Sri Gavi Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple Denkanikottai . This is one of the famous Cave temple near Bangalore and Hosur and one of the oldest Lord Narashimha temple.
Gavi Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple located at Denkanikottai is a temple not very far from Bangalore and Hosur. The legend talks about the existence of this temple being 5000 years old, around the time of Mahabharata. It is said that Arjuna established this temple inside this cave and they have stayed here for some time during their vanwas perod.
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Denkannikottai is located in krishnagiri district in the state of tamil nadu .it is around 27 km hosur and 65 km bengaluru.
Why the name Denkanikottai? Legend behind Denkanikottai
There was a demon by name Devakandan who worshipped lord Brahma. Lord Brahma was happy with his tapa and gave him boon of immense strength.
He started troubling the sages as well as the Deva. To kill the demon, Lord Vishnu ( lord Narashimha ) took the form of hunter and killed him with the help of the weapon named as Denkani.
And hence people started calling this place as Denkanipuram. Then it was named as Denkani kottai (fort). Over a period of time people also started calling it as Thenkanikottai.
Story of Shri Sri Gavi Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple Denkanikottai
Gavi means cave in Kannada. The temple as the name suggests is a cave temple. The temple is dedciated to Lord Narashimha. Of the 10 avataars, Lord Narasimha is the intense avatar of Lord Vishnu.
It is said that Oandavas during their exile period visited this place. It is said that Arjuna has carved the idol of Lord Narashimha at the cave here in Denkanikottai.
With time temple got lost in the jungles around.
Later in time there was a king named Dharmavarma who ruled this area. He visited this forest for hunting. On his way back to his palace, he noticed this small hill lock. In search of an animal he ventured inside the cave at this small hilllock.
He did not find any animal there, but he did see the idol of Lord Narashimha. He was surprised to find an old Lord Narashimha temple inside the cave in this dense forest.
Sage Kanva used to live nearby and did penance there. He approached sage kanva and took him to this hilllock.
Sage Kanva then told the story of Lord Narashimha and how he killed Hyrunaksahyapa and also how one of the pandavas visited this place in past and has established this cave temple.
The temple today has been renovated and temple gopuram is coloured in golden. It is five tier strucure.
The sanctum sanctorum with the main diety is a cave temple. On the pillars of temple you will find various inscriptions of lord Vishnus various avataras.
Just before the entrance, outside the temple wall there is a stone marked with lotus feet of the lord.
As soon as you enter the temple you will see some stairs gioing down. That is the way to go down to the cave and the main temple is inside the cave as you can see.
How to reach Gavi Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple
Address of temple: Sri Gavi Narasimha Swamy & Betaraya Swamy temple, Denkanikottai, Krishnagiri.
The temple is situated on a hill. you can drive up the hill.
There are also stairs going till top so you can also park your car little bit down and then take the stair.
- Denkanikottai is 16 Kms from Thali
- Denkanikottai is about 27 Kilometers from Hosur.
- From Krishnagiri one can reach Denkanikottai via Rayakottai or via Shoolgiri ( around 70 Kms)
- From Bangaore its is around 70 Kms
- 5 km Denkanikoti bus stand
- Regular bus from Bangalore and Krishangiri, salem to Hosur and from Hosur to Denkanikottai
This is a elephant prone area as this jungle lies in elephant corridor so it is advisable not to stay late in the area.
Temple is open only from 10.00 AM to 1.00 PM and 3.00 PM to 5.00 PM.
Please also visit: Dakshin Tirupati , Hosur – A must visit for people seeking lords blessing
