The item has been added to your cart.
Sun God Worship on the Day of Pongal
June 8, 2018
Kavi Gangadhareswarar Temple is one of the very few monolithic cave temples in India. This is also one of the very ancient temples in the state of Karnataka, and legends regard the caves here to be much older even to the hoary Treta Yuga. It is also said that there used be two secret passages in the caves, one leading to Sivaganga, 60 km away from the cave and the other to the scared Varanasi itself, about 1000 km away. This temple is located in the city of Bengaluru and it is only because of this that the area itself has come to be called as Kavipuram.
With its remarkable architectural work, this remains to be a very good example of a rock-cut temple. This is a Shiva temple and it is no surprise that the Shiva Linga remains to be the presiding deity here. However, the rare sculpture of Agni Dev with two heads, seven arms and three legs is also found here. The stone Nandi and the trident in front are also worth observing. Historical records indicate that this temple was constructed by Kempe Gowda in 9th century AD.
The unique feature of the temple is that on the day of Makar Sankranti (Pongal) every year, the Sunrays enter the sanctum by passing between the horns of the Nandi and fall right on the Shiva Linga itself. This worship by Lord Surya happens only for about an hour in the evening time, and Lacs of devotees gather here to witness this rare phenomenon.
This temple, thus, remains to be an architectural wonder created by our forefathers and left for posterity. Preserving them with care is the best way to show our gratitude to them.
