Srirangapatna & Melukote Yatra on 31/01/2021

During a recent visit to Bengaluru to attend a wedding, we managed to get one day to do a short but sweet yatra. We were four couples who went together for our yatra which is described below.

On the cold morning of 31^st Jan, 2021, we woke up early at 5 a.m. and after finishing our ablutions and morning prayers, we awaited the Tempo Traveller (TT) which was to take us to our destination. The TT came slightly late and we left by 6.15 a.m. which was a delay of fifteen minutes. The air was cold and crisp at that time as the Sun had yet not risen. Soon, we were en-route to Srirangapatinam which was our destination.

 The first hour of the drive was uneventful as some of us were busy catching up on our morning chanting of prayers. At around 8.30 we halted at a hotel called Kamat Lokaruchi for breakfast. The food here was excellent (Thatte Idli & Madhur Vada are their specialities) and it is frequented by many people travelling the Bengaluru-Mysuru road. After breakfast, we had a short 12 km drive to our first halt – the Aprameya Krishna temple. This is in a place called Ambegalu.

The temple is a serene temple just off the highway adjoining an old village. There were hardly any visitors to the temple at that time giving us the opportunity to have a nice leisurely darshan of the Lord. The speciality of the temple is an idol of baby Krishna on His knees holding a ball of butter in His hands. This Krishna was captivating, and it was difficult to depart after seeing Him in that pose. It is said that Saint Purandaradasa composed the famous song "Jagadodhaarana" after seeing Krishna in this pose at this temple. We bought Chikki (peanuts and jaggery mix in the form of a bar of chocolates) from a local vendor which was reasonably priced and had a heavenly taste.

After this, we left straight towards the island town of Srirangapatipam which used to be the preferred place of a number of kings in the past. We reached around 10.30 a.m. and headed straight towards the banks of the holy river Kaveri. Here three of us had a traditional bath (complete with Sankalpam) while the others preferred to just sprinkle themselves with the water. The water was cool and clean and flowing with slight force. We could comfortably sit on the rocks and have a nice refreshing dip.

After this, we had nice coconut water and sugar cane juice as it was getting warm. The Ranganatha temple (reclining Narayana) was very close to the river. Fortunately, there were not many visitors at this temple (probably due to Covid19 restrictions) and we could get a darshan of the Lord within a short time. The deity is similar to the one in Srirangam. Near His feet was the idol of Kaveri Devi signifying that She is as holy as the river Ganga, if not more. There are three temples of Shri Ranganatha known as Adi Ranga (Srirangapatna), Madhya Ranga (Sivasamudra) and Sri Ranga (Srirangam). It is believed that if one visits all 3 temples in the same day, one is qualified for moksha or liberation.

After this darshan, we drove towards the Nimishamba Devi temple which is about 4 kilometres away.

Here we saw a fairly large crowd waiting patiently in queue for an entry into the temple. As we stood it the queue, one man came and offered to escort us directly into the temple by paying a small fee. We happily agreed and within no time we were inside and having a wonderful darshan of the Devi. Her name signifies that She will come to the assistance of Her devotees within moments of remembering Her. The deity was very tastefully decorated with flowers and lemons. She was looking attractive and very pleasing to the eye. There was a rare Krishnashila  Shree Chakram at Her feet. After Her darshan, we saw the other deities in the temple – Vinayaka, Shivalingam, Lakshmi Narayana, Surya Narayana & Hanuman..

 

This temple also has the Holy river Kaveri flowing calmly beside. After this, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant. Lunch consisted of a traditional thali / food platter which everyone enjoyed heartily. Then we proceeded towards Melkote which we reached by 3 p.m. At this time, the temples were closed. We were informed that the Cheluva Narayana Swamy temple, which was consecrated by Sri Ramanuja in the 12^th Century, will open at 3.30 p.m. and we decided to wait outside the temple. A small crowd of devotees had gathered by the time the temple opened. After a short wait, we could have the darshan of Cheluva Narayana who appeared exceptionally beautiful. The Utsava Murthy was also unique and it is believed that this deity was worshipped by both Rama & Krishna.

 

After this lovely darshan, we proceeded towards the Melkote Narasimha temple on top of the rocky hill close to the temple. It is believed that this idol was installed by Prahalada himself. We climbed the 250 + steps to reach the temple. Along the way, we met a local person named Narasimha who is about 70 years old. He carries a pitcher of water several times a day up to the temple where he works in the temple kitchen. This strenuous work that he has been doing for past 45 years (almost non stop without a break) has resulted in him having a lean and fit physique.

He was kind enough to take all of us directly to the Sanctum (by passing the queue) at the time of the opening of the temple for evening darshan. We felt blessed to see the Lord in all His glory from a remarkably proximity (almost touching distance). After this, Shri Narasimha took us inside the temple kitchen (Madapalli) where we had a darshan of LakshmiNarasimhan which is placed inside the temple. We were especially lucky to go there. Later he gave us a lot of sweet prasadam directly from the kitchen. He also invited us to visit the temple during the annual festival around April when thousands of devotees flock from far & near.

 A few of us stood at the temple gates and chanted our prayers and recited portions of Narayaneeyam relating to Narasimha Avtaar. After this, we climbed down back to our TT and left on our return journey to Bengaluru. Along the way, we halted for our evening prayers and then once again for dinner. By the time we reached back it was post 10 p.m. We were exhausted from the 350+ km yatra and ready to crash into bed with sweet memories of a wonderful day spent in good company with memorable darshan of the Lord in different forms.

After doing various yatras for several decades now, I firmly believe that one needs to accompany like-minded friends in order to thoroughly relish and enjoy the experience.