Tirumakudalu Narasipura (''Tirumakūḍalu Narasīpura'') the temple city of Karnataka, commonly known as T. Narasipura or T.N. Pura, is a town in

Mysore district Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...

in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. The first name refers to the land at the confluence, (trimakuta in Sanskrit at the confluence of the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

Kabini The Kabini River is one of the major tributaries of the river Cauvery in southern India. It originates near Kavilumpara in Kozhikode district of Kerala state by the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River. It flows eastw ...

and Spatika Sarovara (a mythical lake or spring, also named Gupta Gamini). This is the place in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

where

Kumbhamela Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad ( ...

is held every three years. It finds a mention in the

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, w ...

as one of the Trimakuta Kshetras (holy places at the confluence of three rivers). The word 'Narasipura' is the name of the town, which is derived from the famous Gunja Narasimhaswamy temple that is located on the right bank of the

(Kapila) river. Considered as sacred as Prayag (confluence of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

, the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

and the

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

at Prayag –

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India ** Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas ** Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a c ...

in North India), it is also known as Dakshina Kashi The town finds mention in tourism guides, both as a tourist place and a pilgrimage centre.

Archeological Significance

T. Narasipura and its surrounding areas are prehistoric sites where many

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

sites have been unearthed by the Department of Archeology and Museums of Karnataka. The rich and fertile areas of the taluka cultivated by the

and its tributaries, has been the source of continued uninhibited human habitation, over the centuries, as verified by the ancient archeological evidences discovered in the area. The ancient sites excavated in the late fifties and up to mid-sixties (between 1959 and 1965) on the left bank of the

near the Bhiksheswara Temple, opposite to Narasipura town, which form part of the Upper

basin, has established the

phase in the region claiming a date from the first half of second millennium BC which saw the gradual evolution of the peasants into food producing and settled communities responsible for the growth of civilization. The systematic ground excavations comprising burial ground remnants, potteries, graffiti, stone implements, metal objects, beads and bangles, animal remains, human remains, wood remains, etc. examined in depth and in great detail have revealed four cultural phases at the sites, but the most outstanding phase has been deduced as the

phase. An authoritative report on the "Excavations at T.Narasipur" by Prof M.Seshadri, Director of Archeology of Mysore published in 1971 provides a detailed insight into the ancient pre-historic civilizational bearings of T. Narasipura town and its surroundings.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Tirumakudalu Narasipura town had a population of 9,930. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. It has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 59%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Access

Tirumakudalu Narasipura town is the headquarters of the Tirumakudalu Narasipura taluk of the same name (with a 2001 Census population of 279,005) within

Mysore District Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...

. It is 29 km south-east of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

, the district headquarters and 130 km from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, the state capital. The town is well connected with roads, NH 212 bypasses the town, SH79, SH84 will pass inside the town. It is reachable by buses very easily, every 5 mins private buses departures from Mysuru RMC bus stand, hourly bus from Bengaluru Kalasipalya bus stand. Nearest airport is

Mysore Airport Mysore Airport , also known as Mandakalli Airport, is a domestic airport serving Mysore, a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located near the village of Mandakalli, south of the city, and is owned and operated by the Airports Aut ...

Junction Railway Station and Nanjangud Town Railway Station are the nearest railheads.

Temples

It is a place of religious prominence. The Gunja Narasimha Swamy temple on the right bank of the Kaveri river, is a massive complex belonging to the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

period. The image of

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

in the sanctum sanctorum has a weighing balance with a twig with seed of the Gunja (botanical name-''Abrus precatorius'') tree and hence is called Gunja Narasimha Swamy. It signifies the importance of the temple vis-a-vis the Kasi pilgrimage center by a measure of the seed''gulaganji''. It has inscriptions dating from the

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

period with a mélange of Dravidian and

Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

Architecture and is renowned for the voluminous records in

Nagari script Nagari may refer to: Writing systems * Nāgarī script, a script used in India during the first millennium * Devanagari, a script used since the late first millennium and currently in widespread use for the languages of northern India * Nandinag ...

