India is a blessed land of temples. It is a country that exhibits its cultures and beliefs by building different temples of different gods. It is an immense pleasure to introduce you all to Kotilingeshwara Temple, which is one of the most prestigious Lord Shiva temples in India.
Quick Facts about Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar
The best time to visit: Between July and January.
Address: Kodilingam Temple Road, Ghattakamadenahalli, Kolar-563121 (Map)
Timings: 6:00 AM- 9:00PM
Entry Fee: INR 20 per person
Camera Fee: INR 100 per camera
Parking Charges: INR 50
Linga Installation Fee: Starts from INR 8,000
Here are some amazing facts about the temple:
Biggest In Karnataka
The Kotilingeshwara temple is known to be one of the biggest temples in Karnataka structured within 14 acres of land. It lies in a very small village named Kammasandra in the Kolar district. The temple is extremely famous because of the largest and the tallest Shivalinga present in Asia.
In the Kannada language, the word “Koti” means 1 crore. All devotees have successfully placed about 90 lakh shiva Lingas all around the temple and they plan to make the figure to 1 crore. Moreover, it is believed that more than 10 thousand devotees visit this temple every day.
History of the Temple
It is said that Swamy Sambha Shivamurthy, a bhakt of Lord Shiva, saw Lord Shiva in his dreams. Later, he decided to construct a Shiva temple. The first Shiva Linga of Kotilingeshwara was installed in 1980. Over the years, lakhs of lingams have been installed around this temple.
Maha Shivratri
Maha Shivaratri is a special occasion and a large number of devotees make it a point to be there on this auspicious day. The temple can be easily reached from the goldfields of Kolar.
The Shivalinga is 33 mts and is the tallest in the World. It has an accompanying Nandi statue which is 11 mts tall and is surrounded by a large number of Shivalingas of different sizes spread across the area. The project involves an establishment of one crore shivalingas hence it is named Kotilingeshwara and currently, there are about 90 lakh shivalingas.
11 Temples Within Kotilingeshwara Temple
Within the premises of the temple, there are about eleven other temples for different deities. The first of them includes the temple of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, and Lord Maheshwara temples. This is followed by a temple of Lord Kotilingeshwara.
The temples include Goddess Annapoorneshwari Temple, Goddess Karumaari Amma Temple, Lord Venkataramani Swamy Temple, Lord Panduranga Swamy Temple, Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana Temple, Lord Panchamukha Ganapathy Temple, Lord Anjaneya Temple, and finally Goddess Kannika Parameshwari Temple.
Tourist Spot
For all the locals of Bangalore city, it is easy to take a car and reach the temple in about 2.5 hours. The Government has declared this temple as a tourist spot so that hundreds of tourists from across the World can come and pay their respects to the largest Linga in Asia. Two flower trees, named one Nagalinga and Cannon Ball are located here, and many unmarried women pray for a blessed and happy married life. Moreover, it is the best weekend spot for all tourists.
Poojas at Kotilingeshwara Temple
Daily poojas are performed at all the installed Shivalingas by the priests every day. The pooja is carried out with music and drums and all the priests recite mantras as well as pour water on the lingas.
The devotees can also offer special poojas by installing the lingas. These lingas can be installed on any day chosen by the devotees in their names. Regular poojas will be carried out and offered to all the lingas installed.
Facilities at Kotilingeshwara Temple
There are rest houses constructed for devotees in the temple premises. In addition, free mass marriages are performed here every year. This is carried out by priests with drums, music and chants. Currently, there are around twenty weddings performed every week. There is also a meditation hall built for devotees who wish to meditate in peace.
How can we miss the food facility when we talk about prestigious temples of India? Well! Amazing meals are prepared for all the visitors so that they can relish the temple offerings as a memory. Due to Covid-19, this facility has hard been discontinued on a temporary basis. However, this will resume as soon as the pandemic is gone.
