A visit to Channapatna

25th January we started off to Channapatna. We started from Bangalore at 9:15 am. We had breakfast at the Kaddu Mane at Bidadi. The hotel was over crowded but we managed to get a table and eat some un-cooked rava idlis.

Our first destination was Kengal:

5 kms before channapatna right beside the highway is the Kengal Anjaneya temple. Temple is a huge complex with ample space for parking and relaxing for a while.
The Lord is 5.5 feet tall, has moustaches. In temple are the Rama/Sita and Lakshman; and Venkateshwara-Lakshmi idols. These were installed by Vyasa Raya. We got an archana done.

Second destination was Devara Hosa Halli:
From Kengal Temple take a devation into the village. About 4 kms inside there is another Anjaneya temple. Inside the santorium along with the Anjaneya is the Ugra Narashima. UgraNarashima is installed in the inner wall of the snatorium. After the puja, the priest will hold a mirror to show us the UgraNarashima. These idols too were installed by Vysaraya. This raod is pretty bad and driving is painful. If you proceed on this road you will get the Kanva ashrama and Kanva dam. We couldn't make it there.

Third desitnation was the Aprameya Swamy and Ambegal Krishna Temple at Mallur:
Mallur or Doda Mallur is 2 km from Channapata on the Mysore highway. The temple is situated close to the highway. It is a huge and old temple complex. Make sure you go around the temple slowly and not hurry. The main deity is the Aprameya. The Ambegal Krishna is made out of a single saligrama stone and is very cute. This Krishna is said to have inspired Purandara Dasa to write "Jagadodharana Aadisidale Yashoda ....".

We returned to Bangalore by 8 pm.

On Rajan's Chair

Poor Rajan!! always targeted. Sujit one day stuck a Postit on Rajan's chair which said "Please Kick Here". Everyone had a smile when they passed his cube but poor Rajan remained oblivious of it for a week.

Chilkuru Balaji

When we went to visit my brother's new born in Hyderabad, we happened to visit Chilkuru.

Importance of Chilkuru: As adherent devotee of Sri Balaji would visit Tirupathi every year. Owing to ill health he was not able to visit Tirupati one year and was in deep grief. Sri Balaji appeared in his dreams and told the devotee not to grieve for not being able to visit Tirupathi, and his idol was buried in a forest close by. The devotee reached the place and began digging and found The Lord with Bhudevi and Sridevi.

Location: Chilkuru is located approximately 30km from Hyderabad.

Travel: We hired a taxi to Chilkuru. We reached in approximately 45 minutes. The roads that lead to the temple were filled with vendors, selling coconuts and flowers.

Food: There are not good hotels around but many small shops which sell good tea.

Temple Timings: 5 am to 8 pm

Puja: There is no particular puja that is carried out there. So don't bother to buy or take things like incense sticks / camphor or flower but take coconuts. At the entrance of the temple there is place to break the coconuts. Leave half of the coconut and take the other half.

Once you enter the temple campus, you will be surprised to see hordes of people going round the temple at an unimaginable speed. Balaji is also called Visa Venkateshwara. Youngsters visit this temple to get visas :-).

In this temple it is said you ask god for your wish and go around the temple for 11 times, and take a vow to return once the wish is fulfilled. Once you wish is fulfilled you return and go around the temple for 108 times. It is said Lord hasn't turned down any of the wishes till date.

This is the first of the temples I have seen where there is no place to make offerings in cash to god / No archanas or pujas . Lord accepts offerings only in form of pradakshinas. Temple gives free numeric cards to count the 108 pradakshinas. This temple is very crowded on Fridays and Sundays so if possible avoid it on those days.