Gavipuram Caves Temple Bangalore Gangadhareshwara Caves

Gavipuram Caves Temple or Gangadhareshwara Caves are one of the oldest and very famous Cave Temples in India, situated in Bangalore, Karnataka. The temple is built inside a natural cave in Gavipuram in the 9th century and later renovated by Kempe Gowda (the founder of Bangalore) in the 16th century to express his gratitude on the release of imprisonment of Rama Raya. Gavipuram Cave Temple enshrines Lord Shiva as Gavi Gangadhareshwara. Gavi means “Cave” in Kannada and Gavipuram means the area full of caves.

Gangadhareshwara Cave Temple Features 

The main shrine enshrines a Shiva Linga and in front of the temple is a Nandi sculpture, the vahana or vehicle of Lord Siva. Towards the left of the main entry there is an image of Shakti Ganapathi, one of the 32 forms of Lord Ganesh, with 12 hands. To the right of the main shrine are the smaller shrines of Goddess Parvathi and Goddess Durga and there is along path surrounding all these shrines and beautiful idols of Sapthamathrikas, Sridevi and Bhoodevi are also seen. The temple has a rare idol of Lord Agni, the Fire God in Hinduism, which is only one of its kinds in South India. The idol of God Agni has two heads, seven hands and three legs and it is believed that worshiping this deity will get rid of all eye related problems. Large number of devotees visits this temple during Makara Sankranthi and Sivarathri Festival.

Unique Feature of Temple

The Makara Sankranthi day (usually January 14th or 15th every year) is a special and a very rare occasion when a beam of sunrays passes through two windows of the south facing temple and slide down through the horns of Nandi and disappears after touching the Sivalinga. This is a perfect example of the knowledge of architecture and astronomy that the ancient sculptors could craft the horns of the stone bull outside the temple therefore that that the rays of the sun may pass via its horns and light up the Shivalinga in Gavipuram Cave Temple. This could be witnessed in Gavi Gangadhareswara Temple just for one hour that is between 5 PM to 6 PM on this specific day.

Gavipuram Caves Architecture

This temple is a perfect example of Indian rock cut architecture. Sage Gauthama and Sage Bharadwaja did penance here. There are two idols of these two sages in the cave path surrounding the main shrine. The outer courtyard in front of the cave entrance had fourteen pillars of Vijayanagara style. In the big corridor the beautiful, unique and rare granite stone structure – one called Surya Pana or Sun Disc and Chandra Pana or Moon Disc, a trident (Trisula), a dhamaru (drum), two shikaras on the cave a tower on the rock outside the temple compound are also a masterpiece.

Pooja Timings and Visiting Hours 

Gangadhareshwara Cave Temple is open daily from 7 AM to 12.30 PM in the morning and 5 PM to 8.30 PM in the evening. The temple shrine is a protected monument under the Karnataka Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act 1961.

How to Reach

Gavipuram Cave Temple is located at Gavipuram Guttahalli which is just three kilometers away from the city market. The temple is easily accessible from the city of Bangalore through local buses, auto rickshaws and taxis.