BENGALURU: The must-see places in Bengaluru are not just Vidhan Soudha or Lalbagh but also the Chokkanathaswamy temple in Domlur.
“A stone inscription in the temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, reveals that the temple was built in 1266 CE (Common Era) making it the city’s oldest temple,’’ heritage enthusiast Uday Kumar P L said at a recent a talk on ‘Namma Bengaluru through inscription stones’.
The only stone inscription with the name of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda (within city limits) is found in Ranganathaswamy temple in Balepet. Unfortunately, the stone inscription is in a state of neglect, he rued. Stone inscriptions also revealed that Hebbal has a documented history of 1,300 years, he said. Uday Kumar said that Bengaluru has the highest number of stone inscriptions (150) which isn’t seen in any town or village. Unfortunately, as many as 120 stone inscriptions are lost, he added.
A majority of stone inscriptions are in Kannada, a few in Tamil and Telugu. An inscription on a stone even ends with a signature in Marathi, he said, highlighting linguistic plurality that existed centuries ago. “We are sharing the knowledge by uploading documentaries on YouTube. We hope to produce 30 such documentaries on Bengaluru,’’Kumar said.