Sringeri

The ancient temple of Sri Sharada, the presiding deity of Sringeri has a glorious history that begins with the setting up of the Dakshinamnaya Peetham by Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada. Originally it was an unpretentious shrine with the idol of Sharada made of sandalwood, installed over the Sri Chakra that Sri Adi Shankara carved on a rock. Subsequently, Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha and Sri Vidyaranya had a temple built in the Kerala style, with timber and tiled roof. Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha substituted the sandalwood idol with the present golden idol.

Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati raised the present structure in granite with polished granite walling around the sanctum and Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati consecrated the new temple in May 1916. Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha made several improvements in the temple. The Mahamandapam has large stone pillars exquisitely carved with deities like Durga, Raja Rajeshwari, Dwarapalakas and Devis which are all sculpted according to the Shilpa Sastras practised in Tamilnadu.

Sri Sharada Temple and Gopuram

Construction of the 127 feet tall Rajagopuram entrance was completed in 2014. Its Kumbhabhishekam (grand inauguration) was performed by Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji on 8 June 2014, the day of Jaya Samvatsariya Jyeshtha Shuddha Dashami.

In addition to Sri Sharadamba temple, the following temples and shrines are within the temple complex:

• Sri Thorana Ganapathy shrine
• Sri Adi Shankaracharya temple
• Sri Shakthi Ganapathy shrine
• Sri Kodandaramaswamy shrine
• Sri Malayala Brahma shrine
• Sri Sureshwaracharya Samadhi shrine
• Sri Vageeswari Vidyaranya shrine
• Sri Janardhanaswamy shrine
• Sri Anjaneya shrine
• Sri Garuda shrine
• Sri Balasubrahmanyaswamy shrine

Sri Vidyashankar Temple

The Vidyashankara temple was built in the year 1338 A.D., in commemoration of the pontiff Sri Vidyashankara, by Sri Vidyaranya, patron-saint of Harihara and Bukka, the brothers who founded the Vijayanagara empire. Inscriptions in the temple record contributions made by several Vijayanagara emperors but the temple was probably built on an earlier Hoysala site as it combines Hoysala (Chalukya) and Vijayanagara (Dravida) architectural features. It is built entirely of stone and stands on a high plinth, more or less a rectangle with apisidal east-west ends. On the western side is the garbhagriha, with Vidya Ganapati on one side and Durga on the other side. On the other three sides of the garbhagriha are shrines to Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara with their consorts.

Tunga river and steps

In the eastern half of the structure is a mantapa with twelve pillars (popularly known as rashi stambhas), marked by the twelve signs of the zodiac. The rays of the sun fall on each of them in the order of the twelve solar months. On the floor is a large circle, marked with converging lines to indicate the direction of the shadows. The central ceiling is an exquisite piece of workmanship with lotus and pecking parrots. The vimana over the garbhagriha rises with shikhara, mahapadma and stupa. The rest of the roof is made up of sloping channeled slab. The basement is elaborately sculpted with animals, puranic stories, Shiva, Vishnu, Dashavatara, Kali, Shanmukha and so on. Other intricate features include chains of stone rings and growling lions with stone balls inside the faces, which can be rotated. The temple is under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India.[4][5][6][7]

Vidyatirtha Rathotsava is celebrated on a grand scale during kartika shukla paksha. The festival spans for seven days from tritiya to navami. On the saptami day Jagadguru Bharathi Teertha Mahaswamiji[8] performs special puja. The aradhana of Sri Vidya Shankara is performed on shasti, saptami and ashtami.

Sri Malahanikareshvara Temple

Malahanikaresvara means destroyer of the impurities of the soul. This serene temple is located at the centre of the Sringeri town, atop a small hill, and can be reached by a flight of about 170 steps. The temple structure is a fine piece of architecture in stone, consisting of navaranga, antarala and garbhagrha. The ceiling has a lotus bud carving. The deities inside the temple include Malahanikaresvara, Bhavani, Chandikeshwara, Durga and Sthambha Ganapati. The linga is said have been worshiped by Sage Vibhandaka, son of Sage Kashyapa. After many years of penance, Vibhandaka had the vision of the Lord and merged into the Linga. The Sthanbha Ganapati was created in stone by Sri Ahinava Narasimha Bharati (1599 – 1622), the 24^th Jagadguru, by drawing a figure of Ganesha with a piece of turmeric on one of the front pillars. Outside the temple, there are small shrines of Meenakshi Sachidanandeshvara, Kshetra Palaka and Bindu Madhava.

