Request for your help to bring up very age old temples in Melukote- Karnataka- India

[Guest guest]

Dear Mr. Parthasarthy,

 

Your work really needs appreciation sir.

Similarly, there are 3-4 very old temples which has its rich heritage & history

beyond 1000-5000years.

For those who are new to Melkote, I have attached some write-up ( copied from

the internet) about Melkote temple and the temples in the nearby Thondanur where

Sri Gopalakrishnaswamy temple and Sri Nambi Narayana Swamy temples are located

opposite to each other. There is also a temple of Sri Yoga Narashima swamy along

with Sri Ramanajar swamy in Shesha avatar.

 

There is only one priest Sri Raghuram Bhat who shuttles between Sri

Gopalakrishnaswamy temple and the Yoga Narashima swamy temple which is on the

nearby hillock. And there is another single priest named Sri K S Seshadri

Archakar.We understand that even for nitya Pooja there is severe shortage of

money. I also understand that the Endowment board that is supposed to maintain

these ancient temples gives only Indian ruppees eighteen only per month for the

daily expenditure for these temples where great sages like Ramanujacharaya have

performed poojas. These priests also are not paid monthly salary from the Govt.

They have to depend only on the money that devotees put in the arathi plate.

 

Now these temples are in a very pathetic condition for want for good

administrators like you who can generate funds to bring back the glory these

temples had long long ago. Even though these temples are very huge and big from

outside, when you go in one will surely feel very bad why we Hindus donot know

how to maintain and protect our dieties and temples.

 

Like the work you are doing for this temple in tamilnadu. i also request your

kindselves to do something for these temples also. Somebody Pl help. Pl help Pl

help.Especially the significant temples like Yoga Narashima temple on the

hillock where its said that Ramanujar had a debate with 1000+strong Jain monks

and won over them and also converted them to vaishnavas. One has to visit

Melukote and Thondanur to see this and experience this in person.

 

Melkote

Temples of Karnataka

 

 

 

Melkote located near Mysore in Karnataka houses an ancient shrine to

Vishnu, worshipped as TiruNarayana. This shrine is known for its long standing

association with the spiritual leader Ramanujacharya. Melkote is also known as

Yadavagiri, yatistalam, Vedadri and Narayanadri.

 

The presiding deity here (moolavar) is known by the name Tiru Narayana,

while the processional image of Vishnu goes by the name Selva Pillai or Sampath

Kumara. Vishnu's consort is known by the name Yadugiri Taayaar. The image of

Selvappillai is housed in the Rangamandapa. There are shrines to Yadugiri

Taayaar and Kalyani Nachiyaar. The temple tank is known by the name Kalyani

theertham.

 

Legend has it this image of Vishnu was held in worship by Bhrahma. It is

believed that the festival image Sampatkumara was worshipped by Rama and his son

Kusha; hence the name Ramapriya. Legend has it that Krishna installed this image

here at Melkote.

 

Melkote has two distinct temples. The Tirunarayana temple at the foothills

and the hill temple to Yoga Narasimha. Legend has it that the Yoga Narasimha

temple image was installed here by Prahlada.

 

King Bittideva of Karnataka who embraced the Sri Vaishnava way of life and

patronized the saint Ramanujacharya, assumed the name of Vishnuvardhana and

built five shrines known as the Panchanarayana temples. It is believed that at

that time the Narayanapura shrine was in ruins and that both the images of

Tirunarayana and Sampathkumara were missing and that Ramanujacharya discovered

the image of Tirunarayana in the midst of Tulasi shrubs on the Yadavagiri hill

and installed it back in the temple.

 

Legend has it that during the Muslim raids of South India, the festival

image of Melkote was stolen and taken away and that Ramanujacharya restored it

from the court of the ruler. It is said that it a muslim princess had gotten

attached to the image of Selvappillai and that being unable to part with it, she

followed the Acharya to Melkote and then merged into the shrine there. In honor

of this, there is an image of Bibi Nachiyar here.

 

This temple is known for its Vairamudi Sevai in the month of March-April,

when the image of Selvappillai is adorned with a diamond crown and taken out in

procession. It is traditional belief that this crown is not to be looked at when

it is not worn by the festival image; hence each year, during the occasion, the

officiating priest picks up the crown from its chest with his eyes blindfolded

and then places it upon the head of the image of Selvappillai. Thousands

congregate to celebrate this occasion each year.

