Our team recently visited one of the ancient temples of Bangalore - Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple at Vasanthapura around 16 kms from Bangalore center. In this article , we share our visit experience
History of this temple : ( References)
This temple is dedicated to Vallabha i.e, Lord Vishnu , dates back to cholas period and is believed to be established by Sage Mandavya and is expected to be at-least 1500 years old.
Wiki - According to sthalapurana, Bangalore in the ancient times was called Kalyanpuri and the small town Vasantapura, where, the Vasantha Vallabharaya shrine "devoted to Vishnu" is located, was a site in the midst of a jungle where holy sages meditated. With the passage of time, the greenery was gradually replaced by tilled land. It is said many tirthas (springs) lay on the dirt track that went to the temple site. Those tirthas were considered holy as Lord Vallabharaya "another incarnation of Vishnu" bathed in them after his marriage to Goddess Lakshmi at Narayana Vana, close to Tirupathi. Today, the road to the temple is paved and only two springs called the Devatirtha and Vasantatirtha remain. Sadly, two of those tirthas were filled with soil for real estate work. It is also apparent that the temple area has suffered owing to the steady growth in the development works.
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| Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple - Sanctum Entrance |
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| Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple - Sanctum Gopuram |
It was a cloudy June evening when we visited this site. As temple was at a hillock - there was consistent breeze all around. This temple is one among the temple complex here having Shiva Shankara , Hanuman , Sai Baba mandir. The new ISCKON temple is about a few min journey from this temple. It attracts devotees all around the city who visit and perform special poojas like Srinivasa Kalyana , Vaikunta Ekadashi etc.
The outer rocks and stairs reminds us about the age of the temple . At entrance , the Jaya Vijaya Idols welcome us amidst the stone pillars. There are 3 doors leading to the main sanctum. One may feel the resonance on reaching the inner sanctum . The idol of Vallabharaaya adorned with ornaments accompanied by Rukmini & lakshmi idols on the sides was very pleasant to watch which may be around 5-6 feet which reminds us of the Chikka Tirupathi temple.
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| Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple - Mandayva Sage Idol |
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| Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple - Outer View |
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| Vasantha Vallabharaaya temple - Pillars |
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| Present state of Kalyani |
Overall a very nice place to visit to friends and family on a weekend. Temple is open between morning 6.30 to 11.30 AM and between 5.30 to 8.00 PM. Do visit this spot and share your experience.
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