Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy : Malleshwaram – Hindu Temple
Built in one of the oldest areas in Bangalore - Malleswaram, the temple is on a hillock. As the legend goes, the temple belonged to Chatrapati Shivaji's stepbrother Venkoji, who came upon a 'shivalingam' in 1669 and consecrated the temple around it.
On the busy Sampige Road, Malleswaram besides the Prasanna Sai Mandir is the historically famous Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy temple. The temple was also known as 'kadu malleswara' referring to the jungle like territory in which it was built. The land for the temple and the surrounding area came to be known as Malleswaram. Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy temple located in Malleswaram, is one of the oldest temples in the city. There is no document of exact date or period of this temple. History shows that this temple had a relation with the period of the Great Maratha leader Shivaji. Bangalore was a village (Grama) that belonged to the Bijapur rulers. It was given to Shivaji's father, Shahji who ruled Bangalore as a jagir. It was then inherited by his youngest son Venkoji (Ekoji), Shivaji's stepbrother. In the year 1669 A.D., Venkoji on a visit to this region with his minister Baji Rao Peshwa for implementing taxes (Chouthaya), visited Mallapura's Mallikarjuna Swamy and came across a shivalingam, which was believed to be a 'swayamboo'. Venkoji consecrated the temple and its surroundings. This place influenced Venkoji to grant Medharaninganahalli, a village for this temple and enforced that there should not be any kind of unfairness against dharma. All this description can be seen even today beside the Narasimha temple that was laid by Venkoji himself.
The Mallikarjuna Temple Bangalore is identical but smaller and more compact. Exquisitely carved pillars of the interior hall depict scenes from the Panchatantra, the animal fable. The walls surrounding the temple complex and the Nandi pavilion in front of it are incomplete.
The Mallikarjuna Swami temple in Bangalore enshrining the Lord Shiva is a temple built by King Magadj of the Kempa Gowda dynasty in the 16th century. The temple is said to have a linga in the temple called Viswanath. This linga was believed to have been brought to the temple by sages. The temple has an idol of Sri Vishnu in the premises too thus making the temple accessible to both the saivaites and the vaishnavaites.
Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy Temple at Malleshwaram in Bangalore is also a well-known temple built on a hillock. It was built by Chatrapati Shivaji's stepbrother Venkoji in 1669.