Mulbagal

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Mulbagilu v • d • e Karnataka • India
Mulbagilu
District(s)	Kolar district
Coordinates	13.1667° N 78.4° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	8.5 km² (3 mi²) • 826 m (2,710 ft)
Population • Density	44,033 (2001) • 5,180.35/km²
Codes • Postal • Telephone	• 563 131 • +08159

Coordinates: 13.1667° N 78.4° E

Mulbagal is a town and Taluk headquarters of Mulbagal Taluk in the Kolar district in the state of Karnataka, India. It lies just off the National Highway 4.

1 Etymology
2 History
3 Geography
4 Places to see
5 Demographics
6 Education
7 See Also
8 References

[edit] Etymology

Mulbagilu has been taken from the word Moddalabaagilu which means the eastern-door in the native Kannada language. Mulbagal was supposedly the eastern most frontier (and thereby the entrance) of the state of Mysore and hence the name.

[edit] History

A legend specifies that the Hanuman temple here was installed by Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, after the Mahabharata war. Sage Vasishta is believed to have installed the idols of the main deity Srinivasa, Padmavati and Rama-Sita-Lakshmana.

[edit] Geography

Mulbagal is located at 13.17° N 78.4° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 827 metres (2713 feet).

[edit] Places to see

Someshwara Temple: Apart from the famous Hanuman temple, this town has Someswara' temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Shiva linga here is similar to that at sacred Kashi or Varanasi.

Vittaleshwara Temple: Another temple dedicated to Vishnu is the Vittaleswara temple and the idol is similar to Panduranga Vittala at Pandarapur in Maharashtra state.This is also very old temple and has a large gopuras (towers) and vast kalyani (pond).

Sripadaraja Math: The town was the residing place of Sreepadaraja Swamiji or simply Sripadaraya, a direct disciple of Saint Madhwacharya, who is known as third avatar of Vayu. The earlier two being Anjaneya or Hanuman, second being Bheema; the second Pandava. Madhwacharya established the Dwaita school of philosophy. Sreepadaraaja Swamiji who was the raajaguru (most important advisor) of the Vijayanagara kings, was known to have used kannada keerthanas (hymns) during pooja which was considered holy during those times. Sreepaadaraja Swaamiji was also known to was offering sixty four types of dishes naivedya (offering) to God everyday without fail. He has penned many keerthanas praising God and are still popular even after 600 years.

Narasimha Teertha: The Narasimha teertha is about 2 km from the town of Mulbagal. It is the sacred place where Swaamiji lived and had his brindavan (sacred resting place for Hindu sages) made, is now the headquarters of the Sreepaadaraaja Mutt founded by him. There is also a Swayamvyakta Yoga Narasimha temple near the brindavan.

Baba Hyder Vali Dargah: Mulbagal is also sacred for Muslims as the dargah of Sufi Saint Baba Hyder Vali of Mulbagal is situated here here. Both muslims and hindus worship at the darga and Urus festival is very popular here even to date.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Mulbagal had a population of 44,031. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Mulbagal has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 67%, and female literacy is 54%. In Mulbagal, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.