Basavanagudi Bull Temple - Nandi Temple (Vehicle for Lord Shiva)

The very famous temple of the city, this bull temple is located in a hillock at Basavanagudi town. Nandi is the vehicle for Lord Shiva and this temple is exclusively dedicated to it. So, every Shaivite is eager to visit this temple once in their lifetime. This believed to be the biggest Nandi statue in the world is 4.5 meters high and 6.5 meters long, carved out from a single granite rock. Frequent apply of coconut oil, butter and other offerings turned the original grey colour into black. This area was very fertile for growing rice, peanuts, groundnuts etc and was the source of living for the many farmers who had fields here.

However, most of the time of the harvesting season was rampaged by a mighty bull, which made them worry. After elevating this issue with the priests of the region, they decided to allot a small piece of land for that bull. Surprisingly, the bull stopped attacking them and the people continued to worship it since then. The present temple was studied to be built by the famous ruler of Bangalore, Kempegowda in the 16th century. The temple reflects Vijayanagar type of architecture. On the premises of the temple, there is also a beautiful shrine of Lord Ganesh, with an interesting fact that the statue is made entirely of butter. It is replaced every four years. In that tenure of 4 years, the butter does not melt or change shape. The butter is then distributed to the devotees.