On Mahashivaratri, the Jagadguru performs special Puja to the Lord. On Kartika Poornima day, Laksha Deepothsavam is celebrated on a grand scale in the presence of the Jagadguru.

Sri Adi Shankara had constructed four temples on the four sides of the Sringeri village.

• Kala Bhairava Temple in the East
• Kere Anjaneya Temple in the West
• Kalikamba Temple in the North
• Durgamba Temple in the South

Sri Parshwanath Swamy Basadi

Sri Parshwanath Basadi (Digambar Jain Temple) is situated in the heart of Sringeri Town. This basadi was built in the memory of Mari Setty whose origin goes to one Vijayanagara Shanthi Shetty of Nidugodu village near Belur. The date of construction comes to about 1150 A.D. The main temple is 50 feet long and 30 feet wide. Completely built of stone it has a sloped roof. The Basadi consists of Garbhagriha, Sukhanasi, Navaranga, Mukha Mandapa and Pradakshina Patha.

In the Garbhagriha, there is the idol of Sri Parshwanatha Swamy, the presiding deity made of black stone. It is one foot high and on its base, the words Srimathparisanathaya Namaha are inscribed. Generally a single cobra holds its hood over the Lord’s head. But here, the specialty is that a pair of cobras intertwined hold their seven hoods like an umbrella. Hence this deity is known as Jodi Parshwanatha Swamy.

In the sukhanasi the idol of Goddess Padmavati is kept. It is about nine inches in height and is made of black stone. Besides this there are also Jina images of marble, sphatika, black stone and the bronze images of 24 tirthankaras in the Gandhakuti, as well as idols of Brahma, Saraswathi, and Ganadharas.[9]

Surrounded by lush greenery, Sri Rishyashrungeshwara temple is located in Kigga village on the banks of Nandini river, a tributary of Tunga. Built during Vijayanagara period, the temple houses a linga of a unique shape, with three protuberances resembling horns. There is a big Nandi statue in front of the temple. It is said that sage Rishyasringa performed penance here. It is believed that the worship of the linga averts famine in the land up to a distance of 12 yojanas (100 miles). The Rathotsavam of the temple is conducted in the month of Chaitra (March/April).

Kigga is 9 km from Sringeri, connected by bus and cabs. Kigga is also the exit point for Narasimha Parvata trekking which starts from Agumbe. Sirimane Falls is about 5 km from Kigga situated on Narasimha Parvata trekking route.

Sirimane Falls near Sringeri

Sirimane falls is situated at a distance of 12 km from Sringeri. Visitors can visit the place by two wheelers and small vehicles like Car, Jeep and Suvs. No public transport is available till Sirimane falls. However limited number of buses from Sringeri town till Kigga are available. Kigga is located 5 km away from the falls. One can Hire vehicles from Sringeri to visit Sirimane falls.

Kundadri hills near Sringeri

Kundadri hills is another must visit place near Sringeri. Situated at a distance of approximately 30km from Sringeri, Kundadri is a hill (826 mt) with dense forests in the Western Ghats. An ancient Jain temple is located on the top of this hill. This is a very beautiful place to visit during evening times to enjoy the cold breeze and the sight of colorful sunset.

Hanumanagundi falls also known as Soothanabbi falls is located on the way to Horanadu Via Kudremukh. Distance between Sringeri and the waterfalls is 36 km. Waterfalls lies inside Kudremukh National forest which is famous for Shola Forests. Gangamoola the birthplace of Tunga, Bhadra and Netravati rivers also lies in this region.ITS CLOSED NOW DUE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS