Melukote – A Land with a Rich Heritage

Melukote in Karnataka, southern India, is one of the sacred places of the Hindu religion. The place is also known as Thirunarayanapuram. It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadeepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote is about 51 kms from Mysore and 133 kms from Bangalore.

Melukote is the location of the Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple. On the top of the hill is the temple of Yoganarasimha. It is believed that the image of Yoga Narasimha temple was installed by Prahlada himself. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III presented a gold crown to Lord Yoga Narasimha. Many more shrines and ponds are located in the town. Melukote is home to the Academy of Sanskrit Research, which has collected thousands of Vedic and Sanskrit manuscripts.

Early in the 12th century, the famous Srivaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, stayed at Melukote for about 12 years. It has thus become a prominent centre of the Srivaishnava sect.

The raja gopuram (entrance arch) is the actual Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple entrance built by the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana. Suffering from the muslim invasion of the 14th century, the temple and the surrounding historical artifacts lay in ruins. Recently, the government of India has taken efforts to renovate the temple and its historical surroundings. Film lovers may recollect having seen this location in many movies, including Thalapathy (the Rajinikanth starrer), Guru (Abhishek Bachchan – Aishwarya Rai starrer), Rowdy Rathore (Akshay Kumar – Sonakshi Sinha starrer), and many more… The raja gopuram has some intricate carvings still standing the test of time.