Gourishwara Temple is located at
Yelandur in
Chamrajnagar District,
Karnataka.
Built in 1550, this Vijayanagara styled temple consists of a garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum), an ardhamantapa and a large frontal mantapa. The main feature of the temple is that its garbhagriha and ardhamantapa are at the basement and can be reached by stairs. The garbhagriha enshrines a
shivlinga and the images of Lord Vishnu, Parvati, Mahishasuramardini, Bhairava, Durga, and Lord Ganesh are installed in the ardhamantapa.
A separate rectangular building lies opposite to the temple, which serves as the mahadwara (main gateway). The four corners and sides of the doors have monolithic stone chains formed by circular links. The main gateway’s outer walls and the four pillars are decorated with several sculptures of Narasimha, Lord Dakshinamurthy, Sharabha, Vali and Sugriva. The ceiling has a beautiful image of Bhuvaneshwari with a lotus in its center, surrounded by the dikpalas in the respective directions.
Following the Gourishwara temple are a row of five shrines with a common roof, housing five lingas namely Ekambara, Jambunatha, Arunachala, Kalahasti and Chidambareshwar. The shrine of Parvati is to the left of the Gourishwara temple, whose garbhagriha is located below the ground level.
