Temple Astronomy 4 This part is a continuation of the Temple Astronomy series. Temple Astronomy 1 Temple Astronomy 2 Temple Astronomy 3 Beneath the bustling streets of Bengaluru, a monolithic secret waits in the dark. For centuries, pilgrims have gathered on January 14th to watch the sun’s rays pierce the shadows—but what if they’ve been looking at the incomplete miracle? Gavi Gaṅgādhareśvara Temple This temple is located in Bengaluru city. In fact, its location is in Gavipura village, which has now merged with the city. It is a cave temple. Gavi means cave, hence the village name Gavipura. The temple is built out of Monolithic rock and is an architectural wonder. The temple is a Shiva temple and is presumed to have been built during the Vedic period and later renovated by Kempe Gowda I in the 14 th century. The temple is known for a yearly event called ‘Surya Majjana’ on 14 Jan, Makar Sankranti. It is a Shiva temple; the deity is called Gandhareshwar. P...
Temple Astronomy 3 This part is a continuation of the Temple Astronomy series. Temple Astronomy 1 Temple Astronomy 2 Legends get associated with the subject in the form of folk tales, folk songs and folk plays when the phenomena or the acts go beyond the intellect of the common people. Though legends do not receive any importance from the historians, scholars and researchers, however, “Every story has a core of truth”, which needs investigation Introduction In earlier parts, we examined how temple architecture in India sometimes reflects astronomical knowledge—either through symbolic cosmology or measurable solar alignment. In this section, we analyse two iconic structures: Konark Sun Temple Vidyāśha ṅ kara temple in Ś ṛṅ gerī, Karnatak A lot of research has been done, and much more is still required to confirm the perceived peculiarities, astronomical or otherwise. The goal is to distinguish verifiable astronomical alignment...