Shree Dharmaraya Swamy Temple- A Temple Pivotal to Bangalore City
`In the heart of Bangalore City between the hustle and bustle of KR Market lies the Shree Dharmaraya Swamy Temple, named after Dharmaraya or Yudhistir the eldest amongst all the Pandavas this temple is over 800 years old and is considered to be one of the only temples in India built to worship and honor Draupadi and the Pandavas.
Shree Dharmaraya Swamy temple has always been pivotal to Bangalore as, when Kempegowda established Bangalore as a city he is said to have built four gopuras or towers around the city for protection against invasion with the Dharmaraya Swamy temple’s vimana gopuram at the very center.
The temple draws architectural artistry from the Ganga, Pallava, and Vijaynagara empires and has a distinct Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is well decorated with intricate carvings featuring various animals while the raja-gopuram or the main entrance tower draws stylistic influence from the Vijayanagar empire and depicts the durbar of the Pandavas held with Shree Krishna.
Shree Dharmaraya Swamy temple also plays host to one of Bangalore’s oldest and most highly anticipated festivals, the Karaga Shaktyotsava, which is a festival dedicated to Draupadi and celebrated by the Thigala community, the festival is highly secular by nature due to a custom where the Karaga procession stops at the Hazrat Tawakkal Shah Dargah to seek blessings which is right behind the temple. The Karaga is celebrated by all communities in the city and hosts over 20,000 devotees and tourists annually.
Location
Sri Dharmaraya Swamy Temple Main Road, Old Taluk Cutchery Rd, Thigalarpet, Nagarathpete, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560002.
Nearby Tourist Attractions
Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace- 2 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Alur Venkata Rao Road and 2.6 Kms from Kumbaragundi Road.
Bangalore Fort- 1.6 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Old Talkuk Cutchery Road and 2.3 Kms from NR Road.
Lalbagh Botanical Garden- 3.9 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Lal Bagh Main Road, 3.0 Kms via Rashtriya Vidyalaya Road, 3.3 Kms via Krumbigal Road.
Cubbon Park- 1.5 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy temple via Cubbonpet Main Road/KM Naganna Road.
Hazrat Tawakkal Shah Mastan Dargah– 1.6 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Old Talkuk Cutchery Road, 2.8 Kms via Kempegowda Road, 1.9 Kms via Mari Munianna Lane.
Nearby Hotels
ITC Gardenia- 2.8 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Kasturba Road, 3 Kms via Mysore Road, 3.2 Kms via Mission Road.
Ritz Carlton- 3.7 Kms from Dharmaraya Swamy Temple via Kasturba Road.
