Narasimha Swamy Temple, Seebi

According to the renowned British Raj era historian and epigraphist B. Lewis Rice, legend has it that once a merchant carrying grain on bullocks stopped at Sibi. When a pot of grain was boiled on a projecting rock, its color turned blood red causing the merchant, his attendants and the buffalos to swoon. While in the unconscious state, the god Narasimha appeared in the merchant's dream and informed him the rock was his abode and that the merchant should build a temple for him at that spot as atonement for desecrating his abode. A small temple was thus built by the merchant. In more recent times, the consecration of a larger temple over the pre-existing shrine was taken up by three wealthy brothers: Lakshminarasappa, Puttanna and Nallappa who were the sons of Kacheri Krishnappa, a Dewan in the court of King Tipu Sultan of the Mysore Kingdom. Story goes that Nallappa had a dream in which the god Narasimha promised him eternal happiness if a temple was raised where it stands today. The completion of the temple construction took ten years. The Narasimha Swamy temple is a simple yet elegant Dravidian structure built around the end of the 18th century. The main deity of the temple is Narasimha, an avatar (incarnation) of the Hindu god Vishnu. == Architecture and murals ==

The tower over the entrance is three tiered and the temple has a large prakara (bounding wall) which makes for a large court yard. The open mantapa (hall) leads to a closed mantapa (or navaranga) which has minor shrines for several Hindu deities: Rama, Ambegal Krishna, Sriranga (a form of Vishnu in the reclining posture), Narasimha (Vishnu with the head of a Lion), Ganesha and Saptamatrika. According to the art historian George Michell, the murals of this temple are among the best from the Mysore period and the courtly paintings depicting processions exude a Mogul influence. The murals on the walls and ceiling are divided into three rows: The first row depicts the Krishna Leela ("Krishna's play") of the god Krishna, the second row depicts a scene from the court of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III with Nallappa (one of the sons of the Dewan Krishnappa) in attendance, while the third row depicts a scene from the court of Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan with Kacheri Krishnappa, and Ravanappa and Venkatappa (maternal uncles of Nallappa who held high posts) in attendance. According to Veena Shekar, based on the style, the portrait of Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar III (who ruled after the death of Haider and Tipu Sultan) may have been incorporated in the early 19th century. ==Gallery==

Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi.JPG|Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi Another view of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|View of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Another view of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|View of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Another view of dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|ravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi ==References==