194 kms from Bangalore is the District Headquarters of Hassan. This quiet and peaceful town is a convenient base to visit Sharavanabelagola, Belur and Halebid. Hassan offers a wide variety of accommodation. It is well connected by road and rail to Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore.

Hassanamba Temple is 800 years old and houses the main deity of Hassan. The temple is dedicated to Amba also known as Goddess Shakti. The goddess here is a anthill or (hutta in Kannada) which denotes Hassanamba is actually goddess Parvathi. The Inner sanctum opens only once a year for two weeks during Deepavali and closes three days after Balipadyami. When the temple is closed they keep before the goddess a lit lamp two bags of uncooked rice, water and flowers. When the temple is reopened next year the rice is still good and the lamp will still be burning. Within the inner sanctum there is a very unusual image of Ravana with 9 heads playing veena.

The temple is located in the heart of town, on Bangalore-Mangalore Road.

Places Around Hassan

Belur

Belur is a small town located on the banks of River Yagachi, in Hassan district of Karnataka. Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur is considered as the Banaras of South and is thus also known as Dakshina Varnasi.

The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakeshava temple complex dedicated to Lord ‘Chennakeshava’ (handsome Vishnu) temple. It was built by King Vishnuvardhana of Hoysala Dynasty in the Dravidian Style. It is about one hundred feet high and has a magnificent gateway tower. There are many subsidiary shrines around the main temple.They conceived their shrines as star-shaped structures and not the usual cubical form. In this concept of the stellate, the main temple at Belur, is a show-stealer.

Halebidu

Halebiduis located in Hassan district in Karnataka. Ketumalla, the chief of staff of Hoysala Kingdom, built this temple during 1121 A.D and attributed to his king, Vishnuvardhana and queen, Shantala Devi. Even then it is learnt that it took 105 years to complete. If one stands on the platform of the temple and sees around he will see the hills opposite and two big bulls facing the temple and Ganeshafigure on the south.

It is believed that Queen Shantala Devi, was an epitome of beauty and fashion, she was also a great Bharatnatyam dancer and musician. Sculptors were inspired by this and the Shilabalikas, the dancing figures, are models of Queen Shantala Devi and her courtisans. History of Hoysalas mentions Shantala Devi had great influence in the adminstration and religious reforms during Vishnuvardhana reign. She was follower of Jainism and the King follower of Sri Vaishnaism and was influenced by Saint Ramanuja Charya.

In the 14th century, this glorious city fell into ruins with the invasion of Malik Kafur, Mughuls, from the North India. This place was ran-sacked and plundered repeatedly rendering it in ruins. Hence its name Haledid, meaning ” City in Ruins”.

Shravanabelagola

The Hassan district in Karnataka is famous for its innumerable temples that attract tourists from all over the world. The Shravanabelagola temple is a holy place for the Jains and is world renowned for the majesty of Lord Gomatheeswara towering over everything around. It is one of the holiest places for the Jain community attracting millions of devotees annually.

The word Shravanabelagola literally means ‘the white pond of Sravana’ as ‘bel’ means white and ‘kola’ means pond in Kannada. There is a beautiful pond in the town, true to its name. Another legend has it that the name was due to an old woman who poured the milk she had carried in a ‘gullakayi’ over the deity anointing him every day. Now the image of Lord Gomatheeswara being anointed with milk is a world famous sight.

                                                                   
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