Nandishwara Teertha Temple

Sri Dakshinamukha Nandi Tirtha Kalyani Kshetra
Sri Dakshinamukha Nandi Tirtha Kalyani Kshetra
Geography
Coordinates	13°00′18″N 77°34′23″E / 13.0050451°N 77.5731576°E / 13.0050451; 77.5731576
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Bangalore
Location	Malleswaram
Culture
Primary deity	Shivalinga (Shiva)
Festival deity	Shivalinga (Shiva)

Sri Dakshinamukha Nandi Tirtha Kalyani Kshetra is a small temple located in front of the Gangamma temple and diagonally opposite to the Kadu Malleshwara temple on 2nd Temple Street, Malleswaram layout in the north-western area of Bangalore city.

The temple is also known as Nandi Tirtha, Nandishwara teertha, Basava teertha or simply as Malleswaram Nandi gudi.

The main deity of the temple is Shiva, in the form of a Shiva Linga (lingam).

The focal point of this temple is a unique stone Nandi which is positioned facing the Southern direction – Dakshina in Kannada. ‘Dakhshinamuka Nandi’ means ‘South facing Nandi’.

There is a continuous stream of water that flows out of the Nandi’s mouth, which is considered to be holy water, referred to as ‘Tirtha’ in Kannada.

The water from the Nandi’s mouth falls onto the Shivalinga and flows into a stepped tank in the middle of the temple, called a ‘Kalyani’ - Temple tank in Kannada.

‘Kshetra’ means a ‘place’ in Kannada and is often used to refer to a place or region of historical or religious importance.

The combination of all the above elements adds up to the official name of the temple.

There is no documented history available for the temple. Though it is mentioned as being up to 7000 years old, there is no historical evidence to substantiate the temple’s age.

There is a mention that while excavating the temple, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) estimated it to be around 400 years old, based on Carbon Dating.

Since the Nandi Tirtha temple is essentially a ‘Kalyani’ or a Stepped Temple tank usually built near big temples, this structure is considered to be part of the Kadu Malleswara Shiva temple complex.

Looking at the basic architectural design of the temple and the usage of rough-hewn stone pillars for the main structure, this temple can potentially pre-date the Kadu Malleswara temple. Similar rough stone pillars have been used in ancient temples such as the Chandira Choodeshwara Shiva temple at Hosur.

At some point in its history, the Nandi Tirtha temple fell into disuse and was slowly buried under mud and dirt. As this temple is below the normal ground level of the surrounding area; and there is no Gopuram tower, the entire structure of this temple eventually disappeared from view.

However, knowledge of the existence of a Temple or Kalyani continued to survive in the memory of the people residing in this area.