Arsikere

Arasikere is a city and taluka in the Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the second largest city in Hassan district, demographically. Arsikere city municipal council consists of 35 wards. This region is known for its coconut production and is also called Kalpataru Nadu. Arsikere Junction is a major railway junction in the South Western Railway which links Mangalore and Mysore to North Karnataka and a central place for tourists who visit nearby places that do not have rail access, such as Belur, Halebidu and Shravanabelagola, Harnahalli, and Kodimata.

History

The name Arasikere originates from one of the princesses of the Hoysala dynasty, who built a lake (''kere'' in Kannada) near the town. ''Arasi'' means queen in Kannada. Therefore, it is 'Arasiya+kere' which means "queen's pond".Home , ಅರಸೀಕೆರೆ ಪುರಸಭೆ
. Arasikeretown.gov.in (10 May 2013). Arasikere was also called Udbhava Sarvagna Vijaya and Ballālapura at various times.

Under the rulers of Vijayanagara, it was under the administrative control of Jagadevaraya of Channaptna and later placed under Thimmappa Nayaka of Tarikere. It was finally under the rule of Shivappa Nayaka of Ikkeri and was acquired from Ikkeri rulers by the Mysore Wodeyars in 1690.

Under the rule of the Wodeyars of Mysore, the area suffered from the raids of the Marathas, and was subsequently turned over to the Marathas by the Wodeyars as security for the payment of tribute.

Geography

Arsikere is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Arsikere is situated about from Hassan and from Bengaluru on National Highway 73.

Towards northeast of the city, there is a mountainous scrub forest, known as the Nagapuri Forest. Old temples are found in isolation. Bears and Leopards population is the highlight of this forest. The elevation of the forest lies between to above mean sea level.

Climate

The winter temperature averages between and . Summer temperature average between and .

Education

Notable educational facilities in Arsikere include the following:

School's and colleges

* Sharadha English school
* St Mary's High school
* Sri Adichunchanagiri English School, Higher primary school, Arsikere
*St marys school (Kannada medium)
* Niveditha English Higher primary school
* Ananth International school
* St Mary's English Higher primary school
* Aashirvad Public school
* Govt Girls High School
* Sri Basvarajendra High School
*Sri Gouramma School
* Sri Vasavi School
* Sri Vidyashankara Public School
*Anubhava Mantapa (S.T.J)
*Rotary school
*Basaveshwara higher primary school
*Sri Vidya Shankara Public School
*Podar International School

Colleges

* JSKPU College
* Jnanashree expert pu college
* KPS pu college, arsikere
* Ananth PU College
* Adhichunchanagiri Science PU college
* Siddeshwara pu college
* Prathiba College
* Vivekananda College of Education
* Government Boys Junior College
* Hoysaleshwara pu college
* Ananthasadvidya College of Education
* Al Ameen College
* Hoysaleshwara degree College
* Vivekananda BEd College
* Govt first grade college Arasikere
* Royal institute Of Commerce(Royal Degree College)
* Government Engineering College, Arsikere
* Government polytechnic college, Arsikere

Transportation

Arsikere serves as a common point for people travelling from Bengaluru to Northwest Karnataka and for commuters from Mysuru towards all of Northern Karnataka. Thus, public transport buses of 3 branches of KSRTC can be found here. KSRTC also has a bus depot in Arasikere, operated under Chikkamagaluru division. Tumakuru-Shivamogga four-lane expressway, comprising parts of NH-73 (Tumkur-Banavar) & NH-69 (Banavar-Shivamogga) is under construction, as of Nov-2022.Arsikere-Mysore national highway and Arsikere-Hassan highway.

Arsikere railway junction lies on Bangalore-Arsikere-Hubli line. It comes under the Mysore division of South Western Railway Zone and is a major railway junction between Bengaluru – Hubli, Bengaluru – Shivamogga, Mysuru – Shivamogga and also connects northern Karnataka to Mangalore Central railway station, via Hassan Junction. Trains typically stop here before heading to Hassan, Bangalore, Hubli, Mysuru and Mangalore.

Nearly 100 trains stop here and is around 166 km from state capital Bengaluru. It has five trains starts from here to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Hubballi. Around 30,000 people travel from Arsikere to other parts of Karnataka every day.

The nearest international airport is Kempegowda International Airport at 190 km. Other nearby international airport is Mangalore International Airport at 220 km. A domestic airport near Shivamogga is around 110 km away from Arsikere.

Festivals

Various festivals are celebrated in Arasikere, including the following:

* Yadhapura "Sri Jenukallu Siddeshwara Swamy Jatramahotsava" is a big festival held every month during full moon day.
* Ganapathi Pendal (where a large Ganesha statue is displayed for about ninety days in Pendal), Ganapathi Chathurti, and Ganapathi Visarjana which has been celebrated from past 72(in 2017) years (where an idol of Ganesha is immersed into the lake near Arasikere). During these festivals, Sports, cultural, and spiritual activities are organized.
* Madalu "Sri Swarna Gowri JathraMahotsava" is the biggest festival in Arasikere Taluk which is held during Gowri - Ganesha festival.
* Undiganalu "Sri Kariyamma Devi Jatramahotsava" is the biggest festival in Arasikere taluk which is held in the month of April.
* Malekallu Thirupathi Fair takes place annually for the god Venkataramana and Govindaraja.

