Thread by @_ugra_

This is the Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple situated at Nandi village, at the foothills of Nandi hills, just on the outskirts of Bangalore. It is one of the oldest known temples of the area. Its construction was initiated by the very little known Nolambas, yet they ruled over 300 yrs.

The temple continued to expand under the Cholas, the Pallavas, the Hoysalas & finally under the Vijayanagara empire it reached its zenith in size & grandeur. Every aforementioned kingdom left their signature mark on the temple's architecture.A fine blend not seen in other temples

The temple has 3 main shrines dedicated to 3 aspects of life of Lord Shiva, them being 1) Arunachaleshwara 2) Uma Maheshwara and finally 3) Bhoga Nandeeshwara. Each built by the Nolambas, the Hoysalas & the Cholas respectively. The Nandi opposite Arunachaleshwara gudi.

The Lingam of Arunachaleshwara is very reminiscent of the one at Thiruvannamalai in TN. This murthi of Ugra Ganapathi is just outside the garbhagudi. Very rare & one of its kind, depicting Ganesha in a fierce form.

The adjoining shrine is that of Uma Maheshwara & here's were the Hoysalas take the sculpting to the next level. Photos no justice to the intricacies here. There garbhagudi faces a beautiful Kalyanamantapam in typical Hoysala style. Seen here are the Dwarapalakas. #WalkToTemple

Like I mentioned, pics do no justice. A column of what appears to be parrots carved with such precision. A Hoysala trademark. #WalkToTemple

Carved all along the outer walls of the Uma Maheshwara garbhagudi are what appear to be the Sapthakanyas & Saptarishis. #WalkToTemple

There are other deities too, here is what appears to be Lord Brahma on the left. #WalkToTemple

The Kalyanamantapa. Each pillar has a deity with consort carved in each direction. Shiva/ Parvathi, Brahma/Saraswathi, Vishnu/Lakshmi & Finally Agni/Swaha. #WalkToTemple

Some more carvings around the garbhagudi include the fierce Kirtimukha, depiction of shiva-parvathi kalyana & the magnificent mantapam ceiling. #WalkToTemple

Stepping out of the Uma Maheshwara gudi one can find innumerable carvings in the many pillars all around the temple. For example this one of Narasimha swamy in both his Yoga & Ugra roopa. #WalkTotemple

Carving of a Woman admiring herself in a mirror on one of the pillars. #WalkToTemple

Amazing carvings of various musical instruments including string, wind & percussion instruments on the pillars #WalkToTemple

Carving of Shri Ramanujacharya on one of the pillars. #WalkToTemple

This is the outer mantapam housing the 3 main gudis of Arunachala, Uma Maheshwara & Bhoga Nandeeshwara. As you can see it has a number of pillars adorned with all kinds of carvings. Just huge in number. #WalkToTemple

One of the most striking sculpture is that of this Umbrella/Chatri contained within the main mantapam. Amazingly intricate geometrical design. #WalkToTemple

This is the Nandi outside the Bhoganandeeshwara Gudi. Put in place by the Cholas, it is made of black stone, contrasting with the Nandi opposite Arunachala, which is made of Granite. #WalkToTemple

The pillars & the walls around this Nandi are filled up with numerable inscriptions in old Tamil. All paying great tribute to Lord Shiva & Chola kings #WalkToTemple

Murthi of Rajendra Chola, son of Raja Raja Chola, who commissioned the Bhoga nandeeshwara gudi. Also under him Bharat achieved never before seen naval supremacy which resulted in Dharma spreading far into SE Asia. Hindus are indebted to him. #WalkToTemple

Stepping out of the Bhoga Nandeeshwara gudi, carved on to one of the pillars what appears to be a 6 headed deity, Shanmukha aka Subramanya Swamy #WalkToTemple

One of the carvings that I could identify, that of Saraswathi & Krishna eating butter out of a pot. #WalkToTemple

As one exits the Bhoganandeeshwara gudi, the north facing side of the temple. #WalkToTemple

As you look around closely you start to to notice the first signs of plunder & mutilation. We'll come to this later. #WalkToTemple

The Dwajasthambam facing the main garbhagudi of Bhoga Nandeeshwara. You can notice the deepams lit by devotees as part of the Karthika maasam celebrations. The mantapam seen here was built by the Pallavas. #WalkToTemple

The southern side of the Arunachaleshwara gudi & the Vimana. There is a fine carving of Nataraja with Apasmara under his foot on the wall. It also serves a window/ventilation opening with gaps in between for air & light flow into the temple. #WalkToTemple

The view of the Vimanas of Arunachaleshwara & Bhoga Nandeeshwara from the south-west. Carvings on the Vimana are all typical pre-Hoysala, also reminds me of the Pallava era Shore temple at Mahabalipuram. #WalkToTemple

On the south side, just behind the Vimana is the Apita Kuchamba gudi, the consort of Arunachaleshwara. On all sides surrounding the gudi are carvings of Shiva-Parvathi kalyana and the Saptharishis. #WalktoTemple

