<p>Driving along the Bangalore-Mysore highway, as you leave Channapatna town, you will pass by shops displaying eye-catching rows of rocking horses and lacquered wooden toys in pretty colours. Besides these charming wooden toys that lure visitors with their ethnic beauty ancient shrines dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu dot the landscape of this small town. <br /><br />About two kilometers from Channapatna, the famous silk weaving centre, a road branches off the highway to your left. You can see the majestic white peak of the gopura of the Aprameya Swamy temple as you enter the little known town of Doddamallur. The bright pink hue of the perennial bougainvillea creeper climbing up to the temple gopura makes for a breathtaking picture. The temple is more popularly known as the Navaneetha Krishna temple. Lush green paddy fields watered by the bountiful Cauvery surround the town which is a humble collection of houses and small shops selling essential commodities, much like the agraharas (neighbourhoods) of old times. Some of the families can be traced back to the priests who first came here to conduct puja at the Aprameya temple. Once home to Vedic scholars, Mallur was also known as Chaturveda Mangalapura. <br /><br />Many legends <br /><br />According to legend, the temple is over 3,000 years old. Epigraphic evidence, however, helps us to date it back only to about 1,500 years. Mythology has it that the most famous of its many legendary devotees was Rama himself, who is supposed to have stopped here for a while to worship Vishnu; hence the deity is also known as Ramaprameya and Mallur is called the Ayodhya of the south.<br /><br />In earlier times, the river Nirmala also known as Kanva Nadi, is said to have run along this little town. <br /><br />According to mythology, Sage Kanva performed many sacrifices on its banks. Legend has it that Saint Purandaradasa, disciple of Vyasaraya and also a guru of the Vijayanagara Empire, was instrumental in the rulers’ decision to build the temple. The outer wall of this temple is decorated with statues of Vishnu in different avatars. As you sit on the steps in the quadrangle surrounding the gopura, you can see the images of sages and deities adorning the outer slopes of the gopura. The whole structure is awash in simple white which is pleasing in its pristine beauty, a welcome change from the garish, ostentatious oil colours that are favoured today. <br /><br />The temple has one gopura and three garbagrihas (sanctum sanctorums), the main one for lord Aprameya, also known as Narayana or Veera Narayana. The statue is a classic Hoysala masterpiece with a richly decorated prabhavali. <br /><br />On a particular day in Mesha Masa, or the month of Shravana, the rays of the sun cover Aprameya from top to toe. This marks the beginning of the car festival. To the right of the Aprameya statue is the sanctum of goddess Lakshmi Devi or Aravindavalli (wearer of the garland of lotus). The third sanctum is for Navaneetha Krishna. In front of the shrine stands the carved pillar or garuda kamba. There is also a small shrine of Hanuman just below the main garbha griha. Pillars with tiny carvings found in this shrine are very attractive. Along the corridor, next to the goddess and behind Aprameya, you will find the tiny unpretentious sanctum sanctorum of Lord Navaneetha Krishna, Krishna holding a ball of butter. Navaneetha Krishna is in the form of a crawling child. <br /><br />The idol is made of black granite known as saligramashile. Like all ancient idols it has a number of magical legends woven around it. One interesting story has it that one of the Maharaja’s consorts from nearby Mysore carried away the idol to the palace, fascinated by the infant’s beauty. But Navaneetha Krishna appearing in her dream ordered that he be taken back to his own shrine. There are colourful, painted wooden images of Garuda, elephant and the golden hued Naga (snake) which are used in car festivals. <br /><br />Outside the temple is a mantapa called ‘Purandaradasa mantapa’. The great composer and saint, Purandaradasa, is said to have composed his beautiful ‘Adisidaleshode jagadodharana’ in which he sings about the lord being “Aprameya.” There is a stone tablet in the premises with the composition inscribed in Kannada script. When we visited the temple, a group of devotees were sitting in the cool corridor outside the sanctorum, waiting for the curtain to be lifted for darshan. They were singing songs on Krishna while the lord was being decorated with butter. <br /><br />The beauty of Doddamallur lies in its totally unpolluted ambience. No garland sellers pester you nor beggars hang around. There are no darshan agents, no noisy shops to push their puja articles and plastic wares. It is a peaceful and quiet place ideal for contemplation.<br /><br />How to reach<br /><br />The temple is about 60 kms from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. There is a big arch on the left side of the highway while coming from Bangalore after Channapatna leading to the temple. Most of the trains on the Bangalore - Mysore section stop at Channapatna. <br /><br />The temple can be reached by taking an auto from there. Doddamallur temple is located on the Bangalore - Mysore highway just three km from Channapatna bus stand.</p>
