Location:
Kolar District
Karnataka State
Distance:
Bangalore to Kolar - 70 Kms
Route:
Bangalore (Majestic) - K.R.Puram - Hoskote - Kolar
Estimated Travel Time:
One & Half Hour by Car
Best Time to Visit:
Any Time during the Year
Stay:
Kolar has few good hotels to stay.
Places to see in Kolar:
1. Anthargange
2. Kolaramma Temple
3. Someshwara Temple
I along with my colleagues Srinivas Setty sir & Sujay started at 7:56 AM and reached Kolar at 09:30 AM for an audit. As we three were having the prior experience of the work, we could complete the audit by afternoon. After having lunch in a restaurant, we thought of returning back to Bangalore. However, Setty sir told me about the above 3 places and we immediately started to explore these places. Out of the three places, we decided to go to Anthargange at first as it is little bit far from Kolar.
1. Anthargange:
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| Entrance to Anthargange |
It took only ten minutes for us to reach Anthargange as it is only 3 Kms from Kolar. There is an arch welcoming the people to Anthargange. It takes about ten to fifteen minutes to climb the steps to reach the place where a stream of sacred sweet water pours out of the mouth of the Bull.
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| Steps to Climb |
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| Some Portion of the path is flat without steps |
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| Big AUM written on a rock |
Climbing the steps was very easy and finally we reached the place where sacred water pours out of the mouth of Bull and there is a continuous flow of water through out the year. The secret here is that nobody knows the source of this water and it never dries up.Many people collect the water in big cans and carry it to their homes for using it as Drinking Water. Looking at those people, I felt that the water must be used optimally by the present generation to give it to the future generations and contribute to sustainable development of the society. After all "Water is the elixir of life".
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| Small Nandi |
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| Pic with Srinivas Setty Sir |
We have spent thirty minutes at this place and continued to Kolaramma Temple located in Kolar Town.
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| Entrance to the Kolaramma Temple |
Kolaramma Temple is a typical reflection of "Dravidian style of architecture" in "L" shape with the shrines of Kolaramma and Sapthamatrikas. The image of Kolaramma inside the temple is in the form of Mahisasuramardhini with eight hands and a demon under the feet. The statues are marvelously carved out using the granite stones. Special poojas will be carried out on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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| Battle scene |
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| Corridor inside the temple |
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| Lady with a bow |
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| Sculpture on the Granite rock like a jewel |
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| About the temple |
On the floor of the main part of the temple, there is a small opening where the people drop coins as offerings to God. Once a coin is dropped in the hole, clicking of the coins under the ground can be heard very clearly and the same tradition is followed from Centuries. As there is no way out of the coins, huge treasure of coins is accumulated inside the temple. This temple also houses Scorpion Goddess called as "Chelamma" in the local language. It is believed that praying to this goddess shall protect the devotees from the scorpion bites. The garbhagudi mouldings and walls are inscribed with numerous inscriptions.
A five minutes drive from Kolaramma Temple leads to another Dravidian style of architecture Someshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which has a very tall super structure (Gopuram) at the entrance.
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| Super Structure at the entrance |
The temple has several beautiful sculptures made on granite rock. This temple also has the Yali Pillars (mythical creatures) like in Rangasthala. The ceilings of the temple are also very beautifully sculptured with various designs.
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| Yali Pillar |
The temple also has Kalyana Mantapa (Wedding hall), Yaga Shala, Parvathi temple and Vasantha Mantapa (Wedding Podium). The Kalyana mantapa is a symbol of the excellent workmanship of the olden days.
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| Kalyana Mantapa |
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| Carved Ceilings |
We had a very great time in this temple experiencing the beautiful architecture. It is definitely worth visiting all the above places and enjoy the marvelous Indian architecture. We started from this place at 06:30 PM and reached home at 09:00 PM due to heavy traffic near K.R.Puram and Tin Factory. With the images of the beautiful architecture still visible before the eyes the day ended.
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