Melukote
Location
Melkote (spelled Melu-kote) in pandavapura taluk is one of the principal sacred places in karnataka. The place is also known as Thirunarayanapura. It is built on rocky hills known as Yadavagiri or Yadugiri overlooking the Cauvery valley. It is about 30 Miles from Mysore and 97 Miles from Bangalore.
History
Early in twelfth century, the great Srivaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya took up his residence and lived here for about 14 years (said so). It thus became a prominent centre of the Srivaishnava sect of Brahmins, who obtained from the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, who had become a follower of the Acharya, an assignment of the fertile tracts of land in the neighbourhood, especially of the Ashta Grams, on either bank of the Cauvery.
Muslim Invasion
In the 14th century, the place suffered at the hands of Muslim Invaders, who wrecked Dwarasamudra and and it was to Tondanur(Tonnur) at the southern foot of the hills, that the Hoysala king at first retired. It was subsequently restored, in about 1460, by Thimmanna Dannayaka, a chief of Nagamangala, who was a minister of the vijayanagar king Mallikarjuna or Immadi Prudha Deva Raya. The buildings must have been on a grand scale, as can be seen from the remains of the Gopal Raya gate on the South which are of immense proportions. In 1771, the Marathas having encamped to the south of the hill after their victory over Haider Ali at Chinkurli, the Brahmins deserted Melkote which was plundered.
Cheluva-Narayana Swamy Temple
The principal temple is a square building of great dimensions but very plain, dedicated to Lord Cheluva-Narayana Swamy or Tirunarayana. The utsavamurthi, which is a metallic image, representing the diety, is called Cheluvapille Raya or Cheluva-Narayana Swamy whose original name appears to have been Ramapriya. According to a legend, this metallic image had been lost and was recovered by Sri Ramanujacharya. The Annual Report of the Mysore Archeaelogical Dept states, on the strenght of epigraphic evidence, that the presiding deity of this Temple was alerady a well-known object of worship before Sri Ramanujacharya worshipped at the shrine in December 1098 AD and even before he came to the Mysore region and taht very probably he used his influence to rebuild or renovate the temple. From the lithic records of the period, existence of Tamil influence and Vaishnava worship in the area are also evident.
The temple is richly endowed having been under the special patronage of the Mysore Rajas, and has a most valuable collection of jewels. As early as 1614, the Mysore king Raja Wodeyar (1578-1617) who first acquired Srirangapatna and adopted the Srivaishnava faith, made over to the temple and teh Brahmins at Melkote, the Estate granted to him by Vijaynagar king Venkatapati Raya. On one of the pillars of navaranga of the Narayanaswami temple is a bas-relief about one and a half feet high, of Raja Wodeyar, standing with folded hands, with the name inscribed on the base. He is said to be a great devotee of the presiding deity and a constant visitor to the temple. A gold crown set with precious jewels was presented by him to the temple. This crown is known as the Raja-mudi after his name. A tradition says that on the day of his death, he was observed entering the sanctum and was seen no more afterwards. From the inscriptions on some of the gold jewels and on gold and silver vessels in the temple it is learnt that they were presents from Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and his queens. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III also presented to the temple a crown set with precious jewels; it is known after him as Krishnaraja-mudi. Vairamudi or Vajramukuta, another crown of great value, seems to be older than Raja-mudi and Krishnaraja-mudi and it is not known as to who gave it to the temple.
All the three crowns are kept in the safe custody of the Government and brought to the temple on specific annual occassion for adoring the image of Cheluva-Narayana Swamy. The vairamudi festival, which is the chief annual celebration is attended by more than 2-4 lakh people.
Yoga-Narasimha Swamy Temple
On the top of the hill is a impressive temple of Yoga Narasimha. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III presented gold crown to this temple.
Library & Sanskrit College
The private library of His Holiness the Yatirajaswamigalu of Melkote contains a large number of Sanskrit and Tamil works bearing on the Vishishtadwaita school of philosophy, a few works bearing on logic, rheotic, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, ritual, architecture, Panchatantra, Dharmashastras, Grihya and Dharmasutra and a god number of sanskrit works. There are also few Kannada and Telugu works. There is also a sanskrit college here named Sri Veda Vedantha Bodhini Sanskrit Mahapathashala which was established as early as in 1854 and which is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the state. Melkote has contributed many literary figures like Pu Ti Narasimhachar, Tirumalaraya, Chikkupadhyaya and Alasingachar.
Kalyani or Pushkaranani
The temple infrasturcture boasts of a large pond called as Kalyani in sanskrit. The beauty of the steps leading to water and the mantapas built all around are such that it has been captured in many indian films.