Friends let me take you to Sri Kurudumale Ganesha temple today. Lord Ganesha is one of the most worshiped god in Hinduism. Lord of all seasons, lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacles and signifies intellect and wisdom.
He is invoked before starting anything new.
So when I came to know about Sri Kurudumale Ganesha temple and the story and significance of the temple, it became a must visit and hence this weekend do try visiting Sri Kurudumale Ganesha temple.
How to reach Kurudumale Ganesha Temple
- Distance from Bangalore: Approx 100 Kms one way
- Travel time: 3 hours one way
- Route
- Route1: Bangalore -> Sarjapura -> Maralur -> Kolar -> Mulbagal -> Kurudumale
- Route1 Road Coditions : Good, patchy in between. Very good after Kolar
- Route2: Bangalore -> Hosakote -> Kolar -> Mulbagal -> Kurudumale
- Route2 Road Conditons: Very good, NH75 is fantastic
- Food options: Many on the way till Kolar. Once you take a left turn towards Kurudumale (from NH), then there are less options.
- What to see: Kurudumale Ganesha temple and Sri Someshwara temple
We started early. By early I mean not very early:)..
We started at 8.00 AM.We took Route1 while going and came back via Route2.
The roads were good with some patches in between, but with lots of greenry everywhere which was very soothing to eyes.
Also since it has been raining this time a lot, no much dirt on the road and we were able to drive with windows open!!
We were at the temple by around 12.00. Took almost 4 hours for us, because we stopped for breakfast on the way and spend almost 1 hour there 🙂
Reaching Kurudumale was not very difficult. Roads are well marked and google is generally correct.
As soon as we entered Kurudumale, we saw a big temple on left hand side and we asked some one there and came to know that it was the Shiva temple and Ganesha temple is further down.
We decided to visit the Ganesha temple first. So we drove down little bit further. Found a very good parking space.
Few shops are there at the entrance of the temple and mom took some flowers and coconut. (We left our footwear in the car, but you can leave it at the entrance as well)
Kudurmule Ganesha temple entrance
The temple entrance looked very simple from outside, We went inside and main door was on right hand side.
Spoke to the security and went inside. Only couple of people were there inside and there we were in from the lord Ganesha, very near to him and believe me we felt so good.
In front of us was the statue of a 13 foot long lord Ganesha.
This is what is unique about this temple. And story about this idol is further more interesting. This massive Ganesha idol is considered to be very powerful. This is a saligram ganehsa idol and probably the biggest!
History of Sri Kurudumale Ganesha temple
We spoke to the priest there. It is said that the idol was established by none other than the Tridevs i.e Bhrama, Vishnu and Mahesha (Shiva) during Sata Yuga.
As this idol was established by Hindu Trinity, this place was called as “Kotadri”.
The hill on which this temple is located is called as “Kootamale” and over the year, this place became “Kurudumale”.
So, since the idol was established in “Sata Yuga”, and we are in “KaliYuga”, this temple has been there for all 4 yugas now. Wow !
Thats amazing and powerful. It is said that Sri Ram also worshiped this idol in “Treta Yuga”.
It is also said that Pandavas has visited this temple before going to war with Karwas. So if you see a lot of mythology is attached to this temple and its just amazing!!
It is said that this place is very powerful and many gods still visit this place.
Kurudumale Ganesha temple photos
A nice view from outside the temple
While discussing about the significance of this temple, the priest also showed us a pic of how temple looked like in old days.
He also mentioned about the Sri Someshwara temple which we should visit.
So stayed there for some more time and then, came out. We spend some time and started back to the car.
We saw few people selling custard apple. Looks like its grown there and my mom bought one packet. Pretty cheap, Rs 30 for almost 15 🙂
We came back to Sri Someshwara temple. This is also a very old temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple was also built during the Cholas period.
Half of the temple has different style of carving, believed to have been done by artist Jakanachari and the other half is believed to have been carved by his son Dankanachari.
However the idol of the god is considered to be as old as Sri Ganesha temple.
Sri Someshwara temple entrance
Another view of Someshwara temples in the premises
Sri Nandi @ Someshwara temple
A place were Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva has been residing for ages.. from SataYuga .. No doubt this place is very powerful and vibrates with a lot of positive energy.
Kurudumale temple FAQ’s
The main attraction of the temple is the giant thirteen and a half foot sculpture of kurudumale Ganesha and then the Someshwara temple of lord Shiva is also a big attraction here. It is said that the idol was established by none other than the Tridevs i.e Bhrama, Vishnu and Mahesha (Shiva) during Sata Yuga.
It is said that the curret structure of the temple is around 1000 years old. But the idol of Lord Ganesha itself is said to exist from Satyuga. So you can say that the idol has seen all the four ages of Sanatan dharam, the Stayuga, the terta yuga, dwapar yuga and current kalyuga.
Kurudumale was taken from Tamil Word “Koodu Malai” which signifies ‘meeting hill’. It is thought that the gods selected this location for their recreation. According to the tradition, Lord Siva, Vishnu, and Brahma installed and prayed to the deity Ganapathi. As a result, the location was given the name Kudumale which later became Kurudumale !
So yes Sri Kurudumale Ganesha temple is the famous Ganapathi temple of Kolat. Kurudumale is located at a distance of 10 km from Mulbagal. It is one of the most important temples of the region.
The idol sits on a pededtal of nearly 4 feet and is 13.5 feet tall.
The temple is very near to Mulbagal and is around 10 kms from the city. There are 2 routes from Bangalore. Check above for route options.
My parent were with us and were just were so happy to visit this place. I would say it is a must visit for people.
Do plan this out during your next weekend!