Dodda Basavana Gudi

Dodda Basavana Gudi
Dodda Basavana Gudi
ದೊಡ್ಡ ಬಸವನ ಗುಡಿ
	View of the Bull temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Bengaluru Urban
Deity	Basava
Location
Location	Bengaluru
State	Karnataka
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	12°56′34.42″N 77°34′5.55″E / 12.9428944°N 77.5682083°E
Architecture
Type	Vijayanagara

Dodda Basavana Gudi (the Nandhi Temple) is situated in Bull Temple Road,

Indian state of Karnataka. The Hindu temple

is inside a park called Bugle Rock.

The bull referred to is a sacred

Nandi; Nandi is a close devotee and attendant of Shiva. Dodda Basavana Gudi is said to be one of the biggest temple to Nandi in the world. The stone monolith idol of Nandi is continually covered with new layers of butter, benne in the local language of Kannada. There is an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha

close by.

Every year on the last Monday and Tuesday of the Hindu month of Karthika Maasa a groundnut fair is held in the temple premises and groundnut is offered to the deity. This fair is known as 'Kadalekaayi Parishe' in local tongue. Groundnut sellers and devotees throng the place during Kadalekaayi Parishe.

Basavana Gudi is a regular place of visit for tourists and is covered by most of the tour operators including the

Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation

.

The Bull Temple

One of the biggest Nandi idols in the world

Nandi Temple is exclusively for the worship of the sacred bull (Basava in Kannada) in

Lord Shiva's vahana. The word "nandi" means "joyful" in Sanskrit

.

The temple was built in 1537 by

Saivite figures and motifs.^[4]

It is said to house one of the largest Nandi

murthi is approximately 15 ft (4.6 m) and it is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) long.^[5]

Bugle Rock garden

The Bugle Rock garden is behind the Dodda Ganesha temple and adjacent to the Bull temple. The garden gets its name from a bugle call made on top of a very large rock formation to alert the nearby dwellers. It is densely covered with trees and one can usually see and hear a number of bats perched on the trees. There is a water tank with motifs of famous people from Karnataka.