Places of interest

Notable places around Arsikere include the following:

Temples and architecture

* The Kalameshwara Temple (also Ishwara), also known as ''Kattameshvara'' and ''Chandramoulishvara'' by devotees, is a monument in the Hoysala style of architecture. It faces east and dates to 1220 A.D.
* Sahasrakuta Jinalaya has a Hoysala building from 1220 A.D. and was constructed by Vasudhaika bandhava Recharasa, a minister of Veera Ballala II.
* Malekal Tirupathi Hill, also called (Chikka Tirupati) is three kilometers from Arsikere and has two temples: (Venkataramana and Govindaraja), which are frequently visited by pilgrims. Malekal Tirupathi Hill has 1,300 steps and a standing Venkateshwara idol.
* ''Chikka Tirupati'' which is also called as ''Malekallu Tirupati'' or ''Amaragiri Malekallu Tirupati''. It is located 3 km away from Arsikere, Hassan district. The main God worshipped here is Lord Balaji or Sri Venkataramana Swamy. There is a temple on the top of the hill which contains 1300 steps. There is a belief that sage Agasthya had offered prayers here to Lord Balaji and was blessed with lords Darshan here. It is also said that the sage Vashista lived here and went to atonement by worshipping Lord Venkataramana Swamy, and on the day of Suddha Dwadashi Lord appeared and blessed him and hence this day every year a Maharathothsava will be held and is celebrated as one of the biggest festivals.
* Jenukallu Siddeshwara swamy hill
* Arasikere is home to naturally built elephant stone, situated at heart of the town in Shri Subrahmanya Ane Betta.
* Sri Siddarameshwara Gadduge is located 12 kilometers from Arsikere, near Banavara.
* Sri Devamma Devi Devalaya T Kodihalli near Thalalur is located 10 kilometers from Arsikere town.
* Sri Veerabhadra Swami and Honaldajji Temple of Jajur is located 2 kilometers from Arsikere center.
* Shree shyla Mallikarjuna temple, Challapura is located 8 kilometers from trekking*

Others

*The Nagapuri fortress, built on the Hirekal hill, is eleven kilometres north of Arasikere and is said to have been constructed by Hyder Ali.

Nearby towns and places of interest

* Madalu Sri Swarna Gowri (also called as Madalu Gowramma) is a popular festival celebrated in a nearby town called Madalu. This is celebrated during Gowri - the Ganesha festival.

* Undiganalu which is the village located in between Arasikere and Javagal there are historical temples called Kariyamma Devi Temple, Chamundeshwari Temple, Gavisiddeshwara temple (located in the hill top), Bhalu Basaveshwara Temple (located midway). There are many festivals in that the Kariyamma Devi Jathramahothsava is one of the popular festivals in Arasikere Taluk. Unidiganalu is located 28 km from Arasikere and 11 km from Javagal.
* Javagal, the hobli, is about 33 km from Arasikere and about 35 km from Hassan. It has a temple dedicated to Lakshminarasimha, which is a well preserved specimen of Hoysala architecture with an outer entrance. The temple is attributed to the middle of the 13th century A.D.Karnataka State Gazetteer 1983.
* Haranahally is a large village about eight kilometres south of Arasikere; there are remains of an old fort that is said to have been erected in 1070 A.D. by a chief named Someshvara Raya. There is a large Nagarti tank, which was named after his daughter.
* Bannavara is a nearby town where one can see an old forts and a temple.

Notable people

Notable people from Arsikere include:
* Balakrishna, actor
* David Johnson, cricketer
* Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer and pace bowler
* Dhananjay (actor), Kannada actor
* Doddanna, Kannada actor
* Ashok Haranahalli, Former Advocate General to Govt. of Karnataka
* Haranahalli Ramaswamy, former irrigation minister and founding member of the Malnad Education Trust
* Channa Keshava Sharma, Freedom fighter and Tamra Pathra Awardee
* Narayana Gowda, Chief of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike
* Chandrika, actress
* Aparna, actress, Kannada anchor
* Rajanand, Kannada actor
* D Shankar Singh, producer/director

Image gallery

File:Hassan in karnataka.jpg, Positioning of Hassan district in Karnataka
File:HASSAN DIST CRP.jpg, Hobli Map of Hassan district
File:Arsikere (3).jpg, Malekallu Temple
File:Arsikere RS.jpg, Railway Station
File:Arsikere (1).jpg, Hill Temple Road
File:Arsikere.Shivalaya.jpg, Shivalaya Temple
File:Arsikere (4).jpg, Mini Thirupathi Hills
File:Arsikere (2).jpg, Arsikere Hill Temple
File:ARASIKERE POP 2001 A1.pdf, Map of Arasikere Taluk as per 2001 Census
File:ARASIKERE POP 2011.pdf, Map of Arasikere Taluk as per 2011 Census
File:ARASIKERE TQ.pdf, Arasikere Taluk – Hobli and Village Map
File:ARASIKERE GPVIL 2015 A0.pdf, Arasikere Taluk – Grama Panchayat and Village Map
File:ARASIKERE FLUORIDE.pdf, Arasikere Taluk Map about Fluoride content in DWS

See also

* Arakere Village
* Ajjanahalli, Arsikere
*Banavara
*Hoysala architecture
* Kanakatte
* Singarasa
* Channarayapatna
* Munjenahalli
* Gandasi Handpost

References

{{Commons category, Arsikere

Cities and towns in Hassan district