Sri Rama Temple - Chunchunkatte

The Idol being worshipped is that of the Lord Sri Rama - One of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Chunchunkatte is a small village at a distance of 48 Kms from the Royal Historic city of Mysore. The village is accessible by road. The village has found significance on the international map too.

The annual Cattle fair is the biggest fair of such kind in the world and is conducted in the month of January every year. Millions cattle sellers / buyers from adjoining Villages participate in this fair.

The temple is adjoining the gushing waters of the River Cauvery. the best time to visit this temple is after the monsoon, when the river is in full flow.
The place has an Circuit House / Inspection Bungalow. If you are lucky enough, then you will find accommodation or else you have an alternative of staying in the Temples Own Marriage Hall which is constructed just opposite to the temple.

The main deities worshipped in this Temple are that of Sri Rama, Sri Lakshman and Goddess Sita (Sri Rama’s Consort). There is uniqueness about the positioning of deities in this Temple. If one can notice, this is the only Temple where the Goddess Sita is standing to the right of Lord Rama. In all other temples Goddess is to the Left of Lord Rama.

From Left to Right - Goddess Sita, Lord Rama and Sri Lakshman.

One can never be deprived of Special Hosts welcoming you to Lord Rama Temples. You guessed it right. MONKEYS. You will find them aplenty in all the Temples across India. Normally these monkeys never intend to do any harm, except hunting for Food, especially Bananas being their favorite.

Welcome Pilgrims. We look forward to a good time with you.

If you try to chase them away, there is always a risk of putting yourself into trouble. If you show them a Banana, am sure you can reach Mysore on Foot, Running of course.

The main thing that one should consider to be careful is save yourself from the monkeys. Basically, they won't do any harm unless you want to check on them.

Temples of South India.

This is a series on the Famed Temples of South India.
When i talk about the Numerous Temples that exist in Southern India, The first Temple that Fascinates me is the 'Sri Nanjundeshwara Temple' at Nanjangud.

The Gigantic Entrance to the Temple

Nanjangud is a small town 22 Kms from the Historic City of Mysore and 165 Kms from Bangalore. The town is surrounded by Industrial Area on the North and the chilling waters of Kapila River in the South. Thousands of pilgrims throng the Temple each day and many take a dip in the divine waters of Kapila river. The industrial area is house to many Multinational Companies like Nestle India Ltd, Brakes India Ltd, etc to name a few.

There are various and interesting Idols of Gods for the pilgrims visiting this Temple. Lord Ganesh, Goddess Sharada- The goddess of Learning, Goddess Parvati , Lord Vishnu - Protector of the Universe, Navagraha temple - The nine gods representing the Nine planets and finally Nandi - the Bull.

Apart from all the above, the one thing that has fascinated me over the numerous visits i have paid to the Temple in the last 3 decades is the Emerald Shivaling- fondly referred by the locals as 'Pachche Linga'. This particular shivaling was donated to the Temple by Tippu Sultan, the Great Mohammedan king. It is beleived that Tippu Sultan's Personal Royal elephant was suffering from long sickness and the king had tried all places to get the elephant cured. when everything failed, the king , one night whlie he was asleep had a dream of the Lord Nanjundeshwara appearing and curing the Elephant. The king woke up startled at this divine dream and rushed to see the ailing elephant. To his utter disbelief, he was shocked at the same time ecstatic to find the Elephant Healthy and rejoicing. Immediately the Sultan hired the best of sculptors to make the Emerald Shivaling. The Emerald Shivaling was donated to the Temple and From that day, it's beleived that Tippu sultan - Mohammedan King became a great devotee of Lord Nanjundeshwara.

The Hall where Head Tonsuring ceremony takes place and The Chilling Kapila River

The Temple is famous for many annual celebrations and rites during Festivities. One must really be blessed to witness the Temple on the 'MahaShivarathri' Festival, which falls during Feb or Early March of each year. The sacred activities like Head Tonsuring, Car Festival etc is carried out under the supervision of the Temple Administration.

Nanjangud has been famous for Bananas since ages. The locals address to these bananas as 'Nanjangudu RasaBaale' meaning the sweetest and tasteful Banana from Nanjangud.

But sadly, nowadays one finds it difficult to get these bananas, as there is scarcity of cultivators of these gem of a product.