01Yoga above, Bhoga below
On the summit of Nandi Hills is Yoga Nandeeshwara, Shiva the ascetic. In the village at the foot are two shrines side by side under one enclosure: Arunachaleshwara, Shiva in his youth, and Bhoga Nandeeshwara, Shiva the householder, married to Parvati. Between them stands a small shrine of Uma-Maheshwara with a kalyana mandapa of the Vijayanagara period, its black stone pillars carved with Shiva and Parvati’s wedding and creepers. The northern temple is the oldest surviving example of the Nolamba style of Dravida architecture in Karnataka, with inscriptions of the Nolambas, Banas, Gangas and Cholas on its walls.
02The kalyani
Behind the temples is a large square kalyani, a stepped tank with a pillared corridor, fed by springs said to rise from the hill. The temple is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and is in daily worship; Mahashivaratri and the chariot festival draw crowds from Bengaluru, about 60 km away. Many visitors climb Nandi Hills at dawn for the sunrise and come down to the temple for the morning puja.
The life of this place
- 9th centuryThe Bhoga Nandeeshwara shrine is built under the Nolamba-Bana kings.
- 11th centuryChola-period additions and inscriptions.
- 16th centuryThe Uma-Maheshwara kalyana mandapa is added under Vijayanagara.
In Nandi village, about 60 km north of Bengaluru, at the foot of Nandi Hills.
