On Jan 6th, after visiting the Sri Cheluvanarayana Swami Temple, we went on to visit the Yoganarasimha temple, in the Pandavapura taluk.
Sthala Puranam – Sri Yoganarasimha Temple
One of the most interesting fact about this temple is that the Moolavar (main Murti/vigraha) of the deity Narasimha was installed by Bhakta Prahalada, son of Hiranyakashyapu himself. The temple finds reference in the Vedic literature that dates back to thousands of years. Narasimhaswamy here is said to have been prayed to by Bhagwan Ram, Krishna and Balarama. The current temple was built during the Hoysala Kingdom.
Thiruman
As I mentioned in the blog on Sri Cheluvanarayana Swami Temple, a little known fact is that Sri Ramanujacharya spent 14 years at Melukote when he was in a sort of exile from Srirangam. Hence Melukote is also known as Thirunarayanapuram. The “Thiruman”, white soil that’s used by Sri Vaishnavas to adorn their forehead with the “Naamam” is found here. Also interestingly, the Thiruman is found in Ayodhya and near Rajkot !! So much for the North-South divide.
This temple is built on a hillock and rock cut uneven steps are available for the devotees to climb.
Some Pictures from our Visit
I was certainly concerned about Amma climbing these steps, but she did it, with a lot of stops on the way. Not easy but doable.
Temple Details
Name of the temple :- Sri Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple
It's a Abhimana Sthala and not amongst the 108 Divya Desams.
Distance from Mysore :- 51 kms
A car can take you upto a certain point. There are close to 300 steps that one has to climb in order to reach the main temple. There are lots of monkeys around, so do not carry fruit or other eatables.
#KrishnansTempleTrails