Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple
— — stone that has held a thousand mornings.
Not only on a wall.
“A temple complex at the base of the Nandi Hills in Karnataka, in the village of Nandi. Two main shrines stand side by side under one prakara, one to Arunachaleswara and one to Bhoga Nandeeshwara, both forms of Shiva. The earliest stonework dates to the ninth century under the Nolamba dynasty, with additions by the Cholas, Hoysalas, and Vijayanagara kings. The central tank, Shringi Tirtha, holds water said to feed the south Pinakini river. from the studio
Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple stands in the village of Nandi, at the foot of the Nandi Hills in Karnataka's Chikkaballapur district, roughly sixty kilometres north of Bangalore. The complex is one of the oldest surviving temples in the region, with foundation work attributed to the Nolamba dynasty in the ninth century. Successive ruling houses — Cholas, Hoysalas, and Vijayanagara — added shrines, halls, and the elaborate kalyana mandapa over the next seven centuries. The site is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a monument of national importance.
Three shrines share a single prakara wall. The southern shrine to Arunachaleswara is the earliest, with austere Nolamba pillars; the northern shrine to Bhoga Nandeeshwara carries the more ornate Chola and Hoysala work. Between them, the Vijayanagara-period kalyana mandapa is built around a black-stone marriage altar where Shiva and Parvati are said to have wed, its ceiling carved with the nine planets and the wedding procession. The granite has weathered for over a thousand years and still holds the chisel marks cleanly.
The temple is active daily and free to enter; standard temple etiquette applies and shoes are left at the entrance. The drive from central Bangalore takes roughly ninety minutes via NH 44 toward Chikkaballapur, then a short turning west toward Nandi village. Many visitors combine the temple with the climb up Nandi Hills, the colonial-era hill station directly above, where the south Pinakini river is said to rise. Mornings are cooler and quieter; afternoon coach traffic from Bangalore picks up by midday.