Commercial establishments and temples vie with each other in terms of numbers in Bangalore. But there are a handful of temples with rich historical significance. One such temple you can spot in the City is Jalakanteshwara temple located near Kalasipalya bus stand. And, as every year, this year too the temple is decked up to celebrate Shivaratri on Wednesday and Thursday.

There are many stories regarding the age of Jalakanteshwara temple. Subramanya Shastri, the main priest of the temple, says the local people who have been devotees of the temple since the time of their ancestors believe that the temple is as old as 800 years. There is another story according to which it was constructed 400 years ago during the rule of Gangas.

The priest says the temple named after Jalakanteshwara as shivalinga which was found in a near-by kalyani (pond) had been installed in the temple. But now there is no pond anywhere near the temple. Unique feature of the temple is that it is a venue of many idols. Kailasanatheshwara (Shiva), Subrahmanya, Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Saraswathi, Mahadurgi and Navagrahas as well. Usually idol of Vishnu is not found in Shiva temples. But this temple is an exception.

Like in any temple,  Shivaratri celebrations at the temple begin at 5.30 pm and will continue till 6 am on Thursday.
It  concludes with a procession on the main streets of Kalasipalya and surrounding.

All most all localities have at least one Shiva temple and every temple plans to celebrate the festival in a unique way. Arya Vysya Mandali of Vijayanagar has made special arrangements for darshana of Jalakanteshwara of the well-known temple in Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

A replica of the Jalakanteshwara temple has been set up at Vasavi Kanyakaparameshwari Temple, Vijayanagar.

Authorities of Shivamandira, where 65ft tall Shiva idol is installed, have arranged for ksheerabhisheka in a large scale on Wednesday.

Authorities of the mandir, which has 65ft tall Shiva idol, said devotees can take part in ksheerabhisheka.

Cultural activities

Sharana Sangama of Jayanagar has chosen to celebrate Shivaratri in unique way. The sangha has made arrangements for installing a 21ft tall Shivalinga made of ice at B S Chandrashekhar playground in Jayanagar. The public can have darshan of the idol from 5 pm.

Cultural programmes have been organised as part of the celebrations. Yashwanth Sardeshpande and his team will stage humour play ‘Al The Best’. Master Hirannaiah, Krishne Gowda, Mysore Ananda, Richard Louis and Ramanath will take part in humour programme.

Bangalore Urban District Sharana Sahitya Parishat has decided to celebrate Shivaratri as Sangeeta Shivaratri. It is holding music programme at Sri Shivarathreeshwara Kendra from 9 pm.