Kotilingeshwara Temple (

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

: ಕೋಟಿಲಿಂಗೇಶ್ವರ) a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

in the village of Kammasandra in

Kolar district Kolar district () is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. Kolar, Karnataka, Kolar (ಕೋಲಾರ) is the district headquarters. Located in southern Karnataka, it is the state's easternmost district. The district is surrounded by the ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India. The presiding

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of the temple is

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. The temple has one of the largest Shivalingams in the world.

Background Information

According to legend the lingas were first placed at what became the temple site by a former atheist who had become a devotee of Shiva, a story which was made into a hagiographical film, ''

Sri Manjunatha Manjunath or Manjunatha is another name for the Hindu deity Shiva. It may also refer to: People * B. C. Manjunath, Indian classical musician/percussionist * Master Manjunath (Manjunath Nayaker) (born 1976), an Indian actor and public relations pr ...

'', released in 2001. The main attraction of the temple is a huge linga measuring tall and tall

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

idol, surrounded by lakhs of small lingas spread over an area of . The Nandi idol is installed over a

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which is in length, in width and in height. There are eleven small temples constructed within the premises for various deities. A

water tank A water tank is a container for Water storage, storing water, for many applications, drinking water, irrigation, fire suppression, farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many other uses. Water ...

is set up close to the Linga, used by the devotees to perform

Abhisheka Abhisheka () is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a deity. This is common to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism An abhiṣeka is conducted by pries ...

. The idols vary between and in height. There is a

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, a

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

hall, a

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

hall and an exhibition center attached to the temple. The temple has the largest and tallest linga in Asia. The number of lingas is ~6.5 lakhs (i.e. 10 lingas within 1 m² of land, implies 61,000 m² of land can accommodate approximately 6.1 lakhs of lingas) and not one crore (ten million).

About Kotilingeshwara Temple

‘Koti’ in Kannada means a crore and Kotilingeshwara is 1 crore Shivalingas. The temple with the tallest Shivalinga in the world is installed here along with 90+ lakhs of other Shivalingas of different sizes. The 33 mts high Shivalinga and 11 mts high Lord Nandi, the Bull are the main attractions of the temple. The temple is open for donations of Shivalingas of various sizes which can be installed with the name of the donor embedded on it. In 1980, the temple was initiated and constructed by Swami Sambha Shiva Murthy. The road to the temple is easily approachable and is located in Kammasanadra, a small village in Kolar District. Even though there are a lot of devotees who visit the temple every day, the temple attracts millions of tourists on Maha Shivaratri. Shivaratri is a festival dedicated to Lord Shiva and usually occurs in the month of February or March. There are 11 smaller temples dedicated to the other deities like Lord Vishnu, Brahma, Mahesh, Rama, Goddess Annapoorneshwari, Goddess Karumaari Amma, Lord Venkataramani Swamy, Lord Panduranga Swamy, Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana Temple, Lord Panchamukha Ganapathy, Lord Anjaneya, and the Goddess Kannika Parameshwari Temple in the same premises.

Temple Timings

The temple typically opens at 6:00 am on most days and closes at 9:00 pm

References

External links

GeoHack - Kotilingeshwara

Kotilingeshwara travel guide
* * {{commons category Regional Hindu gods Hindu temples in Kolar district Shiva temples in Karnataka