About Kurudumale Ganesha Temple
About ten kilometres from Mulbagal taluk in Kolar district sits Kurudumale village, home to one of the more unusual Ganesha shrines in south India, a temple built around an idol so large that tradition insists it was not installed by human hands at all. Local belief holds that the trinity themselves, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, came together here along with assorted devas and goddesses to install the Ganesha idol, and that this coming-together, 'kudi' in Kannada, at the base of a mountain, 'male', is what gave the place its original name: Koodumale, or Kootadri, koota meaning together and adri meaning hill. Over generations of local pronunciation, that name drifted into today's 'Kurudumale.'
The idol itself is said to have witnessed all four yugas, Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali, carved from saligrama stone and standing somewhere between twelve and thirteen-and-a-half feet tall depending on which account you read, with a width of six to seven feet. Each yuga is said to have brought its own visitor. In the Krita Yuga, Lord Shiva is believed to have worshipped Ganesha here before setting out to destroy the demon Tripurasura. In the Treta Yuga, when Ravana abducted Sita, Rama and Lakshmana are said to have stopped at this very idol to seek Ganesha's blessing before marching on Lanka. Then in the Dwapara Yuga, Krishna, wrongly accused of stealing the Shyamantaka gem, is believed to have come here to clear his name and rid himself of the blemish. Even the Pandavas are said to have paid their respects at this spot before the Mahabharata war began. It is a lot of mythology to attach to one hillside idol, but that layering of stories across yugas is part of what makes Kurudumale feel different from a temple with a single origin tale.
History of Kurudumale Ganesha Temple
For a very long stretch of its existence, this Ganesha had no temple at all. The idol simply stood in the open, at the foot of the hill, weathering the seasons like any other rock formation nearby. What changed things, according to local accounts, was a series of quiet miracles noticed sometime in the Kali Yuga: rain that should have soaked the idol seemed to leave it dry, and the fierce Kolar sun that beat down on everything else in the area did not seem to touch it either. Villagers and wandering sages who witnessed this decided an idol capable of shrugging off rain and sun this way had to carry the blessing of the gods, and word of it eventually reached King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire.
Krishnadevaraya is said to have travelled to Kurudumale himself to see the idol, and after witnessing it, ordered that a proper homa and abhisheka be performed according to Shaivagama procedure. A temple was raised around the idol soon after, and inscriptions on its walls today are generally credited to his reign in the early sixteenth century, though some accounts suggest the Cholas had a hand in the site even earlier. Despite the royal patronage behind it, the temple that resulted is deliberately understated: there are no elaborately carved pillars, no towering gopura, no kalasha crowning the roof, and not even a dwajasthamba, the flagmast found at the entrance of most South Indian temples. The idol, not the architecture, was always meant to be the point.
Beliefs and Rituals of Kurudumale Ganesha Temple
Most devotees who make the trip here are hoping for relief from Ketu Dosha, the astrological affliction this Ganesha is particularly known for addressing. The customary way of giving thanks once a wish is granted is through Benne Alankara seva, quite literally smearing butter over the idol as an offering, a practice specific enough to this temple that it has become something of a local shorthand for 'my prayer was answered here.' Devotees dealing with Sarpa Dosha have their own ritual too, offering prayers at the Lord Subramanya shrine that sits within the temple's prakara, or inner courtyard.
Even Ganesha's vehicle gets its due at Kurudumale. There is a separate idol of Mooshaka, the mouse, treated with nearly as much reverence as the main deity. And in a detail that says something about how specific local ritual practice can get, anyone who happens to catch a glimpse of the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi, considered inauspicious in Hindu tradition, is expected to visit and set the matter right.
Temple Contact & Location
Website: No official website
Email: No official email address
Phone Number: KP Karthik – +91 9741004581
Address: Ganesha temple, Kurudumale, Mulbagal, Karnataka 563131
Accommodation: The temple has no rooms of its own, so anyone staying overnight will want to base themselves in Mulbagal town or Kolar city instead. A handful of hotels there take bookings online, including Sai Nandhini A/C Lodge, Harsha Residency, Hotel Saidham, GK Hill View Resort and Thavaru Homestay.
Near By Places to Visit: Garuda Temple – Mulbagal, Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple – Mulbagal, Someshwara Temple – Kurudumale
Distance:
Bangalore to Kurudumale Ganesha Temple – 100 kilometres
Kolar to Kurudumale Ganesha Temple – 36 kilometres
Mulbagal to Kurudumale Ganesha Temple – 11 kilometres
How to Reach
By Bus: KSRTC and private operators run buses from Bangalore to Mulbagal for around ₹80. Take a direct Mulbagal service or a Tirupati-bound bus and get down at Mulbagal Junction. From there, it is 11 kilometres to the temple, easily covered by auto or a local private bus for about ₹40.
By Train: An express train runs from Bangalore to Bangarapet Junction for around ₹85. A taxi or auto from the station covers the remaining distance for roughly ₹200. Since timings and fares change from time to time, it is worth checking with Indian Railways or IRCTC before you travel.
By Air: Kempegowda International Airport is the closest airport, about 105 kilometres away, which usually works out to a two-hour-ten-minute to two-hour-twenty-five-minute drive.
By Road: Driving from Bangalore, the route runs from Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Station) through Indiranagar, Krishnarajapuram, Konadasapura and Hoskote, on to Kolar, and then via Chikkamadenahalli, Doddagurki and Rachabandahalli before reaching the Kurudumale Ganesha Temple.
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