Dwadasaha Jyotirlinga Temple, Omkara Hills, Bangalore..

Sri Dwadasaha Jyotirlinga Temple, Omkara Hills, Bangalore..
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Dwadasha Jyotirlinga temple which is situated on Omkar Hills. Omkar hills is the highest peak in Bangalore. Omkar hills houses an Ashram called Omkara Ashram, SRI SHIVAPURI MAHASWAMIJI founded Omkara Ashrama Mahasamsthana in 1992 on Omkar Hills.
The Gopuram of Jyotirlinga temple attracts with Orissa style and North Indian architecture. Tall white colored gopuram complex shines with golden colored mukuta. There are 12 gopuras each representing a Jyotirlinga.
In this temple the Twelve Representative Jyotirlingas of the original Pauranik Twelve Jyotirlingas, which are in different parts of our country are under one roof, each with an individual Garbhagriha and Vimanagopuram.

Omkareswara Temple, Bangalore..

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Sri Omkareswara Temple, Bangalore..
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Omkareshwara representative Jyotirlinga measuring around 6 Feet in height, occupies the place of pride with Spatika Shree Yantra, at the centre of the temple, encircled by the other Eleven Jyotirlingas. This is the Main Jyotirlinga of this temple

Manikeswarar Temple, Dhadhapuram, TN..

Sri Manikeswarar Temple, Dhadhapuram, TN..
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Uthpalawarna Vishnu Devalaya, Devinuwara, Matara, Sri Lanka..

Sri Uthpalawarna Vishnu Devalaya, Devinuwara, Matara, Sri Lanka..

Nanneswara Temple, Lakkundi, Karnataka..

Sri Nanneswara Temple, Lakkundi, Karnataka..
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Sri Nanneswara Temple is dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva. Even to the ones who are suffering from the temple fatigue, Lakkundi can be a pleasant surprise with more temples. Lakkundi is often a gem missed by majority of tourists. One take the trouble of making visit to Lakkundi is rewarded with one of the fine architectural feasts of the Kalyana Chalukya period (about 10 century CE).

Gadderameswara Temple, Channarayapatna, Karnataka..

Sri Gadderameswara Temple, Channarayapatna, Karnataka..

Chennakesava Temple, Dindaguru, Karnataka..

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Sri Chennakesava Temple, Dindaguru, Karnataka..

Sri Arkeswara Temple, Hole Alur, Karnataka.

 Sri Arkeswara Temple, Hole Alur, Karnataka..

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The Arakeshvara Temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is located in the village of Hole Alur in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka state. According to the historians the temple which dates back to the middle of the 10th century rule of the Western Ganga Dynasty appears to have been renovated in later periods. It was constructed by King Butuga II around 949 A.D. to celebrate his victory over the Cholas of Tanjore in the historically important battle of Takkolam. It was a military engagement between crown prince Rajaditya, son of the Chola King Parantaka I, and King Butaga II (a powerful vassal of the Rashtrakuta emperor Krishna III). The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.

Siva Siva Venba

Gems of Tamil Scripture : Siva Siva Venba
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"விற்பிரப்பான் மன்னர்செயன் மேவவுல கேங்குநிறை
சிற்பரனே தெய்வஞ சிவசிவா - பொற்பின் 
அகர முதல வெழுத்தெல்லா மாதி 
பகவன் முதற்றே யுலகு."
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- --சென்னமள்ளய்யர் (1767 AD ) - சிவா சிவா வெண்பா
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குறட்கு உரை :
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அகரமாகிய முதலையுடையான், எழுத்துக்களெல்லாம்; அது போல ஆதிபகவானாகிய முதலை உடைத்து உலகமேன்றவாறு.
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அகரவுயிர்போல ஆதிபகவானாகிய பரமசிவனை உலகத்தில் வியாபித்து நின்றதற்குப் பிரமாணம் : வில்லாலும் பிரம்பாலும் அருச்சணனும் பாண்டியனும் அடித்த அடி எங்கும் உற்றமையால் விளங்கும். அருச்சனன் தவம் பன்னுகையிர் சிவபிரான் வேடவடிவந்கொண்டு எழுந்தருளினபோது வில்லாலடித்தது பாரதத்தில் தவனிலைச் சருக்கத்தில் சொல்லப்பட்டது.

