By Shobha Smilemaker
Jan 19: It was a girl's day out at Kolar which was around two hours drive from Bangalore.
I had heard about the Kotilingeshwara temple there, with multiple shiva lingas. But I was stunned to be in the midst of almost ninety lakh lingas around me! Another 10 Lakh lingas is needed to reach the figure of one crore. Most lingas could usually be donated by the devotees for a fee. The huge Shiva linga in the middle along with the huge basava were an attraction. However the eleven temples inside the complex seemed to have been taken over by priests, who insisted on cash offerings in return for blessings and this did not go well with me. We lit our lamps under the sacred tree and left bewildered at the so called commercialization aspect of this holy place, which was started with the intention of acheiving world peace.
By contrast the thousand year old Someshwara temple had such a calming ambience. The entrance gate, the lamp post, the external facade all added to the spiritual ambience of the place. The original sculptures on the pillars and temple walls were worth appreciating. Even the Nandi statue in the midst of the temple pillars seemed to add to the devotional feeling of the place.
We then decided to visit the
Antargange temple, so called because of a unknown source of perennial water next to the hilltop shrine. In spite of the afternoon sun, the climb up the 200 steps was not tiring at all, thanks to the shady trees throughout the way.
And yes we had lots of monkeys for company who wanted more than just biscuits. Please do not eat anything in front of them, we had to throw an orange at them, in sheer fear of their staring eyes!
The temple tank seemed heavenly in the midst of the trees and giant rocks. We drank water directly from the 'Go Mukh', which is considered by locals as a cure for ailments.
The old friendly security guard told us a legend about an ancient priest who found it difficult to carry water up the hill for the abhisheka ritual of the shivalinga in the temple. During his meditation, it was revealed that Ganga water would come by itself near the temple and that water jet is continuously flowing into the water body. Many scientists had tried to find the source of this water jet, but were not yet successful!
On the way down, we decided not to use the steps, but to go on the trekking path instead. We were surrounded by trees, rocks, chirping birds, sun, fresh air and a mini waterfall too! We almost got lost in the midst of nature and literally wandered directionless for sometime. Luckily we found a group of youngsters who took us back to the safety of the steps! What an unexpected adventure!
Our final stop at Kolar which at the Zion hills golf resort for some evening refreshments at the end of a really memorable day!
Do visit Kolar for a day trip with smiles!
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.