Bhu Varahaswamy Temple - The LandLord

The Bhu Varahaswamy Temple is situated in a small village called Kallahalli on the banks of the Hemavathi River. This is one of the most popular places near Mysore in Karnataka. 

How to reach there from Bangalore:

Since we had heard that Mysore road was clogging with water due to heavy rains, we decided to take the other route via Yeshwanthpur, Kunigal, Yadiyur, Nagamangala, Kallahalli. Without any stops, it will take 3.5 hours approximately to reach this place from Bangalore. Personal transportation is the only way to reach there since I did not see any KSRTC bus en-route our journey.

Google maps will take you through interiors of villages hence ensure you have downloaded the map beforehand. And ensure that you start for this place in the morning and plan to head back to Bangalore by evening before it is dark.

Make sure you pack your own food, snacks, water, juice packets even medical essentials with you because once you cross Kunigal you will not find much outlets to buy these. Even petrol pumps will be hard to find.

Significance of the Place:

The Bhu Varahaswamy Temple Kallahalli is dedicated to the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Varahaswamy or the wild boar form. Lord Varahaswamy is in a sitting pose with the goddess Bhoodevi lying on his left knee.

It is believed that if you plan to build your own house/construct any building should visit this temple before the commence of construction and take Lord’s blessings. It is also believed that if you have any land related issues/disputes and you pay a visit to Lord Vishnu, god will shower his blessings ensuring issues are resolved. 

For people who are about to commence construction, will need to take 2-3 bricks along with you while visiting this temple. I will next explain you why it is required.

It is believed that you need to take 3 bricks with you, collect some sand from the temple premises and take 5 rounds of the temple before you see the god. Post 5 rounds, you need to take all these ingredients and serve this as offering to Lord Bhu Varaha. Temple priest will bless them with holy water, turmeric, Kumkum and Lord’s flower petals. Once you are blessed there in god’s sanctum by priest, you need to come out, keep one brick outside the temple where you will see huge pile of bricks (offerings made by other devotees). And get the other one back home and use it for your building construction. This way lord’s blessings will be with you always.

This will be evident the moment you reach the parking lot of the temple premises. All the flower vendors will start chasing you to buy their offering basket and plastic covers to put sand if you are planning to construct a building or if you are here to resolve some land disputes or even to pray for the well-being of your property.

Food you can expect:

Post your offerings to lord when you come out, temple guard will advise you to walk towards Dasoha Bhavan on the left side of the temple to take prasadam. There will be anna prasadam offered throughout the day in this place. When we went, we were offered one plate of sambar rice and curd rice. It tasted yummy since we were very hungry.

There are no cafes/restaurants/food stalls here. It’s a quaint serene place solely to absorb yourself in devotion and nature.  

Recreation time:

After having a relishing meal, when we came out of Dasoha Bhavan to wash our hands we could see some people lining up to take coracle ride across Hemavathi river. 

And there is no way we can miss this chance. Boatmen charges Rs 50 per person for 20-30 minutes ride and it is worth it. Ride through Hemavathi river is very scenic as you will find wide variety of birds and nice lush green trees around which adds to the scenic beauty of this place.

Bidding Adieu:

We had a good time at this place. While returning we took the Mandya, Bangalore route since it was getting dark and we didn’t want to take the risk. Thanks to google maps, we reached Bangalore-Mysore highway in about an hour and then we sighed a heave of relief 😊

Takeaways:

One thing I really appreciate about India is its rich culture and heritage. Every place has a story and significance of its own. I have been living in Bangalore for so many years and didn’t know that there is a temple where Lord Vishnu will bless you with well being of your land/property. That is the reason I have named Lord Bhu Varahaswamy  as "The Land Lord" 😊. Really amazing to hear such interesting stories about every place we set out to explore. 

This place is totally worth the visit for a day’s outing from Bangalore or Mysore. If you really need a break from the hustle bustle of city life, please do plan to visit this for a long drive or to hear devotional stories about Lord Vishnu or even to just relax along the bank of Hemavathi river.