Varadaraja Swamy Temple, Naina malai, Namakkal, TN..

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Sri Varadaraja Swamy Temple, Naina malai, Namakkal, TN..
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Nainamalai Varadharaja Swamy Temple is one of the most ancient temples in Tamilnadu. According to Hindu mythology, it has been there for many yugas and many rishis had did penance here.. Naina maharishi had done tapas here and hence it is called as Nainachalam.
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The temple is situated on a hill top. The hill top can be reached by climbing 3500 steps. Thala Virucham of this temple is nali tree. Temple can be reached through motorable road. The present temple is said to have been built by Poligar Ramachandra Nayaka.

Trivikrama Temple, Sonda, Karnataka..

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Sri Trivikrama Temple, Sonda, Karnataka..
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Sri Trivikrama Temple was built for Lord Sri Rama Trivikrama Devaru by Arasappa Nayaka. 
A beautiful murthy of Bhagwan Thrivikrama adores the sanctum sanctorum. At the southern side of the shrine there are engravings giving the detais the charities made to this temple by Arasappa Nayaka.

Chintaamaneeswarar Temple, Karunguli, Near Chennai..

 Sri Chintamaneeswarar Temple, Karunguli, Near Pulicat, Chennai..
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Karungaali is a small village located in the north western side of Chennai. Karungaali has a beautiful temple for Lord Shiva called Sri Chinthaamaneeswarar, amidst scenic surroundings. According to the inscriptions, the temple is over 1300 years old.

The speciality of this temple is that, it has sea in the front side, a river behind it and forest on the other side. It is a very rare sight to see a temple amidst such a natural setting.
To reach Karungaali one has to take the road from Minjur towards Pazhaverkadu (Pulicat). After crossing about 10 kms from Minjur one can reach a village by name ‘Kaattoor’. Take right turn from Kaattoor and drive about 5 km (bad and sandy road amidst many salt lakes) to reach the banks of the river Arani
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After reaching the river Arani, one has to take a boat to cross the river and the temple is on the other side of Arani river, which is Karungaali village. There is only one boat available and sometimes we have to wait for some time for the boat man to arrive. He charges Rs. 10/- for an up and down trip which takes hardly 5 minutes for each way. Alternatively, to reach the temple by road one can also take the Ennore Port Road, which will lead to this temple.
Lord Shiva has 5 faces; Isaanam, Thathpurusham, Vaamadhevam, Sathyojaatham and Agoram. There are 5 Shiva temples near Chennai, representing each of the 5 faces of the Lord. Out of those 5 this temple represents the Agora face of Lord Shiva.
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The other 4 being Ramagiri Sri Vaaleeswarar (Isaanam), Suruttuppalli Sri Pallikondeeswarar (Thathpurusham), Aarani (near Periyapaalayam) Sri Sampangi Pichaaleeswarar (Vamadhevam) and Ariyathurai Sri Varamoortheeswarar (Sathyojaatham). Interestingly, all these 5 temples lie on the banks of Brahmaranya (Arani) river.

Karungaali, where this temple is located, is where the Brahmaranya (Arani) river finally merges into the ocean.
As per the legend, there lived a Rishi (Saint) by name Sattai Muni who performed Thapas (penance) in this place on the banks of Brahmaranya River. It is said that he formed this temple and worshipped Lord Shiva here

Sri Channakesava Swamy Temple, Kaidala, Tumkur..

 Sri Channakesava Swamy Temple, Kaidala, Tumkur..
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The Chenna Keshava temple  in Kaidala in Tumkur district was built by Gule Bachi, a chieftain of the Hoysala King Narasimha I in 1150 ADThere is a beautiful Chenna Keshava in monolithic black stone (Krishna Shile) installed in the Garbhagriha. The strikingly beautiful idol faces west unlike in most hindu temples. According to a theory propounded by the priest of the temple, this was to prevent the muslim invaders from destroying the main deity. The carvings of jewellery on the idol are dainty, detailed and flawless. The 5-and-half feet idol of Chenna Keshava is installed on a 2-and-half feet pedestal which has beautiful carvings of the trimurthi, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. 

Sri Channakesava Swamy Moolavaru.
The uniqueness of this temple's architecture is such that, on the day of the Makara Shankaranthi, the rays of the sun falls directly at the feet of the main deity.