 

Such was the hospitality of the residents of Melkote that they were

reluctant to let Ramanuja leave for Srirangam. Hence, Ramanujacharya made an

image of himself and left it behind. It is to be noted that Ramanuja's body in

its preserved state is maintained at Srirangam and that there is another image

of Ramanuja at Sriperumpudoor near Chennai.

 

 

 

A write up to explain about the origination of Sri Nambi Narayana Swamy

temple:

 

 

 

Bitti Deva was the ruler of this place ( a Jain follower)

 

Ramanuja traveled eastward and came to Tondanur, the second capital of the

Hoysala Empire. Bitti Deva (Vittala Devaraya) was the name of the Hoysala ruler.

His daughter was suffering from a mental illness. Ramanuja by now had become

famous as the man who cured the illness of the Chola princess. When the king

sent for Ramanuja, he did not go at first. But when a disciple,Tondanurunambi,

assured him that the Hoysala king was not a fanatical tyrant like the Chola

king, Ramanuja agreed to go. He cured the illness of the princess, to the

delight of the king. He was drawn to Ramanuja's faith and became a Srivaishnava.

He then onwards came to be known as Vishnu- vardhana. In memory of this great

event, the king built five Vaishnava temples Channiganarayana temple at Belur,

Nambinarayana temple at Tondanur, Kirtinarayana temple at Talakad, Veeranarayana

temple at Gadag and Chaluvanarayana temple at Melkote. These temples are lasting

monuments of Karnataka culture and architecture. Ramanuja built many other

temples too in Tondanur. He also got constructed a huge reservoir called

'Tirumalasagara'(now called Moti Talab

 

With Best Wishes & Regards

 

G. SATYA NARAYANAN

 

 

 

-

"Parthasarathy Srinivasan" <chandraparthasarathy

"LakshmiNarasimhan SrinivasaRaghavan" <lsriniva;

<>; <srivaishnavarajayam>;

<srivenugopala>; "Raghu Veeravalli" <vvraghuja;

"vijaya" <vijaya1989; "With regards from Dr. Kilambi Ramakrishna"

<kramakrishna; <>;

<rangapriya>; "sandeeplaks2002" <sandeeplaks2002;

<saranagathi>; <sarathy1942; "senkamalam44"

<senkamalam44; "Mandyam K Srinivasa" <msrinivasa;

"Murali Srinivasan" <mambalammurali; "raja lakshmi"

<psree19662000; "Sowmya Laxmi" <laxmisowmya; "sudarshan

madabushi" <mksudarshan2002; <>;

<nama_singapore>; <oppiliappan>;

<parakalamatham>; "raghavan ramabadran"

<raghavan_ram; <andavan>; "Akkarakkani Bharadvaj"

<akkarakkani_bharadvaj; <desikasampradaya>; "Damana

Krishna" <damanakrsna>; "Srikanth Krishnamurthy"

<seethusri

Friday, June 25, 2004 17:26

VILAKKOLI DHITTAM

 

 

> DEAR BAKTHAS,

>

> ADIYEN IS GREATFUL TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED FOR ABOVE SCHEME.

> ADIYEN HAD DECIDED TO ADOPT THE TEMPLE OF SRI ANANDAVALLI SAMETHA

VAIKUNDAVASAR IN ARUMBULIYUR ON BANKS OF PALARU NEAR THIRUMUKKOODAL ENROUTE

CHINGLEPUT- KANCHIPURAM LINE.

> THE SAID TEMPLE WAS NOT OPEND FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS FOR NITHYA POOJA, AN

ONE CAN IMAGINE THE CONDITION OF THE TEMPLE TODAY. TO RENOVATE, START THE

DAILY POOJA ALL THE VAISHNAVAITS ARE REQUESTED TO SEND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

LIBERALY BY BANK DRAFT IN THE NAME OF PADMASHREE ANMIGA SEVAI( REGD ) A/C

VILAKKOLI DHITTAM, PAYABLE AT CHENNAI TO MS R. RAJALAKSHMI, 108, NEW STREET,

MANNADY, CHENNAI-600001.

>

> DASAN,

> POIGAIADIAN

>

>

>

>

> Mail - You care about security. So do we.

>

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