India has a rich mythological history and Kings and queens who reigned the country were religious and it is very evident from the historic temples that are pure architectural beauties that are complete with magnificent idols and intricate carvings.
I am not the one who believes that God exists only in temples, but I don't mind visiting beautiful temples. I believe God exists within us and doing and being good is the best prayer. However, my mom loves visiting temples and she plans drives to visit temples in and around my hometown whenever there is a long weekend.
This time, we visited this temple, Kodyadka Shree Annapoorneshwari temple, in a nearby town. The magnificent structure of the temple is very similar to historic temples down south, but I was shocked to know that the temple was built by an NRI. Kodyadka Jayaram Hegde was the man who solely funded this temple that is dedicated to his home diety Shri Annapoorneshwari.
Every visitor in the temple is welcomes by an 27 year old elephant named 'Roopa'. The trained elephant is beautiful and blesses visitors by a pat on their head with it's trunk. The temple is clean and tidy with instructions pasted on the walls to maintain discipline. The inner sanctum of the temple houses the Panchloha ( five metals ) diety that Is covered in silk saree with colourful flowers and gold ornaments. Devotees are instructed to not offer anything to the priests as that would make them greedy and priests are not supposed to be so.
The temple hosts tasty lunch for all it's visitors and it is all funded by Kodyadka Jayaram Hegde. The outer ring of the temple has many idols of other God's and goddesses along with a 'goshala' ( cowshed) and a mini zoo.
This temple is also famed for the huge statue of Hanuman, the mythological hero, in the entrance. The 61 foot long Hanuman idol attracts kids and adults towards it.
