Ghati Subramanya is an ancient Hindu temple, situated on the
outskirts of Bangalore
near Tubagere, Doddaballapura.
It is 60 km from the city and is a popular pilgrimage centre. The
uniqueness of this temple is that the prime deity Lord Karthikeya,
is found together with Lord Narasimha.
According to mythology,
both idols are believed to have emerged from the earth. It is also an important
centre in South India for worship of the Hindu deity Kethu. Special rituals are
performed during Brahmarathotsava, i.e., on the day of Pushya shudda Shashti.
Narasimha Jayanti is the other major festival celebrated here.
History:
Ghati Subramanya
has a recorded history of more than 600 years. It was first developed by the
Ghorpade rulers of Sandur who ruled parts of Bellary.
Tradition and belief:
It is the belief
of devotees that childless couples making vows shall be blessed with children
by the lord. A related ritual is that of installing idols of snakes. One can
see thousands of such idols near the temple.
Design:
The idol of Lord
Karthikeya with a seven headed cobra is made from a single stone. It faces eastwards while
the idol of Lord Narasimha faces westwards. To ensure that both deities are
visible to devotees at the same time, a huge mirror was placed in the rear in
the sanctum sanctorum.
Locality:
Ghati Subramanya
is about 60km from Bangalore. The most popular route is via Doddaballapura. If
opting for a public transport, direct routes to Ghati from Bangalore are pretty
less in number and one may have to change over at Doddaballapura.
Cattle fair:
The fair held here in December is very famous and farmers
from neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra as well as from many parts of Karnataka participate in the cattle fair.