It is the end of the holy month of Karthik and as mentioned in my previous post, it is a period when it is considered highly auspicious to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva. Home to several ancient temples, Bangalore is a city where Karthik masa is celebrated with fervour and gaeity alike. Almost every temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is lit with earthern lamps and one temple that is abuzz with activity is the Panchalingeshwara Temple in Begur.

This one is located off Bangalore-Hosur road and in close proximity to Electronic city. Begur dates back to the 9th century and was historically under the rule of the Ganga and Chola dynasty. Yet another historical temple in Bangalore, this one is sure worth a visit.

The temple is also called the Naganatheswara temple and houses 5 lingas namely Nageshwara, Choleshwara, Kali Kamateshwara, Nagareshwara and Karaneshwara.

Replete with carved pillars and sculptures, the temple is exudes antiquated vibes and also has scultprues of Sri Ganesha, Sri Chamundaeshwari, Sri Kaala Bhairava etc. There is also a Navagraha mantapa near the shrine of Sri Parvati in the temple.

The temple is extremely significant in the context of the history of Bangalore as it gives the proof of the earliest existence of the city.

It houses an inscription that mentions the name Bengaluru and this 1,100 year-old inscription is the oldest known reference of India’s start up capital aka India’s Silicon valley. The inscription from around 890 CE records the incidents in the battle of “Bengaluru”. Further, there are several ancient hero stones or Veeragallu which have been preserved in the temple premises.

Click here and here to read about other Shiva temples in Karnataka.