HERITAGE WALK
Bettadapura is a town located in Mysore district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The name is derived from two Kannada words, "Betta" and "pura". Betta means "hill" and pura means "town".
The Sidilu Mallikarjunaswamy temple on the top of Bettadapura hill is one of the hidden marvels of Karnataka.
Bettadapura or "Land of Hills" is known for the famous Sidilu Mallikarjuna Swamy temple which was built by the Cholas more than 1000 years ago and has not been damaged much as the visitors have to climb a hillock to reach there through a flight of 4000 steps. Bettadapura is home to the Sankethi community which migrated from Shankottai in Tamil Nadu around 600 years ago. From Bettadapura they migrated to several other villages along the banks of Cauvery
Bettadapura is famous for its temple. Bettadapura has a Chola era (Chola Dynasty - 300s BCE–1279 CE) temple on top of the hill after which the name of the town is derived or named. On the summit of the hill, there is a temple dedicated to one of the Hindu trinity deities, Lord Shiva, in the form of Mallikarjuna.
Here, Shiva is worshiped in the form of a murti (statue) and is referred to as Sidilu Mallikarjuna. Sidilu or Sidlu is a Kannada word meaning lightning, while Mallikarjuna is another name for Lord Shiva. Legend has it that a couple had a cow which was not tied and left free to roam. All of a sudden, the cow started giving less and less milk to its owner. The owner got suspicious of this and followed the cow wherever it goes. To his astonishment, the cow started climbing the hill. He too followed without getting noticed. It reached the summit and was pouring its milk as abhisheka on a lingam. This lingam was replaced by a human-like figure later
One legend says that if at all any lightning strikes the temple, the bolt circles the Shiva's murti or statue for a few seconds. Another legend says that a lightning struck through a hole in the back of the temple to the completed statue of Mallikarjuna and made a dent on the scalp's occipital area/portion, which can be seen on statue even now.
Large cooking utensils carried up the hill a long time ago can still be seen, and the base of the hill has some Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments.There is also a Sidlu Mallikarjuna temple at the foothills, in the Bettadapura village, which is small and plain.
One significance of the temple is the fact that the temple is believed to be hit by lightning at least once a year around Deepavali time. Hence derives the name "Sidilu" meaning lightning in Kannada. Also a jaatre or procession is held once a year during Deepavali in which many people from the surrounding villages take part by carrying the idols of Lord Ganesha, Shiva and Parvati to the top of the hill and bring it back by evening.
Many mysteries surround this place and the place lacks experts and explanation to many questions. The local people and also few experts are not sure of many questions like why the temple was built at such a height (3000+ steps to the summit); what was the need or significance of building it at this height how did ancient and/or medieval people even manage to build such a temple which has been fully made with hard granite blocks weighing many tonnes each from where the granite stones were quarried (there are very few signs of ancient stone-cutting technology that can be seen beside the main temple) were the stones quarried atop hill itself and if so, how did they manage to quarry and also build on such a small place (needs to occupy stone cutters, temporary place for finished products to be placed, sculptors, labor force, tools) how did they manage to erect, lift, and place hundreds of blocks of hard granite where is the original lingam on which the above-said cow used to pour milk (legend) why a hole was made behind the temple; what is the mythological background of this, I mean, why did the Hindu god of lightning, Indra, hit the statue which is none other than one of the most powerful gods in Hinduism, Lord Shiva
Note: Statues are seen as a living entity itself by many Hindus in Hinduism how could Indra, being a demi-god, manage to do this.
There are few large metallic utensils inside the temple which weigh hundreds of kilos, including a very large bindige (pot used to store and transport water in India by Indian women), a large cup, and a bell (which was stolen later on). How these, which weigh many tonnes together, were carried atop the hill (since they are impossible to make it on summit)
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