Carvings on either side of the Garbhagudi of Apita Kuchamba. I never photograph the interiors of the Garbhagudi. #WalkToTemple

Also noticed a carving of Vamana avatara on one of the pillars of the Apita Kuchamba gudi. #WalkToTemple

One of the most fascinating aspects of the temple is this portion which connects the two Vimanas of Arunachaleshwara & Bhoga Nandesshwara. Its filled with awesome carvings. Lets take a closer look in the following tweets. #WalkToTemple

Nritya Ganapati flanked on either sides by more figurines in dancing posture. On the other side of the wall is the Uma-Maheshwara garbhagudi. Also seen in the last pic is the Makara( a half terrestrial half aquatic creature) It is also the Vahana of Varuna Deva #WalkToTemple

In the foreground the Bhoga Nandeeshwara Vimana. Abhisheka milk pouring out of the Garbhagudi onto one more smaller lingam on the outside. #WalkToTemple

Behind the Bhoga Nandeeshwara Vimana is a separate gudi dedicated to his consort, Prasanna Parvati. The walls of this gudi too are filled in carvings depicting Shiva-Parvathi Kalyana #WalkToTemple

Nagadevata & Tulasi opposite the Parvathi gudi. #WalkToTemple

Next we enter to the next tier of the temple. This portion was built & expanded during the Vijayanagara era. (post 1336) It houses the Vasantha mantapa (1st pic) & the Tulabara mantatpa(2nd pic), very reminiscent of that seen at Hampi Vitthala temple #WalkToTemple

The pillars here, just like the ones at Hampi Vitthala temple have special acoustical properties. Each give out a different musical sound when knocked at. Also seen are carvings of Yali(part lion/horse/elephant) typical Vijayanagara architecture. #WalkToTemple

And now the horror part... this is the entrance leading us to the Shringa theertha pushkarini...to the average dhimmi eye this seems like a normal spot where one just sits & relaxes after having a darshan... unfortunately not for me. #WalkToTemple

Every single carving has been desecrated & maimed by islamic barbarians, just like Hampi. If not mentioned, one could easily mistake this for the ruins at Hampi. Strikingly exact. Typical islamic invasion brutality inflicted here. Stomach churning #WalkToTemple

Its sad this hasn't been documented anywhere. Am putting out pictures of every single carving. Some of them totally annihilated, some maimed brutally like this of Lakshminarayana. The plunder mostly happened following the fall of Hampi in 1565. #WalktoTemple @ReclaimTemples

More desecration of carvings. Brought back horror memories of Hampi Krishna temple & the Hazara Rama temple. The story of every Hindu temple, no matter how big or small that has suffered islamic plunder needs to be told & retold, over & over, Again & again. #WalkToTemple

Only a sick ideology is capable of such barbarity. The 2nd pic is what appears to be Garuda, beheaded by sick islamic invaders. #Walktotemple

More beheaded carvings of our gods. Dhimmis need to ask themselves if they can learn something from all this or remain ignorant & pretend everything is hunky dory. Remember the book that prescribes all this barbarity the fastest selling book in the world today #WalkToTemple

Dhimmis are conditioned to look the other way when evidence of past islamic brutality stares at them right in the face. They'd rather take pics of monkeys jumping into water with their shiny dslr's than take note of what was done to their ancestors in the past. #WalktoTemple

Suckularism in one picture. An illegal structure erected just meters away from an ASI protected 1200 yr old ancient temple.While purhoits chant the rundramchamakam, the screeching loudspeaker drowns it while asking for victory over the idolater kuffars 5 times a day #WalktoTemple

As we exit the temple, typical Vijayanagara style entrance/exit. Upper tiers of the gopuram are incomplete. #WalktoTemple

Beautiful sculptures/carvings adorn the threshold/column of the Gopuram. #WalkToTemple

This is the main wooden chariot of the temple, now in a very deteriorating condition. #walktotemple

There is a small elevated platform just adjacent to the Gopuram, on which once stood a magnificent Mantapam. Eventually destroyed by islamic invaders. The demolished pillars can still be seen even today. #WalktoTemple @ReclaimTemples

Finally the mighty expands of the Bhoganandeeshwara temple, the outermost fortification was done by the Vijayanagara rulers. Its one huge temple complex. #WalkToTemple

Contained within the grounds is this pushkarini & a section dedicated to nagadevatas under a few peepal trees. #WalkToTemple

Nandi hills from the temple.

Finally the ASI incompetence (even the signboard!) & govt apathy on full display. Exactly why our temples must be freed from govt control. Temples are the very core of our civilization & will determine where we are headed from here. We are a big ZERO without our temples.

That concludes the #WalktoTemple thread on Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple at Nandi village, just on the outskirts of Bangalore. Hope you found it useful. Do visit the place while you can. Thank You.