A Vist to SIDILU MALLIKARJUN TEMPLE ,BETTADAPURA

Bettadapura is a Village in Piriyapatna Taluk in Mysore District of Karnataka State, India. It belongs to Mysore Division . It is located 72 KM towards west from District head quarters Mysore. 9 KM from Piriyapatna. 199 KM from State capital Bangalore. The other nearest district head quarters is madikeri situated at 40.9 KM distance from Bettadapura . Surrounding districts from Bettadapura are as follows. Kodagu ( madikeri ) distrit 40.9 KM , Hassan ( hassan ) district 59.5 KM. Mandya ( mandya ) district 85.9 KM. Wayanad ( kalpetta ) district 95.6 KM , Bettadapura‘s nearest town/city/important place is Kushalnagar 15.3 KM. Piriyapatna 15.8 KM. Hosanagara 17.7 KM. Hunsur 27.7 KM. Somvarpet 29.0 KM. The nearest railway station to Bettadapura is Hosa Agrahara which is located in and around 30.1 kilometer distance. Bettadapura‘s nearest airport is Hassan Airport situated at 59.8 KM distance , Mysore Airport 62.5 KM The place has traditionally been associated as 'Srigiri' from the times of epics. The hillock representing the last span of Western Ghats is also known as Vijayagiri and Vijayachala. From the lithic records available, Paramabbe, wife of Ganga Bhutuga I, circa 7th century AD was ruling from this place known as Kurugal. The Gangas were succeeded by the Cholas, Vijayanagara and Chengalva rulers. The temple on the summit of the hill, dedicated to Mallikarjuna, is reached by climbing nearly 2962 steps. The mail shrine comprising of sanctum, Ardhamantapa and navaranga is enclosed by a series of pillared structures which are obviously later additions. There is a gateway in Vijayanagara style with a tall gopura at the foot of the hill. The inner ceiling of this gopura has paintings of Vijayanagara times depicting floral designs and pictures of some sages, prominently in black and red colours. The pillars of the navaranga are short and cylindrical and pilasters on the Garbhagriha Walls have Chola-Hoysala features. There are huge brass vessels (E.C.VOL.4.Page.547) of antiquity here to indicate large scale feeding of pilgrims and the enshrined deity is also called Annadani (donor of cooked rice) Mallikarjuna. There is a granite Nandi (bull) on top of a pillar made of granite pillar weighing many tonnes on a very small and steep granite mound lying directly opposite to the main deity, MallikArjuna. There are mantaps at regular intervals for a quick power break. At around half way mark we reached the ruins of the ancient Veerabhadra temple which has a Shiva Linga guarded by the Nandi bull. The temple is too dark from inside and is not at all maintained. This place is completely in a neglected state and is used by the climbers to relax for a while. The temple premises look wonderful and the view of the village from the top is breathtaking and its worth the effort spent in climbing around 2962 steps. The temple is built on a plateau and is a simple stone structure with a Gopuram. The inner sanctum of the temple has a Shiva Linga or Mallikarjuna which is believed to be struck by lightning every year. We explored every bit of the temple and had the puja done by the priest. In this visit to BETTADAPURA {7-10-2020} Dr SG Ramadasa Reddy , Dhanaraju , Charan Kumar, Raju , Jayanna, Mahesh, Mallapa, & Vikas AR has participated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIRECTION TO BETTADAPUR FROM DIFFERENT PLACES : MYSURU - BETTADAPURA :-https://goo.gl/maps/f32S6nnws8RnFS776 BANGALURU - BETTADAPURA :- https://goo.gl/maps/kHAa5gr2vZZGH9T67 © Copyright Disclaimer : Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.