A Visit to Chokkanathaswamy temple, Domlur !!!

It was such a wonderful evening where we were planning to visit a temple close by our locality and were looking to find out a new one which we had never been to ! So we happened to visit Chokkanathaswamy temple that day which is located in Domlur, Bangalore. 'Domlur' was once referred to as 'Tommalur' as per the Tamil inscriptions found in the temple. The main God of the temple is seen to be Chokkanathaswamy or Chokka Perumal (Lord Vishnu) along with his consorts Sridevi & Bhoodevi. The God and the Goddess idols are made up of Saligrama shell brought from Gandaki river in Nepal. It is one of the oldest temples built during the Chola period. The temple is not so crowded, its such a devotional and tranquil place to meditate and pray. The temple was initially built during 10 th century by Raja Raja Chola and later upgraded by Vijayanagara empire. The sanctum sanctorum (garbha griha) and ardha Mandapam belongs to Chola period whereas the front navaranga is typically built in Vijayanagara style. The inscriptions of the temple are carved on the walls in Dravidian (Tamil) language.

As per the temple history (sthala purana), once there lived a great sage who performed intense penance at this place to get the blessings of 'Lord Vishnu'. Accordingly, Lord Vishnu was pleased and emerged in front of the sage and apprised to install his "moola vigraham" (main idol) so that the people here can regularly worship and fulfill their wishes. The moola vigraham was installed at a high place so that it can receive the radiation of cosmic energy and radiate in all eight directions at all times. The temple is built in such a way that it faces the east. Hence we can notice the sun rays falling on the main deity at the time of Sun rise, specially one can see it clearly during the end of february to first week of March and also during end of August to first week of September of every calender year during Uttarayana and Dakshinayana periods respectively. It is presumed that people who worship the Lord and do pradhakshinam here are blessed with his grace to fulfill their wishes. Also the fact that this is the only temple in Bangalore to possess pranic energy. Yes, it's the invisible energy that helps to keep the human body alive. So we could experience positive vibes inside the temple. It gives us such a divine feeling to see Lord Vishnu (one who prefers decoration) so beautifully dressed up with exquisite clothes, jewellery & flowers along with his consorts ! It has also got a seperate shrine for Ganesha and Hanuman at the entrance itself on either side of the temple. The temple also reminds us of the Anthima Smrurthi (last thought) which one should never forget. It means giving up oneself or remembering God in our last moments before death in order to attain "Mooksham". Needless to say, a must visit place for all the temple lovers !!!

An Amusing Group Trek !!!

Can we go despite the no entry rope been seen at the doorway of the hilly path? That really doesn't matter as we are not the only one proceeding, there were many such people trying to accompany us. Here comes our first ever family trek, a group trek of 3 families. We all would certainly be having some cognizance about trekking but not knowing exactly how stimulating it is without really experiencing it ! Are you all up for some adventure ? Yes, it's always so delightful & boisterous going on a group trip especially when close friends accompany us. As we start climbing the steps, suddenly one of the voice muttered, hey dude, if you really wish to slim down make the best use of this opportunity to burn your calories. Else you can also consider carrying any of our kiddos to reduce your belly fat 😂 The other voice whispered, come on guys, we need to make it fast as we need to visit the caves as well and get back before the sunset ! We could see quite a lot of people climbing along with us as it was a long weekend.

The steps in the mountainous path were not too steep to climb as the caves inside. We were able to make it till the last and just thinking whether or not to get into the caves. There were approximately 250-300 steps which one could easily climb without any hitches. Our kids were all so zestful and trying to ascend the hill with full energy. We had to take a breath then and there as we couldn't be able to climb all at once ! We all stopped at that one point when the path got redirected and showed the way towards the caves.

The action-packed part of our trekking is moving through the caves. We were all gazing at each other! Are we gonna take a chance that too with our little ones !? Why not ?? Let's try because having come to this level and without passing through the caves wouldn't be a justice to our trip. Also it wouldn't be fulfilling without getting into the caves. So let's do it and also we are not alone here, there are many others making their way on to the caves. We have people to help out if at all something goes wrong.

We were already exhausted and damn thirsty by the time we reached the top. We finished all our water bottles halfway through the climbing hill. Luckily there were some vendors selling cucumber and water on the top of the hill literally saved us. We were able to catch the sight of the entire city of Kolar from the peak point and took some nice photographs. We also happened to meet another beautiful family at the cave entry point who accompanied us for the rest of our trip.

The first climbing rock that is the entry path towards the caves itself is so perilous that one require more insights on trekking to pass through it successfully without any hindrance. We were all set to get into the first cave with our little ones. Few of our juniors were crying so badly but we some how managed and got into the first cave.

Some of our friends thought of returning back as it was really tough to explore the caves along with our little ones. But few others tempted & motivated us to do more stunts! Another impediment here is the absence of guide, had we gone with a guide we would have faced it in a better way. We were just inquiring to other people there and trying to make our way better. Now after getting into the first cave we just gaped at each other not knowing exactly on what to do next if to proceed or to come back. We were also not sure on which path to take next. All the other people following us were also the same and making an attempt to discover the unknown path. We can't come back also as we were all got stuck literally in the mid of the caves not knowing exactly on how to proceed and make our way out. Searching for someone to clear up. Luckily a person who seems to be like a guide came by and assisted us towards the exit path. We took his advice and progressed our way towards the exit. He also taught us on how exactly to navigate inside a cave as there were few rocks where one need to crawl to move through it. Another one awaited more action than the previous one where we slithered down in the rocky surface.

Some of us were finding it difficult to cope with the situation as we didn't wear proper sport shoes, so better to carry a pair of shoes along with you when you go. There were actually 3-4 caves where we were literally playing ball passing game with our little ones. At one point our kids became exuberant that they wanted to climb more but we were unable to keep pace with them. It's such an arduous journey that one can't go without a guide but undoubtedly a great experience for all of us. Finally we were back to our hilly path with full confidence and fun filled adventure. We could also find some villages on the other side of the mountain. And the monkeys which I forgot to mention, yes you can anticipate a cluster of monkeys there since it's a hilly region. Therefore see to it that you don't carry any eatables visibly with you. It's just a baby trek as compared to that of other high altitude treks but having said that it intrigued us to do more trekking in future. It's almost half a day by the time we finished trekking.

Are you all wondering what the place is ?! It's Antharagange situated in Kolar district of Karnataka. It is located about 3 kms from Kolar and 70 kms from Bangalore. In kannada 'Anthara Gange' means 'Ganges from deep'.The place is revered for its temple named Kashi Vishweshwara temple. The main God of the temple is lord Shiva and this particular place has been acknowledged as the 'Kashi of South'. The temple has a pond inside where the water flow continuously from the mouth of Nandi (shiva's vahana) and the source of water is unknown. It is also believed to be extremely holy that drinking water or taking a dip in the water cleanse one from many diseases. Having finished our trekking we took the darshan of God. Those who wish to visit the temple exclusively can very well skip the trekking and just see the temple as they both are located apart from each other. However the main attraction of the place is trekking!

I would definitely suggest this place for a one day trip from Bangalore and the ideal time of visit would be between September to January as it wont be too hot so that one can easily climb the hills without any hustles.

Few tips for travellers -

1. Sports shoe is a must for trekking.
2. Carry enough bottles of water, juices as there were no shops nearby.