21st August 2018.
The present Kolar was called Kolara or ancient Kuvalapura
in the 3rd Century and was ruled by the Gangas. Gangas were succeeded by
Chozhas followed by Hoysala and
Vijayanagara dynasty Kings.
The temple faces east with a gopura base with well carved
doorway. A stone sthamba is immediately after the entrance. There is an open
mandapa before entering into the inner praharam. The open mandapa must be a
reconstructed one since the pillars are not uniform. On the left and right of
the mandapa, there are two Hero stones which will be written separately. The Dwajasthambam and balipeeda are immediately
after the mandapa entrance.
The L-shaped sanctum houses two shrines, one for Chamundeswari
(Kolaramma) in the form of Mahishasuramardini with eight hands and the demon
Mahishan is under her feet and the other for
Saptamatrikas with a common ardha mandapa/ vestibule. The exact copies of stucco Saptamatrikas are
in the north-facing shrine by the Chozhas. Scorpion images are found in the
Chelamma shrine. It was told that if one prayed to Sri Chelamma, one would be free from
scorpion bites. There is a six-foot Kala Bhairavi, but people used to call as
Mukanacharamma owing to its nose having been broken. Originally the temple was a
Pidari Amman temple for a Village deity. Later it was changed by the Chozhas.
The sanctum sanctorum was built in the Dravidian style of
architecture and the base was constructed with Jagathy, tripatta kumuda, and
maha patti. The wall top is with booth gana, kapotam ( with Nasi koodu ), and
Yazhivari. The Kolaramma Shrine facing east sanctum has the Vimana. The outside wall has the pilasters inscribed with inscriptions. There are more than 21
inscriptions of which 18 are in Tamil and 3 are in Kannada. The period of
inscriptions ran from 996 CE to 1538 CE. The majority of the Tamil inscriptions
are inscribed during Rajendra Chozha –I, period ( 1012 to 1045 CE ). The original
brick temple by the Ganga was changed to Stone temple in 1033 CE by Rajendra
Chozha-I. 1071 CE inscription speaks about the deities of the temple and poojas
to be conducted.
TEMPLE TIMINGS:
The temple will be kept open between 08.00 hrs to 12.30 hrs
and 18.00 hrs to 21.00 hrs.
HOW TO REACH:
Kolar is in Karnataka state, bus facilities are available
from various parts of Karnataka Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.
1.2 km from the Kolar bus stand. Autos are available from the bus
stand.
Mukha mandapa
Chozha inscription on the pillar
Kudakoothu
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
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