Took me long to
write this .. but still here it goes…
We went on a short
trip to Kurudmale and Avani couple of months back. We packed breakfast and
lunch from home and started around 8am.
Bangalore ->
Hoskote -> Kolar -> Mulbagal -> Kurudmale . Approximately 110 Kms. There are signages
that lead you to Mulbagal. From there you have to take a left turn to reach the
place.
Took us 2 hours
since we stopped on the way on the highway to have breakfast (approx.. 20
mins).
Kurudmale Ganesha is
a famous place locally. It is in Kolar district. The temple is believed to be
constructed by Vijayanagara kings. The idol is around 13 feet in height. As per
mythological story, Ganesha’s idol was installed by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
This place is believed to be the meeting place for all devathas. Hence locally
people come here for worship before they start any important work or new job or
marriage, etc. The temple is mostly in ruins.
There is a 750 years
old Shiva temple (Lord Someswara) right opposite to the Ganesha’s temple. The
low ceilings of the temple remind you of a cave temple. There is another
Ganesha’s idol at the entrance and a Nandi on the side.
From Kurudmale we
proceeded to Avani. Hardly 20 kms from Kurudmale. This is to the left when you
are going towards Bangalore. There is signage to guide you.
Avani is known as
Gaya of the south. Avani is famous for its Sita temple situated on a hill.
There are temples of Ramalingeshwara, Lakshmaneshwara, Bharateshwara and
Shatrugneshwara. It is said that Sage Valmiki stayed here and Sita Devi
gave birth to twins here.
Beware of the monkeys, if you intent to eat anything within temple premises.
After temple
darshan, we stopped near the fields at the outskirts of Avani for quick picnic
lunch. We drove back to Bangalore and were home by 3pm.
