Nandi Hills
Temples of Karnataka

Nandi hills are a resort at a distance of about 60km north of   Bangalore. Here, are wo ancient temples, the Bhoganandeeswara temple at the foothills and the Yoganandeeswara hill temple.

The ancient rulers of this region - the Banas built the Bhoganandeeswara temple in the 9th century. The Chola rulers of Tamilnadu built the hill temple.

The Bhoganandeeswara temple in the foothills shows an assimilation of architectural styles of several dyanasties that ruled the area. The Banas, the Cholas, the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar rulers made contributions to this temple.

The original shrine is attributed to the Bana queen Ratnavali. Later on, the Arunachaleswara shrine was added to the temple complex. The Cholas of the eleventh century added Nandi mandapas to the temple. The Hoysalas who came in later built an ornate Kalyana mandapam. The Vijayanagar rulers added shrines to Uma Maheswara , Girijaamba and Apita Kuchaambal (see Tiruvannamalai). Local chieftans added two more prakarams to the existing temples. Thus the temple now consists of three prakarams and a tank.

The Yoganandeeswara hill temple is attributed to the Cholas of Tamilnadu. The Vijayanagar rulers added a shrine to Ambal and connected the two shrines with a corridor. The temple's carvings on pillars and doorways are noteworthy.