Temples of Karnataka

Karnataka is famous for the rich cultural heritage and old/historic temples. It has one of the 18 SakthiPeethas and here are temples of Karnataka.

1. Chamundeswari Temple, Mysore – Dedicated to Chamundeswari. it is located in Mysore and is one of the 18 Ashadasa Maha Sakthi Peethas. It is located on Chamundi hill and one can have a beautiful view of Mysore city.

2. Sri Murudeshwara Siva Temple, Murudeswar – Dedicated to Lord Siva and is located in Murudeshwar on the sea shore in Uttara Kannada District. It has a huge gopuram and also a huge Siva statue just next to the sea.

3. Mahabaleswar Temple, Gokarna – Dedicated to Lord Siva, and located right next to the Gokarna beach of Arabian sea. it has Atma linga believed to be given by Siva himself to Ravana and in the form of Rudraksh.

4. Nimishamba Temple, Srirangapatna – Dedicated to Nimishamba Devi and Lord Siva, it is located in on the banks of river Cauvery near Srirangapatna which is 15 kms from Mysore. It is very famous and believed that whatever one prays for, is granted in a minute as the name suggests.

5. Sriranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangapatna – Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, it is located in Srirangapatna around 15 kms from Mysore and is over 1000 years old. The idol is in reclining position and the temple is quite big.

6. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi – Dedicated to Lord Siva, it is located in Hampi which was the Vijayanagara empire. It was built in 7th century CE and still being used for worship on the banks of river Tungabhadra. This is the only temple preserved in Hampi while the others were destroyed by the Bahmani sultanate.

7. Vijaya Vitthala Temple – Located in Hampi, what remains now is the ruins of erstwhile temple and no worship happens now. It is quite huge and famous for it’s architecture. The famous stone chariot is housed in this complex only.

8. Sri Anjaneyaswamy Temple, Anjanadri Hill, Hampi – Dedicated to Lord Hanuman, some consider this as Lord Hanuman’s birth place. One needs to climb around 400 steps to reach the top of this temple on the Anjanadri Hill and the views from the top are fantastic.

9. Sri Chennakesava Temple, Beluru – Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, also called Chennakesava, it is located in Beluru in Hassan District. It has marvelous carvings of Hoysala architecture and built in the 12th century CE.

10. Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebidu – Dedicated to Lord Siva, it is located in Halebidu of Hassan district and close to Beluru. It was built in the 12th century and located on the west banks of Dorasamudra lake.

11. Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Gulbarga(Kalaburagi) – Dedicated to an eminent Lingayat religious saint of the 18th century, Shri Sharana Basaveshwara, it is located in Gulbarga in North Eastern part of Karnataka

12. Bhoothanath Temple, Badami – Dedicated to Lord Siva, these are group of temples located in Badami just net to the Agastya Lake.

13. ISKCON temple, Bengaluru – Located in Rajajinagar area of Bengaluru Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Temple is one of the largest Krishna temples  in the world. It is more like a cultural center which has stalls for books, souvenirs, etc.

You can find information about the temples from other states here.