TEMPLES IN GORUR
Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy temple:
Since long, the story of how the temple was built has been passed down through the generations by the word of mouth. Long back on the banks of river Hemavathy, a sage named Gokarna started worshiping lord Narasimha and performed penance to please the lord.
Lord pleased with the penance appeared as Yoganarasimha swamy on the stone. Seeing this, the sage carved the idol out of the stone on which the Lord appeared and installed it on the banks of the river. After the sage, todays Gorur, was also known as Gokarna kshetra. As the time passed by, with no one to take care of it, an anthill grew and surrounded the idol.
Later on, two brothers named - Dodda Narasaiah and Chikka Narasaiah searching for a suitable establishment, came along the path of river Hemavathy. While on their quest, they happened to rest overnight in a place closer to the idol (engulfed by the anthill). The next day morning when they woke up, they were astonished to see a cow milking on the anthill. When they removed the ant hill, to their surprise they saw an idol of Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy. With the help of localities they cleared the surroundings and built the temple for Sri Yoga Narasimha Swamy.
Even today, one can find descendants of the brother’s in Gorur and their family members observe special honours in the temple.
Trikuteshwara and Kailaseshwara temple
Dating back to 10th century AD, these twin temples dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated in the north eastern part of Gorur. Vijayaditya heggade who performed Shatarudrayaga in Gorur, named the temples as Shatarudriyapura and Vijayadityapura respectively.
The Trikuteshwara temple has a typical hoysala structure with three sanctum sanctorum. In each one of the sanctum one can find a Shivalinga. Along with it, the temple also has the idols of Mahishasuramardini, Saptamatruka and Ganapati.
Kailaseshwara temple
Kailaseshwara temple is situated close to the Trikuteshwara temple and is said to have been built during the paalegaara period. It is a single celled structure with a linga in the sanctum sanctorum. The temple also has idols of Saraswati, Umamaheshwara, Subramhanya, Keshava , Saptamatruka and Surya.
Sri Paravasudeva temple
The temple is situated in the middle of Gorur and dates back to Vijayanagar period. It is a three celled structure with Paravasudeva in the middle, Prasanna kamaladevi(Lakshmi) and Alwar acharyas in the rest of the two cells. We can also see the image of Vedanta Deshikar and Goda devi in the navaranga hall. The stone inscriptions found in the temple informs that, the temple was reconstructed in the year 1586 AD.
Hanuman Temple
This is the first temple to be seen at the entrance of Gorur village. It is considered as the guarding deity of the village. The idol of Lord Hanuman faces south holding Sanjeevini Parvata (abode of medicinal plants) and abhaya hasta. Adjacent to hanuman temple is a temple dedicated to Maramma devi who is the grama devata.
Places around Gorur
Gorur is situated 22 Km’s away from the town of Hassan on the Banks of river Hemavathi. One of the biggest landmarks of Gorur is The Hemavathi reservoir which was built during the year 1979.
Arkalgud – Situated 6 Km from Gorur has Amrutheshwara and Lakshminarasimha Temple’s which dates back to hoysala period
Rosary church- Shettihalli : It is Situated in the backwaters of Hemavathi reservoir -around 10Km from Gorur
Ramanathpura: The town of Ramanathpura is well-known for its temples. Located on the banks of river Cauvery, this holy town has a number of revered temples including the famous Rameshwara and Pattabhirama temples. The town also offers attractions like fish feeding and bird watching.
Mavinakere: Approximately 20 kms away from Gorur, this temple is widely know for diety VaraLu KaLLu Ranganatha.