Srikanteshwara (Nanjundeshwara) Temple, Nanjangud

01Nanju, the poison

Nanju is Kannada for poison, and Nanjundeshwara is the lord who drank it. When the Devas and asuras churned the ocean, the halahala rose first and threatened to burn the worlds, and Shiva drank it and held it in his throat, which turned blue: he is Srikantha, Nilakantha. The kshetra holds that he came to rest here on the Kapila river. The temple is one of the largest in Karnataka, its long pillared halls holding a gallery of Shaiva saints and lingas. The great gopura over the east gate, about 120 feet high, was raised in the 19th century under the Wodeyars of Mysuru, whose family deity Nanjundeshwara is.

02The physician of Nanjangud

Nanjundeshwara is prayed to as a healer, and the town is known for its ayurvedic tooth-powder and medicines. A well-known account says that when Tipu Sultan’s favourite elephant lost its sight and recovered after prayers here, Tipu sent an emerald linga and a jewelled necklace to the temple and called the deity Hakim Nanjunda, the physician. The Dodda Jatre in Phalguna, with its huge chariots, and the Chikka Jatre in Kartik are the great festivals.

The life of this place