Somanathapur Things to Do

We made a small stop in Shrirangapattana on an island in the Koveri River. Most of the large buildings date from the 17th and 18th cent., when the city was the capital of Mysore.

The greatest builder Tipu Sultan, left here a large mosque (see picture), and a mausoleum, where he and his father Haidar Ali are buried. There are also large ramparts of a Fort near the river.

The lower wall of the Tipu Sultan mosque might distract the eye from features worth noticing, such as the building's handsome minarets. Tower vents, or is it an elegant arrangement of numerous pigeon-holes, allow the air to circulate inside.

Tipu Sultan, who ruled the princely state of Mysore from 1782 to 1799, was known as the "Tiger of Mysore" because of his fierce opposition to the British.

Srirangapatnam is located at 14 km north of Mysore and 120 km south of Bangalore.

There are inscriptions graved on a slab standing at the entrance, inside the temple, dated from 1269 tot 1550 A.D. that detail the construction of the temple and grants made to it.
And here is one of those beautiful sculptures inside the hall.

Still in the Karnataka state, its very serenity does something to you. All of us experienced this sense of peace when we visited the Chennakeshkava Hoysala temple of Somnathpur. It is situated on the left bank of the Kovery river and was built in 1268 A.D. by Somanatha Dandanayaka an illustrious General of the Hoysala King Narasimha III.

This temple is a perfect example of the Hoysala style of architecture. It has three sanctums on the West, South and North all connected. It is an ornately carved temple of magnificent craftsmanship depicting Vishnu, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, Rati-Mammatha and Mahishasura.

And now up and away to Mysore. Driving through sugar cane and corn fields, coconut trees and betel nut trees, millet fields

Special to this temple are the numerous meditation rooms hidden in the gallery, behind the pillars surrounding the Keshkava temple.