JOIN USAdjoining the Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Brihan Mutt in Chitradurga is a beautiful botanical-cum-theme garden known as Muruga Vana. Covered with trees, natural rocks and man-made attractions like various statues and tableaus, this garden is spread over 25 acres and has an attractive entrance with a huge ship anchor with two tall stone pillars. Visitors can enter the garden through a stone gateway embellished with statues of elephant and ethnically-dressed guards with tall spears, on either side. Over the gate is a decorative wheel and the boundary wall of the garden has a number of big attractive wheels.
For children the garden is a treasure house of education and entertainment. Life-sized statues of animals and people attract many little ones. Huge mouths of whale and gorilla are installed in the garden and the kids enjoy walking through them. The tabloid depicting the evolution of human beings is pretty impressive. Wouldn’t you like to look at life-sized statues of giraffe feeding on the branches of tall trees? Rows of elephant statues, varying in size from small to mammoth bring out smiles on every visitor’s face. The depiction of a herd of deer standing in various poses is very realistic.
You can also get a first-hand experience of villagers and their daily life through statues depicting them. Every aspect of their lifestyle – from their attire to hunting expeditions to their daily life is represented in great detail here. The tableau of tribals with their dwelling and distinct dress and activities is imaginative and catches your eye.
In one particular depiction, you can see a person curing animal skin by cleaning and polishing it. Another scene depicts the a typical village katte under a tree with a holy person giving sermons. In another scene, a girl is enjoying a swing ride. The tableau of a village woman, standing in front of the girl with a smile is so realistic that you could mistake it for a real person. You can also expect to find statues of animals like cows, deer and dinosaurs. For a natural touch, you can head to the giant lotus plants and mushrooms. What more, the garden also has natural rocks that have been carved into cave-like structures and this excites the little kids. If you are tires by all the walking around, take a breather and sit down on any of the numerous benches installed all across the premises.
For those with a philosophical bent of mind, there are tabloids that depict the preachings of few sharanas (seeker). These statues also showcase the lifestyle of the sharanas, reflecting their principle of ‘simple living and high thinking’ perfectly. A tableau in the garden depicts a sharana giving discourse to disciples who are listening in rapt attention. To get around to all the statues and tabloids in this garden, you would need to spare at least two hours. So, head to Muruga Vana and enjoy the life-like statues reflecting the world around us.