JOIN USBheemeswara Temple in Makali, near Nelamangala is one of the ancient temples around Bengaluru.
It was constructed by Raja Raja Chola in the 10th century. Except for the pillars, which are adorned with beautiful carvings of birds, peacocks and dancers, there is no other structure of Chola architecture in the Temple. It is said that the Pandava brothers along with their wife Draupadi came here during their vanavasa and stayed here for a few days, worshipping Lord Shiva.
There are some interesting places near the Temple. Known for his size and stature, Bheema is known to have left footprints on the Arkavathy riverbed closeby. In fact, one can find a mark of a huge left foot in one of the stones here, in which all features of a foot are clearly visible. This is called Bheemana Hejje. Next to it, there is a big boulder with small holes in it.
This is called as Pandava’s dice. It is said that Pandavas, who were passionate about the game of dice , had played the game on the boulder here. A beautiful idol of Nandi can also be found here. A Maruthi pillar is installed in front of the footprint. There is also a newly built Anjaneya Temple in the vicinity. The government has developed a beautiful park around the Temple.