YANTRODHARAKA PRANA DEVARU

Located inside a cave at a distance of approximate 2km from the Virupaksha temple, around 500 years old This temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and the idol here is installed by Sri Vyasaraja, the Rajaguru of the Vijayanagara kingdom and one of the Dwaita philosophers.

Legend behind the temple

It is believed that Sri Vyasaraja everyday used to draw a picture of the Lord Hanuman on the rocks before he offered his prayers using a charcoal and the picture disappeared after the rituals were completed. This incidence happened for 12 days in a row until the Guru pleaded to the Lord to appear in front of him.

On the twelfth day, Lord Hanuman appeared in front of the Guru and blessed him. It is said that the Lord himself asked Sri Vyasaraja to first constrain him in a hexagonal or a six angled amulet and install him in that place.

Lord Hanuman here is is in a meditative state and when you closely look at the Lord, you would get to see the carvings of 12 monkeys holding tails of one another as they face backwards. It is a representation of the 12 days of prayers that Sri Vyasaraja did before the Lord blessed him. The crown of Lord Hanuman is his tail and there are seed syllables carved on the entire rock around the statue.

This is the only Hanuman idol facing his devotees straight and is in the meditative state. Time required to cover this place: 1 hour - The view from top of the hill is really mesmerizing and do spend some quality time to get the glimpse of this serene place.