<p>Driving along the Bangalore-Mysore highway, as you leave Channapatna town, you will pass by shops displaying eye-catching rows of rocking horses and lacquered wooden toys in pretty colours. Besides these charming wooden toys that lure visitors with their ethnic beauty ancient shrines dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu dot the landscape of this small town. <br /><br />About two kilometers from Channapatna, the famous silk weaving centre, a road branches off the highway to your left. You can see the majestic white peak of the gopura of the Aprameya Swamy temple as you enter the little known town of Doddamallur. The bright pink hue of the perennial bougainvillea creeper climbing up to the temple gopura makes for a breathtaking picture. The temple is more popularly known as the Navaneetha Krishna temple. Lush green paddy fields watered by the bountiful Cauvery surround the town which is a humble collection of houses and small shops selling essential commodities, much like the agraharas (neighbourhoods) of old times. Some of the families can be traced back to the priests who first came here to conduct puja at the Aprameya temple. Once home to Vedic scholars, Mallur was also known as Chaturveda Mangalapura. <br /><br />Many legends <br /><br />According to legend, the temple is over 3,000 years old. Epigraphic evidence, however, helps us to date it back only to about 1,500 years. Mythology has it that the most famous of its many legendary devotees was Rama himself, who is supposed to have stopped here for a while to worship Vishnu; hence the deity is also known as Ramaprameya and Mallur is called the Ayodhya of the south.<br /><br />In earlier times, the river Nirmala also known as Kanva Nadi, is said to have run along this little town. <br /><br />According to mythology, Sage Kanva performed many sacrifices on its banks. Legend has it that Saint Purandaradasa, disciple of Vyasaraya and also a guru of the Vijayanagara Empire, was instrumental in the rulers’ decision to build the temple. The outer wall of this temple is decorated with statues of Vishnu in different avatars. As you sit on the steps in the quadrangle surrounding the gopura, you can see the images of sages and deities adorning the outer slopes of the gopura. The whole structure is awash in simple white which is pleasing in its pristine beauty, a welcome change from the garish, ostentatious oil colours that are favoured today. <br /><br />The temple has one gopura and three garbagrihas (sanctum sanctorums), the main one for lord Aprameya, also known as Narayana or Veera Narayana. The statue is a classic Hoysala masterpiece with a richly decorated prabhavali. <br /><br />On a particular day in Mesha Masa, or the month of Shravana, the rays of the sun cover Aprameya from top to toe. This marks the beginning of the car festival. To the right of the Aprameya statue is the sanctum of goddess Lakshmi Devi or Aravindavalli (wearer of the garland of lotus). The third sanctum is for Navaneetha Krishna. In front of the shrine stands the carved pillar or garuda kamba. There is also a small shrine of Hanuman just below the main garbha griha. Pillars with tiny carvings found in this shrine are very attractive. Along the corridor, next to the goddess and behind Aprameya, you will find the tiny unpretentious sanctum sanctorum of Lord Navaneetha Krishna, Krishna holding a ball of butter. Navaneetha Krishna is in the form of a crawling child. <br /><br />The idol is made of black granite known as saligramashile. Like all ancient idols it has a number of magical legends woven around it. One interesting story has it that one of the Maharaja’s consorts from nearby Mysore carried away the idol to the palace, fascinated by the infant’s beauty. But Navaneetha Krishna appearing in her dream ordered that he be taken back to his own shrine. There are colourful, painted wooden images of Garuda, elephant and the golden hued Naga (snake) which are used in car festivals. <br /><br />Outside the temple is a mantapa called ‘Purandaradasa mantapa’. The great composer and saint, Purandaradasa, is said to have composed his beautiful ‘Adisidaleshode jagadodharana’ in which he sings about the lord being “Aprameya.” There is a stone tablet in the premises with the composition inscribed in Kannada script. When we visited the temple, a group of devotees were sitting in the cool corridor outside the sanctorum, waiting for the curtain to be lifted for darshan. They were singing songs on Krishna while the lord was being decorated with butter. <br /><br />The beauty of Doddamallur lies in its totally unpolluted ambience. No garland sellers pester you nor beggars hang around. There are no darshan agents, no noisy shops to push their puja articles and plastic wares. It is a peaceful and quiet place ideal for contemplation.<br /><br />How to reach<br /><br />The temple is about 60 kms from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. There is a big arch on the left side of the highway while coming from Bangalore after Channapatna leading to the temple. Most of the trains on the Bangalore - Mysore section stop at Channapatna. <br /><br />The temple can be reached by taking an auto from there. Doddamallur temple is located on the Bangalore - Mysore highway just three km from Channapatna bus stand.</p>
