Temple Details

Kotilingeshwara Temple   Karnataka


About Kotilingeshwara Temple

The Lord Kotilingeshwara Temple is situated in Kammasandra Village in Kolar district, Karnataka State, India. The temple is about 6 km from Kolar Gold Fields also known as KGF. The main deity of this temple is Lord Kotilingeshwara. This Temple was constructed by Swamy Sambha Shiva Murthy which is open to public from early morning till 9.30 am.

The temple boasts of having the largest Linga in Asia which stands 108 feet (33 m) tall.[citation needed] In front of this huge Linga there is a huge Nandi (Animal mount of Lord Shiva) which is 35 feet (11 m) tall. The Nandi is installed over a platform which is 60 feet (18 m) in length, 40 feet (12 m) in width and 4 feet (1.2 m) in height.

There are eleven small temples of various deities constructed within the premises of the Lord Kotilingeshwara temple. The first to be constructed is the Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Maheshwara temple, followed by the main deity temple Lord Kotilingeshwara. The sequence of the other temples are Lord Venkataramani Swamy Temple, Goddess Annapoorneshwari Temple, Lord Panduranga Swamy Temple, Lord Panchamukha Ganapathy temple, Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita Temple, Lord Anjaneya Temple, Goddess Kannika Parameshwari Temple and finally Goddess Karumaari Amma Temple.

Inside the Goddess Kannika Parameswari temple, a Shiva Linga called "Shiva Panchayathi" is installed. The idols of Lord Ganesha, Lord Kumaraswamy, Goddess Parvati and Nandi are arranged around the Linga, Giving an essence that all these Gods are offering their prayers to the Linga. A water tank is set up close to the Linga. The water is used by the devotees to offer their prayers by performing Abhisheka to the Linga with utmost devotion and faith.

There are millions of Lingas being installed surrounding the temple by the pilgrims since 1980 spread over an area of 13 acres (53,000 m2). There are more than 8.6 million Lingas installed as of 2008. The lingas installed vary between 1 foot (0.30 m) and 3 feet (0.91 m) tall. The temple was started with the intent of installing 1 crore lingas, hence the name "Kotilingeshwara". Koti means crore (10 million). The Sahasra Linga is in the shape of a single Linga but consists of 1000 Lingas etched on a single column. One must reckon each such Linga as 1000 Lingas to arrive at the aggregate number of Lingas installed.

The temple has two NagaLinga Flower Trees or Cannon Ball Flower Trees. The unmarried women pray with devotion and faith to Lord Lingeswara wishing for a happy married life and tie a yellow thread around the Tree. One can see yellow threads covering the entire Tree.

The Karnataka government has declared this temple as a tourist spot so that devotees and pilgrims from all over the world can witness the 108-foot (33 m)-tall Linga and 35 Feet tall Nandi statue.

Kotilingeshwara temple is approximately 6 km from KGF(Kolar Gold Fields) and 13 km Bangarapet on Bangarapet-Bethamangala road and 2hrs from Bangalore. Kotilingeshwara can be reached by road from Bangalore via Kolar, Bangarapet route.

By Air: The nearest airport is Bangalore airport.

By Rail: The nearest railway junction is Bangarpet at a distance of about 15 km.

By Road: There are buses which ply from Majestic and K R Puram bus stop every couple of hours.

 

 

The temple authorities have constructed Mantap or Rest houses for the Pilgrims beside the temple premises. People who want to stay and visit the temple can rest at this Mantap free of cost.

Bethamangala: Bethamangala town in the Bangarapet taluka is known for the large artificial lake that supplies drinking water to the city of Kolar Gold Fields. During the British rule, the employees of the Kolar Gold Fields used to spend time at the sailing clubhouse in Bethamangala. The Palar River, Kotilingeshwara temple and Vijayendra temple are some of the major attractions of the town.

Budikote: The Budikote village or Fort of Ashes is located in the Bangarapet taluka of Kolar. It is around 21.8 km from Kolar Gold Fields and is the birthplace of Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan. Namma Dhwani, India's first cable community radio station, has been operational in the village since 2002.

Ankathatti:Ankathatti village is popular for its rich religious heritage and the 4 ft tall Utsava murthy. It is also famous for its high production of milk and silk. The village is the birthplace of the Gandhian Honnegowda Govindegowda, who constructed a Gandhi school in the village.

Thera Halli:Thera Halli is a small village in the Kolar District and is located atop the Antara Gange hill. The term Thera Halli in Kannada means the suspended village. There is also an Old Lord Shiva temple on this hill that is visited by many people.

Markandeya Hill:Markandeya Hill, named after Sage Markandeya, is located near Vokkaleri village. A temple and a reservoir with the same name are also located on this hill.

Free Cost Marriage:

The temple founder Swamy Sambha Shiva Murthy has performed free mass marriages for the past 4 years, in which 360 couple have benefited. Today the temple performs utmost 15 to 20 marriages for 4 days in a week. The temple collects a nominal fee of around Rs 200 for each marriage. They make all the arrangements including the Priest, Drums and Music for the marriages.

Meditation Hall:

There is a meditation hall near the Exhibition hall which is specifically built for the pilgrims to wish to meditate.

Poojas are performed to all the installed lingas every day at 6:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. by 10 Priests along with Drums and Music. The Priests recite mantras and pour water on each and every installed linga.

Special pooja:

Linga Installation : The Devotees can offer their prayers to Lord Kotilingeshwara by installing Lingas. The price for the Lingas depends on the size of the Linga to be installed .These lingum will be installed on any days the Devotees choose (before was done on selected days of year). The Lingas will be installed in the name of the devotee . One can find the names of the devotees carved on the Lingas installed and prayers will be offered every day for the well being of the donors.



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