Another long weekend, and another long drive
The plan to drive to somewhere out of Bangalore was on the cards, considering the long Independence Day weekend.
The last trip was to Lepakshi, details of which can be read
HERE.
I checked out Google Maps and the route looked fairly simple. Reviewed a few t-logs here on TBHP and found that the route had excellent roads. So we started off around 7 AM. Reached Kotilingeshwara around 10:30 AM.
3.5 Hours, considering we had to stop 3 times for our infant's refreshment. There is nothing eventful to describe about the highway, The road till Kolar is a 4 Laned divided highway. Kept a steady speed of around 90 Km/Hr. Windows rolled up, AC at 18deg with blower speed 1. Drive was a breeze.
While approaching Kolar, one has to keep an eye on the flyover - interchange. There is a left turn that takes you towards Bangarpet and Kotilingeshwara. Good directions make locating this place easy.
Now, a little about the temple.
From Wiki:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotilingeshwara From My Experience::
As the name says - There are a crore Shivalingas within the temple compound. Not all of them are worshipped. There are 2 main temples inside the compound.
- Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwar Temple
- Kotilingeshwara Temple
There are many other small temples within the compound. We skipped many of them due to the long walk and sunny day. One has to follow the marked queue to visit each temple. These are temporary and one can skip seeing all the small temples.
The temple is colourful and very well organized. The Shivalingas are placed in a very organized manner. One can donate a Shivalinga here. Saw many Shivalingas with a small note below of the donor.
The car parking area is huge and the best part is, it is covered (with asbestos). So even though it is sunny or raining, you can get down from your vehicle and walk into the temple. There were lots of shops selling worship materials, like agarbatti, diya, flowers, oil, etc. These shops had another thriving business of fancy items, like kids toys, ladies jewelery, etc.
Overall, it is a nice place to visit. An hour long stay is enough to explore the place and worship the deities.
Now, time for some photos. Click on the images for a higher resolution/size.
The view as soon as you enter the temple compound The view as soon as you enter the temple compound The Temple Organised ShivaLingas Organised ShivaLingas Organised ShivaLingas The Main Kotilingeshwar Temple The Temple Crown Diya Offerings were outside the main temple building Feet of Lord Shiva Organised ShivaLingas Nandi in front of the main temple Organised ShivaLingas Organised ShivaLingas The tallest ShivaLinga in the world My son was lost amongst the lakhs of Shivalingas The huge Nandi in front of the Shivalinga Nandi facing Shivalinga More angles More angles More angles Godesses within the compound Godesses within the compound Decorative Structures within the compound Another huge Shivalinga The drive back The drive back The drive back Egyptian Structure, Confident Amoon Resort Yours Truely, infront of Confident Amoon Resort