As a resident of Bangalore I have been exploring the many temples in and around Bangalore and decided to visit Jalakanteshwara temple this time. I rode along with my friend J on my bike.
The temple was hard to find and is tucked away behind the many shops, buuldings, buses and the metro station. Google maps was not very helpful either. For some reason Google maps always takes be to the rear entrance of every temple I tried navigating and never the front one. After an hour's drive Google said your destination is on the right only to find a wall there.
Navigating around the Majestic area is a nightmare. Most routes are one-way. Google doesn't always has that updated. There are no clear signs and the buses are everywhere.
Finally after several wrong turns, and with J's help I found a small lane blocked by a parked bus. I was skeptical of that was really it. By this time I had lost faith in Google maps. Then I saw a temple pillar in front of a small apartment building. The temple itself was dismal, small. I doubted if that was even it.
Images in Google showed something else. Perhaps a really old photo. There was no lake as claimed in it's Wikipedia page. Certainly didn't look 2000 years old. I was disappointed.
But it turned out it was temple I was looking for after all. 2000 years old temple certainly brings to mind images of grandiose. Not in this case. The entire area around the temple is enroached. A modest arch is the only clue that there is a temple tucked away in the interior lanes.
If you are trying to visit the temple, take the metro. It's a 2 minutes walk from there. Don't even think of driving your car. Bike is okay but you will still have a hard time getting there.
There used to be a lake there, hence the name Jalakanteshwara as per a local resident. He added that among the four powerful Shiva Lingas in Bangalore, Jalakanteshwara was the foremost. The others being Kadumaleeshwara, Ulsoor Shiva temple and he mentioned one more that I don't recall. The temple has 3 main deities. In the centre is Jalakanteshwara, to his left is Devi Parvati and to his right is Kailash natha. There are several small murties of other dieties, Kala bhairva, Subramanya, Ganesha, Durga, Saraswati, Vishnu and there is also a navagraha pedestal tucked away in a corner.
The local said that the Lord keeps medidating here and hence the temple is a little obsecure so as to not be disturbed by devotees. Only a select few who get called by the Lord get to come here. That was some consolation. I meditated a bit for some time. The priest was rather friendly.
Whatever the reason, human greed has overcome even the divine. Squeezing as much land even from a temple. The filthy garbage ridden roads with perpetually parked buses. Even a liquor shop. I was dismayed. Perhaps the Lord really wanted to be left alone.
