Arakeshwara temple-Haleyedatore

The ancient Arakeshwara temple is one of the Panchalingas. This temple is said to have been built by the Ganga Rulers & situated on the banks of river Kaveri, K.R.Nagar Mysore district. It stands out strikingly against the background of the river and the lush greenery to make a perfect poster.

The chirping of the birds and the gurgling of the river are soothing to the ears. The greenery surrounding the riverbanks is breathtaking. All these put together was the picture perfect. The sanctum has a small Linga and one can feel the powerful vibrations from the lord.

The temple is a host to many Shivalingas and to Goddess Parvathi. Poojas (rituals) are conducted every day at the temple. On the auspicious Rathasapthami day the first rays of the Sun directly falls on the Deity this shows the perfection of the architectural designers of those times.

First I went to the river the water level was quite high because of Monsoon. Here one can have a quick bath or just splash around. Swimming in this area is not advisable due to the strong under currents.

This temple is mainly built of stone. As soon as I went inside the main entrance, two virtues of this place caught our attention, cleanliness and calmness of the place. This place is amazingly clean and tidy. The wide corridors were welcoming us as if with open arms.

The square pillars stood as a proof of the donations and contributions of well wishers made to the temple. All the details of contributions and names of the generous were inscribed on them in Kannada.

The celestial bull or the ‘Nandi’ stood guard at the entrance, as is the case in all the ‘shivalayas’. We then entered the main temple. Inside the sanctum sanctorum is the one foot tall lingam. This is said to be an ‘udhbava lingam’ meaning lingam which was naturally formed (and not manmade).

After that I went around in ‘pradakshina’. In the surrounding corridor are 41 small ‘shivalingas’ was depicting various forms of Lord Shiva. In the center is the main temple and to the right side of the Lord is a temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathi. The stucco images decorated the upper portion of the temple.

Suryanaraya & Kalideva

A few steps lead you into the temple with stone pillars and beautiful clean stone courtyard where you can walk and peacefully experience the calmness of the temple, which has stood witness to mankind for a century.