Sri Kshetra Chendur

Chendur is a small village located just twelve kilometers away from Bagepalli in the Chikkaballapura district in the state of Karnataka. The village houses the holy shrine of Lord Srinivasa in the form of a growing shaligrama shila.

The length and breadth of Karnataka is dotted with thousands of temples which are not even heard of, forget about exploring them.  Each temple has a unique tale to narrate, and a mystery attached to it.

Sri Venkateshwara Swamy Temple in Chendur is such a rare temple. Chendur sports nature’s beauty as well as this holy Kshetra. The small yet a magnificent temple has a spacious courtyard and more so a sea of devotees. The history of this temple is unique as well.

The origin of Sri Venkateshwara’s Shaligrama Shila

Remember, how Lord Srinivasa came down to Earth following mother Lakshmi and then He took refuge in the anthill in the Varaha Kshetra. Later He was discovered by the Akasha Raja and how He manifested Himself in Tirumala Kshetra.

In the similar manner, Lord Sri Venkateshwara of Chendur stayed in an anthill in the form of Saligrama, in a farmer’s field of a remote village called Korenahalli. This village is two kilometers far from Chendur. No body knows how He manifested Himself in this place.

Every day a cow from the nearby farmer’s house used to pour milk into the anthill in which the Saligrama was situated. Noticing this, one day the farmer hit the cow out of frustration. The cow escaped but the axe hit the Saligrama Shila which left a mark there. Even today this mark can be seen in the Saligrama shila.

Lord Venkateshwara comes to Chendur

Later that night, Lord Venkateshwara appeared in a dream of a brahmana in Chendur. He bestowed the brahmana with the darshan of His shaligrama shila form and ordered him to get shaligrama shila to Chendur and construct a temple.

Next morning, the brahmana narrated about his strange dream to the elders of the village and proposed to execute the order of the Lord. A group of villagers came to this place where the anthill was situated.

They picked the Saligrama Shila from the anthill and put in the bullock cart. As they approached Chendur the bullock cart stopped on the west side of the Chendur. They kept the Saligrama Shila there and in the same night, the garbha griha was built around the Shila. They gave custody of worshipping the Shila to Madhava’s family.

The peculiar feature of this Saligrama Shila is that it keeps growing. It is growing into a form of the Lord. Now one can have darshan of eye and nose of Lord Venkateshwara in the shila. Lord Venkateshwara is situated above the Garuda Pitha. On either side are Hanuman and Ganapati. Jaya and Vijaya are standing outside the garbha griha.

Vyasaraja Tirtha comes to Chendur

Vyasaraja Tirtha a follower of Madhvacharya’s Dvaita School of philosophy visited Chendur while he was traveling. He settled down here for a sometime and worshipped the Saligrama Shila form of Lord Srinivasa.

He instructed his disciple Kashi Vallabhacharya to settle down here and continue the worship of Lord Venkateshwara of Chendur. The temple architecture dates to Vyasaraja Tirtha’s time around 400 – 500 years old.

Any devotee worshipping Lord Sri Venkateshwara Swamy in Chendur will be bestowed with all blessings.

How to reach Sri Kshetra Chendur

The best way to reach temple is to join Tirtha Yatra and get your tour organised.

By Road: Sri Kshetra Chendur is 92 km from Bengaluru. Road transport can be easily availed. Regular bus services are available from Bengaluru one can reach Bagepalli and take an auto to reach temple and taxis are also available from Bengaluru.

By Rail: Bengaluru railway station is the nearest railway station. It is well-connected by important towns of India. Apart from that Chikkaballapura railway station is the nearest railway station.

By Air: The nearest airport is at Bengaluru International Airport. Private taxies are available from this airport location.