Driving 80 km from Mysore on the Gundlupet-Chamrajanagar highway, 7 km from Terakanambi village, we come upon the serene hilltop temple of Venkataramanaswamy at Huligana Muradi.
The ancient temple, popularly known as Dakshina Seshadri, nestles picturesquely between the Swethadri and Kamaladri Hills with the meandering Cauvery snaking its way some miles away.
The Temple built by Sahukar Dasakeshava Setty of Terakanambi in 1629 in Vijayanagara Style is a major institution of the Muzrai Department. Its 100 feet high rajagopuram or outermost tower, adorned with sculptures of Vishnu in various forms built in recent times, was inaugurated in 2005.
Besides the idol of the main deity Venkataramana in the sanctum sanctorum, there are images of the Azhwars, Anjaneya, Manavala Mamunigal, Vedanta Desikar, and most importantly, of Andal in a rare posture - seated, with anjali mudra.
It is immediately evident that these idols have been chiselled with utmost care to minute details and speak volumes for the aesthetic prowess of the sculptors of the times. Though the idols in the Temple are from ancient times, and the inner temple structure itself a few hundred years old, the freshly painted exterior walls of the complex, belies its antiquity.
According to mythology, the mountain upon which the Temple stands in all splendour acquired four names, one corresponding to each of the yugas or time periods in history. It was called Seshadri in the Satya or Krita Yuga, Kanakadri in the Treta Yuga, Venkatadri in the Dwaparayuga and Vyagradri in the present Kaliyuag.
The locals, however, refer to the hill as Huligana Muradi, and its Lord Venkataramana is believed to have been worshipped by Rama in the Treta Yuga and by the Pandavas in the Dwapara Yuga. It is also held that Lord Venkataramana gave darshan here, to the great sage Mandavya Rishi who performed severe austerities to be blessed with this vision.
A unique feature of the Temple is the presence of three ponds associated with it, one of them, the Virajapushkarani or Vaikunta Theertha located a little more than a kilometer away from the main temple complex. The Vaikunta theertha is considered the most sacred and wish-fulfilling pond since Venkataramana himself is believed to have created it.
The Dhanushkoti pond sprung up when Lord Rama, on his way to Lanka, strung his bow to cleanse himself before worshiping Lord Venkataramana and seek his blessings to vanquish Ravana. To the north of the Danushkoti pond is the Vedapushkarani. When the demon Somaka stole the Vedas, Lord Vishnu killed him disguised as a fish and retrieved the Vedas. Tired from the exercise, the Lord, it is claimed, perspired profusely and these droplets gave rise to the Vedapushkarani.
The story on how Dakshin Seshadri, the mountain itself, came to be is very interesting. Once, Adisesha, the mighty and divine serpent upon whom Lord Narayana rests, and Vayu the powerful Wind God competed with each other in a bid to establish their superiority. Mount Meru was the arena for the competition. Adisesha wound himself tight around Meru and challenged Vayu to release the mountain from his grip.
When he was unable to free the mountain from Adisesha's grip, Vayu broke its tip, spun it in the sky and smashed it to the ground. Adisesha, angered by the outcome, released his hold on the peak. The mountain split in two halves - one half came to be known as Vrishadri which is now known as Tirupathi, and the other half that fell on the southern part, became Dakshina Seshadri. Since Adisesha had coiled himself around Meru, it came to be called Seshadri.