Ghats, Mist and a Divine Abode

It is the perfect morning, with cool breeze and light mist playing around the serene Western Ghats. A lone temple in the midst of this breathtaking panorama completes the divine splendor. Such is the beauty of Gopalswamy Hill, the highest peak in Bandipur National Park.

As a Mysorean, it irks me when people assume that the only tourist places in and around Mysore are the Palace, Brindavan Gardens, Coorg, and so on. There are innumerable locations of both historic interest and natural beauty, making even a week’s trip barely sufficient to do justice to this city. One such spot which can simply not be missed is the Gopalswamy Hill, in Chamrajnagar district. It is located approximately 75 km from Mysore on the Mysore-Ooty road, and about 220 km from Bangalore.

All year round, the hill is covered with mist at dawn, which slowly settles with the rising sun. The Gopalswamy temple (or the temple for Lord Krishna) is located on top of this hill. Legend says that sage Agastya, performed intense penance as a result of which Lord Vishnu blessed this place and promised to reside here. Inside the temple, the parapet of front wall of the mukha mantapa contains the sculpture of dashavatara, with the centre portion depicting Krishnavatara. The garbha griha contains an idol of Lord Krishna playing a flute under a tree.

During my visit, I met an old man native to the place who narrated the history of this temple and the tales that grew around it:

The Gopalswamy temple was built in 1315 AD by Perumala Dandanayaka, son of Malasing Dandanayaka (conflicting sources say that this temple was built by King Chola Ballala). It was later maintained by the Wodeyars of Mysore.

Irrespective of seasons, the garbha griha (garbha gudi) is always filled with fog and mist, a unique feature distinguishing this temple from other Gopalswamy temples spread across the state. Hence the hill is also known as “Himavat Gopalswamy Betta”

 There are 77 lakes located around the temple, some of the more popular ones being “papanashini”, “dasatirtha”, “saggammanatirtha”, “gadhatirtha”, “chakratirtha”, “shankatirtha”, “banjetirtha”, “gopalatirtha”, “ashthatirtha”, “tottilatirtha”, “panakada kola”, “gumbagoletirtha”, “siddadevara kaani”, etc,.

Legend has it that once a crow took bath in the “Papanashini” lake and came out as a swan. To this day, not a single crow has been spotted around Gopalswamy hill. The most famous among these lakes, though, is the “tottalutirtha”. This lake is found 2 km inside the forest and it is said that if a couple performs puja with water from this lake, they will be blessed with children.

The old man also expressed his concern over the lack of infrastructure for tourism on the Gopalswamy hill. Conservation of a monument that has survived seven centuries is vital for the preservation of our history as well as for promotion of tourism. Proper initiatives must be undertaken by the government in order to accomplish this so that the Gopalswamy hill finds its rightful place, as a hallmark of long and rich history of Mysore, and as one of the most picturesque locations in the Western Ghats.

(Published in Star Of Mysore dated June 30, 2010)