Kaivara

Kaivara is a small town of historical and mythological importance in Chikkaballapur district and is about 60-65 kms from Bangalore. I first heard about this place when my cousin who is studying medicine had to go there for a medical camp for a few days. She sounded very enthusiastic about the place and the ashram where she had stayed. Then I read about this place on wiki and we decided to go there one afternoon on a weekend.

We started from Bangalore around 1.30 PM and reached Kaivara around 3. Since we had not yet had lunch we decided to head to the next bigger town Chintamani. One of the shopkeepers in Chintamani directed us to Hotel Shanti Sagar (a small place) where we had one of the best Masala Dosas :p Free with the masala dosa was a discourse by the owner of the hotel on how to get the batter just right for a masala dosa with a special variety of rice :)

With our stomachs full we headed back to Kaivara. This town is known primarily because of the saint popularly called Kaivara Thatayya! He was a poet and a great devotee of Lord Amara Narayanaswamy (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu). The main attractions of Kaivara are the Amaranarayana Temple and the Narayanappa Mutt dedicated to Thatayya which are located next to each other. Another nice place in Kaivara is  the Yoganarasimha Swamy temple on the small hillock called ‘Vaikunta’

This is a picture of the “vimana” of the Amaranarayana temple.

The Narayanappa Mutt is itself exquisite white in color!

There is a hillock opposite the temple where Bhima is supposed to have killed Bakasura. An arch has been constructed with the idols of the Pandavas at the entrance of the road leading to the hill.

We headed to the next destination which was the Yoganarasimha Swamy temple. This houses the cave where Thatayya meditated as well.

There is a beautiful yoga and meditation hall which has been constructed newly here.

On our way out of the temple, we saw a few aggressive monkeys baring their teeth at each other!

Ah! Another thing…. I nearly forgot. You get lovely views of the surroundings from the Yoganarasimha Swamy temple courtyard.

There are so many more other attractions in and around Kaivara that we could not take in during this trip. The Ambaji Durga cave temple which is around 7km from Kaivara, the Aranyarama temple, the Bheemeswara temple. And unfortunately, we missed having the local delicacy – the Masala Chakli – which as I have heard from my cousin, who has had the fortune of staying a few days in Kaivara, is a delight in itself to be experienced!! All these clearly demand of us that we go back again. When we do that, you will hear again from me on this place :)

Map

Advertisement