Gulur, a small village in Tumkur district formed the erstwhile Kridapura, along with Kaidala. It is famous for its unique way of celebration of the Ganapathi festival, especially among the locals. Currently, the temple is under renovation.
According to the legend told by the local priest, there once lived a poor Brahmana whose difficulties only increased with time. Lord Ganesha appeared in his dream and was told to offer him prayers after which he would be relieved of all his problems. As he was unaware of the rituals to be performed for offering prayers, he first tried to gather information on the ways of worshiping the Lord. During this stage, he met Sage Agastya, who was travelling from the South to the North and had halted in this village then. He explained all his problems to the sage and also informed him about his dream. Sage Agastya helped him perform puja and worship Lord Ganesha, the ways of which is followed even today.
The sage initially directed him to collect clay from a nearby lake from which an idol of Ganesha, about 8 to 9 feet tall was molded. After its completion, rigorous puja was performed to the Lord continuously for about 30 days, after which the idol was immersed in a lake. The Brahmana, after worshiping Lord Ganesha as told by Sage Agastya was relieved of all his problems. Since then, he continued to perform puja and offer prayers every year. Even today, during the Ganesha festival, locals make the idol of lord Ganesha from the clay of a nearby lake. The puja begins on the day of Bali Padyami (Deepavali) and continues for about one month. The annual jatra is held on the third day after the completion of the Karthika Masa.
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| Temple under Renovation |
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| Pillar Opposite the Temple Entrance |
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| Sculptures and the Sun and Moon signs on the Pillar |
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| Side View of the Temple |
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| Lord Ganesha (final touch up going on) |
There is a permanent idol of Lord Ganesha and Sage Agastya in the temple. There is a pillar opposite the temple entrance and sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Nandi and an Elephant. This temple is maintained by a local trust.
Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore - Tumkur NH 4 - Via bypass to Gubbi - Left near Maralur lake towards Kunigal - Left near Gulur circle.
Distance: About 80 km from Bangalore.
Distance: About 80 km from Bangalore.
Trip dates: 19th September and 6th November, 2010
Places to Visit Around: Gubbi, Tumkur, Kaidala, Chelur and many more.
interesting...
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing
Very beautiful... Never heard of the place, looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteNice piece of mythology.Thanx for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love that stone pillar !
Thank you Deepak, arti and yosee for ur comments .
ReplyDeleteMarvelous photos and a very interesting post! Hope you have a lovely evening and a great day tomorrow! Thank you for your visit and comment, they're always appreciated!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Very interesting legend behind the Ganesh pooja in the village.
ReplyDeletevery interesting! never heard of it...
ReplyDeleteGULUR GANAPPA THUMBA CHANNGIDE
ReplyDeleteNamma oorina Ganeshana bagge baradhiruvuradhakke thumba dhanyavaadhagallu ..
ReplyDeleteNamma Tumkurina bagge bardidakke dhanyavaada sir, Jai Ganesha!!! :-)
ReplyDelete3.12.2011 randu ganesha na jatre idea karnataka da janathe bhani
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information teamsquare and there is a correction in the address "Via bypass to Gubbi - Left near Gulur Lake towards Kunigal" i.e. not gulur lake it is Maralur lake.
ReplyDeleteThank for the correction...
Deletethis is my native place...i love my native & miss my place
ReplyDeleteI have been there a couple of times...its really a gr8 place....We used to walk down from Tumkur to Gulur but now we have bus services... ;-)
ReplyDelete