Gutte Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple
Gutte Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple is an very old Hanuman
Temple near Lalbagh west gate near the city centre of Bangalore.The deity was
carved on a rock and thus came to be known as “Gutte Anjaneya” – gutte in
Kannada language means rock or small hillock. It is not easy to locate the temple
and even today the idol is hidden in the labyrinths of the area.
Location Karnataka , Bangalore Rural, Bangaluru
Legend
In the early 20th century, there was an ardent devotee of
Lord Anjaneya, Ramadas who used to visit the temples of Lord and lead a saintly
life, by taking prasadams offered in these temples as food. Sri Ramadas while
camping near Avenue Road Tuppa Anjaneya Swamy temple had a divine direction to
proceed to a place near Lal Bagh and identify the Hanuman statue there. After a
long trail he discovered a Hanuman statue that was carved out of a big rock on
a hillock in one corner of the then Lal bagh. The statue was covered with
bushes and shurbs then and Ramadas took lot of efforts to clear them and
started offering prayers to the deity. He then started asking for alms from
nearby colonies and shops to offer prasadam to Sri Hanuman. In the mean while
people living around the area and the nearby shopkeepers started visiting the
Sri Hanuman rock. They volunteered in the preparation of prasadam and in the
conduct of regular poojas to the deity. The deity was considered very powerful.
The miracle power of this Anjaneya started slowly spreading to the other parts
of the City of Bangalore. Then Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar,
was proceeding on an official visit through this route. When nearing the
hillock housing the temple of Hanuman, his car engine failed and could not be
started. His Highness was then taken to this temple nearby. When he returned
after offering his prayers, to everybody’s surprise the car started and the
official work for which the Maharaja was going was also successful. This
occurrence of a near miracle made the temple of Hanuman very popular.
Architecture
The temple complex is fairly big. As one enters the complex
from the east side which is actually the rear entrance to the complex, on the
left is the temple office. Further ahead, we can see the Bali peetam, Sri Rama
patham, and the Dwajastambam - all made of stone. The sannadhi of Sri Rama
parivarai is northward from the dwaja stambam. On the west side of the complex
there is a big entrance taking us towards the other side of the complex and on
both sides of the pathway comfortable provision has been made for people to
rest. There is a sannadhi for Lord Siva and Sri Ganapati on both the ends of
this structure. The main mantapam housing the garbhagraham is big enough to
accommodate many devotees without any hindrance to the dharshan of the deity.
The deity Lord Gutte Sri Anjaneya Swamy of Lal bagh is about seven feet tall
made of hard granite stone in a walking posture and is of ‘ardha shila’ type
facing west. Lord is seen walking southward with His left lotus foot in the
front. His right lotus foot is seen slightly raised from the ground. Both His
feet are adorned with nupuram and thandai. The demon, wearing a crown is seen
stamped and crushed by the Lord with his feet. The head of the demon can be
seen below the Lord’s left foot and the legs of the demon can be clearly seen
below the right foot of the Lord.
Culture
Bangalore is one of the most beautiful urban cities in the
country and is fondly also called the Garden city. Its greenery and friendly
climate coupled with various job opportunities make it ideal for people to make
it their home and settle down in Bangalore. Bangalore in spite of its
cosmopolitan outlook has some wonderful traditional things going for it as
well. Performing arts like Carnatic music, Bharatnatyam and plays like
Yakshagana are still crowd pullers and have their own dedicated follower.
Darsan Info
Temple timings :
Morning 6:30 A.M to 12:30 P.M and Evening 5:30 P.M to 8:30
P.M
Darsan Dresscode
Traditional clothes are preferred attire on auspicious days.
Famous Festival
Hanuman Jayanthi
Temple Rituals
Morning pooja and Abisheka is offered to Lord Hanuman at
6:30 A.M daily and Archana starts from 7:30 A.M onwards.
Additional Info
Sankranthi Family Garden
HOTEL KADAMBA VEG
Sagar Grand Veg Family Restaurant
Supermarket : Available