. The Mahakumbhaabhishekam or re-consecration rites of the renovated temple was performed by the donor and his family members from 5 to 9 March 2011. Pancha lingas of T Narasipura region: Agasthyeshwara temple is another famous ancient temple in the town, predating Gunja Narasimha Swamy temple. (

Agastya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

founded and sanctified the Agasthyeshwara temple. This temple complex contains many monuments belonging to the

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and

periods at Thirumakudlu, and also at the Bhiksheswara temple, the Moolasthaneshwara temple and the Anandeswara temple in the surrounding area. It is said that Tirumakudalu is where Rishi Agasthya had visualised it as 'Dakshina Kashi' long ago. When he travelled down south to Narsipur, the town was a thick forest. Enamoured by the confluence of the three rivers - Kaveri, Kapila and the undercurrent of Spatika Sarovara - he wanted to install a Shiva Linga there and asked Hanuman to get him a linga from Kashi. Since the auspicious period lasting three-and-a-three-fourths of a galige was fast approaching and Hanuman failed to get the linga on time, the sage created a sand linga himself and consecrated it. An insulted Hanuman, who returned soon, cut off the top portion of the sand linga consecrated by Agasthya. Ever since this incident a perennial presence of water which is believed to be the water of Ganga can be found in the axed summit of the linga, and the same is offered as thirtha (holy water) to the pilgrims. The linga that Hanuman brought was consecrated a little distance away and is called the Hanuman Linga. The Someshwara and Markandeshwara lingams in T Narsipur and the Gargeshwara Lingam at Gargeshwari village, along with the Agasthyeshwara and the Hanuman lingam, form the panchalingas of T Narsipur, just like the five lingams at Talakad. Sosale is a small village near T.Narsipur. Sosale is located on the left bank of the

Cauvery River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

near its confluence with the

Kabini River The Kabini River is one of the major tributaries of the river Cauvery in southern India. It originates near Kavilumpara in Kozhikode district of Kerala state by the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River. It flows eastw ...

, about 3 km away from the Agastheswara Temple at Tirumakudlu. ''Sosale Devasthana'' is a beautiful temple in the village. The temple is breathtakingly beautiful and is located in the middle of vast expanses of paddy fields. There are white domes on the back of the temple which is a kind ancient worship ritual of the locals.

Religious festivals

The chariot festivals of Gunja Narasimha Swamy and Agastheswara, conducted every year, are attended by Lakhs of people. Samgama festival in Tirumakudalu every year on the day of Yugadi festival. Lakhs of people visit the fest and take holy dip in the confluence of Kaveri, Kapila and Spatika Sarovara. The Kumbha Mela of T. Narasipura, of recent origin, since 1989, is an event that occurs once in three years. Organised by the Kumbha Mela Trust under the auspices of senior pontiffs and religious leaders of the State. The congregation is meant to underline the concept of unity in diversity. The

Kumbha Mela Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad (G ...

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...

and

Nasik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...

is replicated at T. Narasipura when lakhs of devotees assemble and take a holy dip in the confluence of three rivers. A slice of ancient India unfolds as ochre-clad

sadhus ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. The ...

join people to take a dip at the confluence of the

, the

, and the celestial lake "Spatika Sarovara".

Notable people

Chowdiah Tirumakudalu Chowdiah ( kn, ಸಂಗೀತ ರತ್ನ ತಿರುಮಕೂಡಲು ಚೌಡಯ್ಯ) (1895 – 19 January 1967) was a violin maestro from India in the Carnatic classical tradition. Early years Chowdiah, was born in ...

- Carnatic violin maestro * Vatal Nagaraj - member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly *

Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah (born 3 August 1947), also referred to by his nickname Siddu, Siddaramaiah served as Chief Minister of Karnataka from 13 May 2013 to 17 May 2018 and currently serving as the leader of the opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assemb ...

- chief minister of Karnataka * Kanaka Murthy - sculptor and author * S.M. Siddaiah - Former Member of Parliament representing

Chamarajanagar Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is a town in the southern part of Karnataka, India. Named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile king of Mysore, previously known as 'Arikottara'. Chamarajanagara is the headquarters of Chamarajanagar distr ...

constituency

Gallery

File:Government college in T Narasioura.jpg, Government PU college in Narasipura File:Vidyodaya College.jpg, Vidyodaya College File:Little Flower School, T.Narasipur.jpg, Little Flower school, Narasipura File:Temple Coracle at T.Narasipura.jpg, Temple Coracle at T.Narasipura Bypass Junction File:Ganapathy Temple in T.Narasipur.jpg, Ganapathy Temple near Vidyodaya college File:Sosale Devasthana.jpg, Sosale Devasthana

References

External links

{{Commons category, Tirumakudal Narsipur Cities and towns in Mysore district