Description
India is a country which has huge number of temples dedicated to Lord Krishna and his several incarnations or avatar. One of such temple is the Aprameya Swami Temple or Mallur Krishna Temple. Located in Mallur which is 60 kms away from Bangalore and around 3 kms from Channapatna, this village is situated on the banks of river Kanva. This temple is an ideal example of exemplary carvings, sculptures and architecturally excellence. This place is also believed to be a Divya Kshetram meaning a holy place. Many tourists are attracted to this place especially as its conveniently situated on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway.
History
The temple is said to have its origin in very ancient times, i.e. somewhere around 3000 years ago. One of the very interesting things about this temple is a written document that is preserved till date which specifies that about lighting lamps to Lord Aprameya in the 980 A.Ds. This proves that this temple existed since that long. The expansion and reconstruction was done by Chola King Rajendra Simha. There are many stories related to this temple one of which is that around 130 years the then King of Mysore had come to visit the temple. He was so mesmerized with the beautiful idol of Lord Krishna that he took it with him and placed it in his palace. That night he dreamt that Lord Krishna instructed him to return it to the temple but the King ignored this. As a consequence a part of the palace caught fire, this incident forced the King to return the idol to the temple.It is also said that Lord Rama also stayed here and worshipped Lord Aprameya.
Importance/Significance
The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Sri Aprameya who is a form of Lord Krishna and the idol is made of pure Saligram stone. The posture in which the idol stands is known as the Abhayhastham Mudra, i.e. the two upper arms are holding a chakra(disc) and Shankha (shell) and the two lower arms holding the gadha and Padma(lotus).One of the most amazing things about Mallur Krishna Temple is that it does not stand on any solid foundation but rather on sand. Beautifully built in Dravidian architectural style has exceptionally sculpted Vishnu Dashavatars on the walls. The main door of the temple is a magnificent and almost 30 feet tall.The most attractive thing about this temple is the idol of the Crawling Krishna called as the “Ambegal Krishna”. Its mesmerizing eyes and with butter in the hands elicit the maternal sentiment in you. This temple is also called as the Navneeta Temple. It is said that huge offerings of silver cradles are done by the childless devotees after getting blessed with a child by the grace and blessings of Lord Krishna.During celebrations a small replica of the main idol is taken on a chariot and there are processions that take place. Thus with such glorious history and extraordinary architecture is a certain monument to visit.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings