Nanjangud
Nanjangud, officially known as Nanjanagudu, is a town in the Mysuru district of the Indian state of Karnataka. Nanjangud lies on the banks of the river Kapila, 23 km from the city of Mysore. Nanjangud is famous for the Srikanteshwara Temple located here. Nanjangud is also called Dakshina Kashi. This town is also famous for a type of banana grown in the region called the Nanjanagoodu rasabale. Nanjangud's local administrative unit was designated as a Municipal Committee in 2015 by including Devirammanahalli and Kallahalli village.
Origin of the name
The Srikanteshwara Temple at Nanjangud is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, also called Sri Nanjundeshwara. Nanjanagud means "the place where Nanja resides" in Tamil.History
Nanjangud has been a major Shaiva centre for nearly a thousand years. Western Ganga dynasty Kings in the 9th–10th century are considered to have built this temple with significant additions by the Hoysalas, cholas and the Vijayanagara kings. This temple was later renovated by the Hoysala kings. The Wodeyar kings of Mysore made various grants to renovate the temple.Geography
Nanjangud is located at. It has an average elevation of 657 metres. The taluk borders Mysore taluk of Mysore district to the north, T Narsipur taluk of Mysore district to the east, H D Kote taluk of Mysore district to the west and Gundlupet and Chamarajanagar taluks of Chamarajanagar district to the south.Getting there
Nanjanagud is 24 km from Mysuru and 165 km from Bengaluru Via NH766. Buses are available from Bengaluru, Mysuru city by city bus and Chamarajanagar. The nearest airport is Mysore Airport situated at Mandakalli at a distance of 16 km from Nanjangud and 10 km from Mysuru.Nanjangud has two railway stations - the Nanjangud Town railway station and the Sujathapuram railway station. Usually only slow trains stop here, except the Chamarajanagar-Tirupati express train.
Notable locations
Nanjundeshwara Temple
This temple is the most famous attraction of the town. It is believed that sage Gauthama stayed here for some time and installed a Linga, the idol form of Shiva.Parashurama Kshetra
Near Nanjangud is the confluence of the Kapila and Kaundinya rivers. This place is termed as Parashurama Kshetra where the sage Parashurama is said to have cleansed himself from the sin of beheading his mother.Oldest rail/road bridge in India
The bridge across the Kabini river has been declared as the oldest bridge with both a railway line and a road by the Government of India. It is located at the entrance of temple town here.The bridge, built in 1735, is now 283 years old and is declared a Heritage Monument by the Government of India.