Bull Temple (Dodda Basavana Gudi), Bangalore

Deity

Nandi (Shiva's bull)

Location

Basavanagudi, south Bangalore

Nandi statue

About 15 feet, carved from one granite boulder

Main festival

Kadalekai Parishe, November or December

Nearest railway station

Bangalore City

The legend

The story goes that a bull once roamed the groundnut fields of this area, eating and trampling the crop. The farmers prayed to Shiva for help, and they were told to honour the bull with a temple. A boulder was carved into the Nandi you see today. Local belief holds that the statue kept growing, and that an iron plate was fixed on its head to stop it.

What to see

The Nandi fills most of the small shrine and is often decorated with flowers and, on festival days, coated with butter or oil. The temple follows the Dravidian style and is usually credited to Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore, in the 16th century. Images of Surya and Chandra are also found here, and the source of the Vrishabhavathi river is traditionally placed near the temple.

Right beside it on the same hillock is the Dodda Ganapathi Temple, with a large Ganesha that is often decorated with butter, and Bugle Rock park is a short walk away.

Kadalekai Parishe

The groundnut fair is held on the last Monday of the Kartika month, in November or December. Farmers from surrounding villages offer Nandi the first groundnuts of the season, and the streets of Basavanagudi fill with stalls selling boiled and roasted nuts, toys and snacks. Maha Shivaratri and Pradosham days are also busy at the temple.

How to reach

The temple is on Bull Temple Road in Basavanagudi, in south Bangalore. City buses, autorickshaws and cabs reach it easily, and the nearest metro stations on the Green Line are a short ride away. Bangalore City railway station is the main railhead, and taxis are available from Kempegowda International Airport. We can include it in a Bangalore heritage day with Lalbagh and Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace.

Also nearby