The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, with funding from the Muzurai and Tourism departments, has taken up restoration of the main temples on the Mysuru palace premises. It has also initiated work on restoration of a few protected monuments in the district.
The palace temples include the Shwethavaraha Swamy temple, Trinayaneshwara temple, Gayatri temple, Bhuvaneshwari temple, Lakshmiramana temple, and Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple.
While Shwethavaraha Swamy temple is being restored at a cost of ₹30 lakh, the Rajagopura of Lakshmiramana temple is being renovated using ₹25 lakh, according to officials from the Department of Archaeology. A sum of ₹25 lakh is being spent on the Gayatri temple and ₹38 lakh on Kote Maramma temple adjoining the palace fort.
The popular Ganesha and Anjaneyaswamy temples adjoining the palace are being spruced up at cost of ₹5 lakh. This is the first time these temples are being renovated in recent years. Officials say the works will be completed in a few months.
Maintaining Nandi
In addition to the major temples on the palace premises, the Nandi atop Chamundi Hill will also receive attention, and ₹12 lakh will be spent on sprucing up the area and maintaining the bull, a well-known tourist attraction.
The second phase of restoration work at Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple has also been approved and will cost around ₹51 lakh. It is one of the more prominent temples on the palace premises whose construction began in 1825 and was completed in 1829. The temple, dedicated to Krishna, was constructed during the time of Krishnaraja Wadiyar II.
Similarly, the Trinayaneshwaraswamy temple is an ancient temple that is said to have existed even during the period of Raja Wadiyar, who ascended the throne at Srirangapatna in 1610 A.D. The other ancient temple is the Lakshmiramanaswamy temple, reckoned to have existed in the 15th century and embellished by several successive rulers.
Besides the temples on the palace premises, the Department of Archaeology has taken up restoration of ancient temples at Hunsur, K.R. Nagar and T. Narsipur. Tenders for this have been invited. The work entails taking up repair and restoration according to the archaeological norms without compromising on the structural profile. The works will be overseen by the department engineers, officials said.
