My Writeup: My First Trip to Melkote

Melkote is a small village near Mysore. Its my ancestral hometown and I had missed the opportunity to enjoy the serenity of the place until last weekend.

Two families setout on this most memorable trip. We started off from Chennai on the Mysore Cauvery Express on a Saturday night. Reached Srirangapatinam station on the next morning greeted by the warm sunlight of a bright Sunday. We stopped by and took our bath at the Cauvery river and setout to the Ranganathar Swami Temple. The statue of the Lord here was similar to the one at Srirangam. From here we headed off to the Bus station and took a bus to Melkote.

Melkote is around 25 Kms drive from Mandya, Karnataka. To more know about the history of Melkote refer the following link: History of Melkote

We took a walk in the evening to the two kulams (ponds) - Thangai & Akka Kulam. Legend has it that the ponds were built by 2 sisters for the people of Melkote. But the elder seemed to have calculated her expenses. Henceforth the people do not make use of the Akka kulum. On the steps of these ponds lies the sannidhi of the Alwars. Its built of burnt brick and mortor. But the carvings in the walls are pretty to see. Its partially ruined now, But ASI and The temple authorities are trying to get it repaired. Its said to be as old as the main temple (12th Century AD).

Our next stop was at the Gates to Melkote, an unfinished structure built by the then king Krishnadevaraya. We were accompanied by a guide from ASI who explained the significance of the monument and why the king had abandoned the construction due to the commencement of wars with the muslim invaders from the north. The structure looked beautiful and had carvings of the Hindu Gods and design patterns. 2 flight of stairs leads to the top of the structure on both platforms from where the whole Melkote and its surroundings is visible. Its here at Melkote, the Academy for Sanskrit Research run by Govt. of India is situtated. The link below throws more light on the activities of ASR.
Academy of Sanskrit Research, Melkote

Gates to Melkote

We went to the Tirunarayana temple, where we had a splendid and most unbelievable darshan. Being a native of Melkote and never being there before was no longer a big thing. I felt quite different here, I felt at home. After about 2 hours visiting the Thaiyaar sannidhi and thr Ramanujar sannidhi we left for home just to return the next morning to seek the blessings of the Guru on his janma nakshatram and the Lord Narayana in his Vishwaroopam.

on the next day, we setout for the Yoga Narasimhar temple which was situated on the hills. Enroute we came to the Kalyani kulum where we spent some time. The pond was clean and the mandapams surrounding it made it look awesome. Once we reached the top of the hill, we had our first darshan of the Lord. Following which we had our prasadams. And witnessed the thirumanjanam for the Lord. Unlike other temples in the city, people here seemed to perform the procedures with absolute perfection according to dad and mom. We took prasadams and walked back home. In the evening we took a auto back to Mandya station from where we caught the Mysore-Chennai Express back to Chennai.

To me, this trip will remain significant. Finally, the Melkotes find their way back to their ancestral home. I hope and pray to re-live what we had missed for the last 3 generations.

For photos of the trip Visit Photo Gallery of Melkote Trip

More Info at
http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/temples/melkote/