Chokkanathaswamy Temple, Domlur

About Chokkanathaswamy Temple, Domlur

The Chokkanathaswamy Temple in Domlur is one of the oldest temples in Bengaluru. It is dedicated to Vishnu as Chokkanathaswamy (Chokka Perumal), worshipped together with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi; the three images are carved from shaligrama stone from the Gandaki river in Nepal. The temple faces east.

Only the sanctum and the two ardha-mantapas preserve the original fabric; the Vijayanagara-style navaranga hall and its pillars are later additions. The walls carry numerous Kannada and Tamil inscriptions, recorded in the Epigraphia Carnatica (volume 9, 1905), together with Chola-era sculpture — a rare chance to see Bengaluru's medieval past in the middle of a busy modern neighbourhood.

History

The temple is dated to around 1200 CE, in the Chola period. Its inscriptions give a vivid picture of the medieval village: in them the deity is called Sokkapperumal and Domlur appears as Tombalur or Desimanikkapattanam. A Tamil inscription of 1270 records the gift of the temple doors by one Alagiyar; another records lands donated from Jalapalli village and the Vinnamangalam tank by a man named Talaikattu and his wife; and an inscription of 1290 records donations by the Hoysala-era official Poysala Vira Ramananda. Later, the Vijayanagara king Devaraya II granted the temple taxes, tolls, houses, wells and surrounding land.