A Joyful ride to Devarayanadurga - Namada Chilume - Vidyashankara temple

Devarayanadurga

Vidyashankara Temple

Namada Chilume

Location:

Tumkur District

Karnataka State

Distance:

Bangalore to Devarayanadurga - 75 Kms

Tumkur to Devarayanadurga - 20 Kms

Route:

Bangalore(Majestic) - Yeshwanthpur - Nelamangala - Dabaspet - Devarayanadurga

Estimated Travel Time:

Two Hours by bike from Bangalore

Best time to visit:

Any time during the year. However, the climate in December will be good to visit.

Places to see in and around Devarayanadurga:

1. Devarayanadurga - Bhoga & Yoga Narasimha Swamy temples

2. Namada Chilume, Deer Safari & Medicinal park

3.  Sri Vidyashankara Temple

Direction board near Dabaspet

I and my friend had a plan of visiting above places from a long time and it succeeded on a Weekend. The climate was normal when we started and became too hot when we reached Devarayanadurga. We started at 09:15 AM and managed to reach in two hours as we had breakfast in Dabaspet in a small hotel. The road from Bangalore to Dabaspet is National Highway and so the journey till this point went very fast. From Dabaspet, as it was single road and we have to follow the direction boards set up by Karnataka tourism, it was little bit late. Finally we reached Devarayanadurga by paying a entry fee of Rs.10.

1. Devarayanadurga Yoga & Bhoga Narasimha Temples:

After paying the entry fee, we took left on the main road towards Bhoga Narasimha Swamy Temple at the bottom of the hill. This east facing temple is constructed by Kanthirava Narasaraja - I in Dravidian style and is believed to be 2000 years old.

On every Saturday during the Shravana Month, a special pooja is done and Narasimha Jayanthi will be celebrated in a grand fashion. Beside the temple, there is a "Annadana Kendra" where free meals will be provided for the devotees in between 12:00 PM to 03:30 PM. There is a small park opposite to this temple for people to relax and for children to play.

Entrance to the Park

As there were many people in the Annadana Kendra, we went to the "Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple" situated on the top of the hill. We can ride the bike up to certain portion of the hill where parking is available and from there we have to climb the hill to reach the main temple. There are few food stalls near the parking space and local snacks like bajji, mandakki, southekay etc are available.

On the way to the top, there was very nice greenery around the hill and as it was not sunny, we climbed the steps with ease. It took only fifteen minutes for us to reach the top of the hill and there is a small pushkarini (Water Pond) on the top of the hill.

Ganesha Idol

Pillars inside the temple

Entrance to the temple

Pooja Timings

As few people were there, we had the darshan of the God very quickly and started to climb down quickly as we were very hungry to have full meal. We were disappointed as the timings are over and we ate few snacks in small hotels near the Bhoga Narasimha Swamy temple. 

2. Namada Chilume, Deer Safari & Medicinal Park:

After having some snacks in Devarayanadurga, we travelled to Namada Chilume which is about 6 Kms. It took about fifteen minutes to reach this place. Namada Chilume is a small streak of water flowing out of the rock. Near the entrance of Namada Chilume there is a Deer Safari. It was very good to see such huge flock deer at one place. The recently born deer looks very cute. Looking at the deer, our camera started working and after some time we finally moved towards the Namada Chilume.

There are several historical references for this place. One such reference says that Sita was thirsty during the exile of Rama and Sita and to quench her thirst, Rama shot an arrow on the rock from which water came out. Another reference says that Rama was trying to apply Tilaka and as he did not find any water, he shot the arrow on the rock from which the water spring began. However, the source of the water is unknown till date and it never dries up. As it was Sunday, lot of school children were there playing to the extreme. Few visitors treat this water as sacred water and consume it as Prasadam.

Electrified School Crowd

The visitors were putting lot of coins into the small hole through which the water comes out thinking that their prayers to the God will be answered. However, I felt that putting coins in the hole is waste of money and it is better to give the same money to the  needy people.

Coins in the hole

There is a old guest house to stay. It is said that the famous ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali stayed in this place in 1938 for his ornithology studies. 

We spent about  twenty five minutes here and proceeded to the medicinal park opposite to Namada Chilume maintained by the Forest Department and has about 300 varieties of medicinal plants. The entrance ticket for Namada Chilume and Medicinal Park is same. So, don't throw your ticket after entering Namada Chilume. 

                                      

At the entrance of the medicinal park, the watchman of the park has a desk for selling locally made natural medicinal products. We tried the "Nannari Juice" as he said that it helps in reducing the acidity. the park is very huge and the number of people inside are very less. It is a perfect place for a family to hangout here in this calm area filled with many medicinal plants. There is a pyramid inside the park for meditation. 

                                      

My friend Manjunath has performed some gymnastics in this medicinal park showing the flexible nature of his body.

At the entrance of Namada Chilume we saw a board specifying the directions for a recently renovated ancient Sri Vidyashankara Temple at a distance of 2 Kms and rushed to it as it was about to close.

3. Sri Vidyashankara Temple:  

It is believed that this temple is about 700 Years old and it was renovated in May, 2004. It is a small temple. However, the atmosphere near the temple in the evening was very peaceful. The Pooja Timings are 09:00 AM to 01:00 PM and 04:00 PM to 06:00 PM. The temple premises is kept clean. 

                                     

      

Sri Vidyashankara Statue

On the way back to Bangalore, before reaching Devarayanadurga to the left there is a beautiful view point from which the scenery of valleys covered with greenery can be seen. A small board is there for this and you have to be careful in identifying the board or else you will miss this place. 

The Sun began to fall and time has come for us to start for Bangalore. We came very fast till the outskirts of Bangalore and finally caught in the heavy traffic. We managed to reach Gandhi Bazar for having dinner. We really had a very magnificent outing that day.