Orissa Association Mysore renovates 11th century temple on the banks of Cauvery

MYSURU

The Orissa Association Mysore (OAM) has completed the second stage renovation work of Bhoga Narasimha temple at Srinivasa Kshetra on the banks of the Cauvery in Belagola, Mandya district.

A slew of rituals and rites was performed to mark the occasion recently and the OAM has appreciated and thanked the people of Belagola for the support rendered by them in the renovation work.

Dileep Kumar Misra, founder member of OAM, said in a release that the neglected temple was renovated by Sthapati Selvanathan and his team from Sri Vaidyanatha Sthapati Associates, Chennai and the second stage renovation was limited to the gopuram of the shrine.

Delving on the history of the project Mr. Misra said the OAM had sought permission from the Mandya DC for renovation in 2004. This was consequent to the OAM members accidently  stumbling upon a ruined and dilapidated temple a few months earlier while immersing the idol of Ganesha near the place.’’The temple structure appeared to be completely ruined and the OAM took instant decision for renovating and restoring the dilapidated temple’’, said Mr. Misra.

Subsequently the OAM members learnt from the locals that deities were Srinivasa and Bhoga Narasimha and once the OAM received permission from the Mandya DC, it started the preliminary work related to renovation.

Mr. Misra said renowned archaeologist Nagaraja Rao was also consulted apart from historians like Shalva Pillai Iyengar and a technical committee was constituted taking these specialists in the team and it pegged the cost of renovation at ₹28 lakh. But it was subsequently revised to ₹42 lakh as the deterioration of the structure was far worse than imagined, said Mr.Misra.

The OAM now plans to build a community centre with modern facilities near the temple and engage itself in community development work besides conducting research on traditional art, culture, dance and music of Karnataka and Odisha, research on Vedic studies and Agama Sastra, provide yoga training and assist in arranging marriage functions , Mr.Misra added.