Kote Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple Shimoga

Kote Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple -Shimoga

Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple in Shimoga of Karnataka is the most famous temple for its vast town area in front, sacred in back, fort of Shivappa Nayaka etc. He is known as the God who quickly fulfills the wishes of the devotees and solves their problems.

History

This temple on the Fort road of Shimoga has both mythological and historic importance. During the period of Ramayan, when Lakshman fell unconscious, Lord Rama instructed Anjaneya to bring the Sanjeevini Booti from the Himalayas. Anjaneya started travelling by the sky from the South. Meanwhile Sage Durvasa was performing penance on the banks of river Tunga. The high speed of Anjaneya was such that it created a whirlwind which disturbed the sage’s penance. Sage Durvasa stopped Anjaneya by the power of his penance and requested him to show his Bala Swaroopa (child form). Anjaneya gave him the darshan and blessed the sage. It is said that after the darshan, the sage installed Bala Hanuman in an Yantra.

By the end of the Mahabharata, Raja Janamejaya performed the Sarpa Yaga. He visited all the religious places in the south to ward off his sins. He built the Sapta stupa in Hiremagalur and reached the Bheemeshwara Kshetra on the banks of Tunga river. While travelling, he heard a faint chant of Rama from an anthill. He found the Yantra Roopi Bala Hanuman there. He got it sculpted, built a small temple, installed the idol and arranged for daily poojas.

According to the records, the present temple building has history of 800 years. Narasimha Ballala, the great grandson of Hoysala king Raja Vishnuvardhana restored the temple. The Vijayanagara rulers endowed the villages of Korlahalli and Kaachinakatte to the temple. The king of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka granted special presents to the temple development and built the Shivappa Nayaka Gopura. He also built a summer place close to the temple and constructed a fort around them.

Since then the temple is called the Kote Anjaneya. In 1937, the priest Anantaramu Iyengar installed the Seetha, Rama, Lakshmana idols next to this temple. Now the place is called Kote Shri Seetha Ramanjaneya Swamy Temple. Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Mysore king constructed the front portion of the temple.

Fairs and Utsav, gatherings are held throughout the year. Devotees from all over Karnataka throng the temple to have darshan and pray the Lord to fulfill their wishes of wedding, job, children, health, business etc and invoke the blessings of the Lord.