Trinayaneswara Temple has many peculiarities. First of all, this temple is older than the palace, even older than the Wodeyar dynasty itself. Second, this is the oldest Shiva Temple in Mysore. Its origin is believed to be in 9th century AD.


Trinayaneswara Temple at Mysore


1.      In this temple the principal deity is Shiva as Vedamurthy. That is Shiva as the lord of the four Vedas (Rigveda,Yajurveda,Samaveda and Atharvaveda ). According to legends sage Trinabindu did penance in this spot (then on the shore of a lake). Impressed by this lord Shiva appeared before the sage. Trinabindu consecrated a linga here. Since the installation of the linga is associated with Trinabindu, it was called Trineswara. And also as Trinayaneswara (the one with three eyes) as lord Shiva is considered to have a third eye on his forehead.

2.      The original temple was on the banks of the then Devaraya Sagara ( Doddakere). Later during the regimes of Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar and Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar the fort got expanded and the Trinayaneshwara temple came inside the premises of the now enlarged fort. Also the Doddekere tank got drained due to the health concerns of the royal family.

3.      One of the highlight of this shrine is the 11kg (24lb) ceremonial gold mask of the principle idol. The mask is called Swarna Kolaga or Chinnada Kolaga is kept in the state treasury. During the day of Shivaratri (Night of Shiva) the ornament is brought to the temple. Shivaratri (according to the Hindu Calendar) is celebrated during the mid February every year. The gold mask was gifted to the temple by the erstwhile maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wodeyar in 1951.

4.      It is practice among kings to install their own images in their favorite temple in the form of worshiping the deity. In Trinayaneswara temple too you can spot the images of the images of the kind in a praying attitude with folded hands ( Anjalimudra).



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