Temple Description

The Nageshvara temple complex, also known as Nagesvara or Naganatheshvara locally, is situated in Begur, a small town in the Bangalore urban district of Karnataka, India. Within this complex, the main deity, Nageshvara swamy, was consecrated by rishis, and the temple was commissioned during the reign of the Western Ganga Dynasty kings, specifically Nitimarga I (also referred to as Ereganga Neetimarga, r. 843–870) and Ereyappa Nitimarga II (or Ereganga Neetimarga II, r. 907–921). The other shrines in the complex are believed to reflect the influence of the later Chola Dynasty, Hoysala Dynasty, and Vijayanagara Empire in the area. According to legend, Ravana, the antagonist of the Ramayana, lost his atma linga in Gokarna and worshiped Nageshwara on his way back to Sri Lanka. Additionally, an Old Kannada inscription from around 890, discovered in this temple complex by epigraphist R. Narasimhachar, references a “Bengaluru war,” marking it as the earliest evidence of the name Bengaluru in history. This inscription is documented in “Epigraphia Carnatica” (Vol 10 supplementary).