the disciples of the sage, who had come searching for him, fulfiled the wishes by constructing a temple around the stone.  Even today, abhishekha is performed on this stone which is inside the garbhagriha.
The temple was renovated  from time to time and as a result the temple architecture became a  blend of the styles of late Vijayanagar and Chola periods. The niches above the temple entrance have the images of Sathyanarayanaswamy, Lakshmi Hayagriva and   Paravasudeva. Perhaps, this is one of the few temples with two dhwajastambhas. The main pillar has a small cell for Vinatheya. 

As you enter the temple, on the left is a shrine for Veeranjaneya. The chamber on the  right houses the Alwars. The temple of Sri Sudarshana Narasimhaswamy is on the far left corner. The Kannadi Mantapa is an enclosure with mirrors used for performing  Shayanotsava. And the central part of the hall is where the Kalyanotsava and Uyyale utsavas are held. The narrow entrance leads to Ardhamantapa. Here, the small shrine on the right has the idol of Goddess Vasanthanayaki, also known as 'Neeladevi'. In the sanctum sanctorum stands the beautiful image of Lord Vallabharayaswamy with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either sides. To the right of the deity is the cute idol of sage Mandavya, sitting before the stone which is the manifestation of the Lord.

Outside the temple is an old choultry. Facing the temple is another shrine for Anjaneya. The surroundings of Vasanthapura once had five ponds named Shankha, Chakra, Plava, Vasantha and Deva theerthas. Now, only the last two of them remain. A short walk behind the temple on a hillock is a small cave where the sage performed his penance. Unfortunately, this place seems to have been encroached and needs to be spruced up and maintained.

 One of the ambitious plans of the Temple Trust is the Rs 1 crore project for a silver chariot which will be ready in a year or so. A path around the temple is also being built.  Among the many special occasions celebrated here, the annual Brahmarathotsava during Magha masa draws thousands of devotees. Saturdays of Shravana Masa and Vaikunta Ekadashi are the other religious occasions. The most popular seva here is the abhisheka  and  Kalyanotsava performed with all the rituals at the request of the devotees.

The other shrines in the vicinity that can be visited are the adjacent Bhavanishankara temple and the Saibaba temple further down.

How to reach
Drive on Kanakapura road till Konanakunte cross, turn right and go on for a km. Bus route no. 210 goes from Majestic via City Market.
Temple timings:
8 am to 12 noon and 6 pm to 8.30 pm.
For more information, call 26724517/ 9980218538/ 9880915531.