Shrungagiri Sri Shanmukha Swami Temple, Bengaluru

Entry is free, as the visit card above shows, and no booking is needed for an ordinary visit.

Darshan hours are not published by the temple or by the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, which it belongs to. Timings circulating on travel sites are not confirmed by any official source, so treat them as a guide only. The safe plan is to arrive in the late afternoon, see the shrine, and stay on the terrace for sunset.

Shanmukha means six-faced, and it is a name of Subrahmanya, also called Murugan or Kartikeya, the son of Shiva. Here the name became the architecture. According to the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, the design of the entire temple is based on the god's name and on a star concept, and the result is a tower from which six giant faces of the god look out in every direction, visible from streets far below.

The main image is Subrahmanya with his two consorts, Valli and Devasena. It was consecrated on 13 May 2007 by Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahasannidhanam, the 36th head of the Sringeri Peetham, and the temple was reconsecrated on 22 May 2022 by Jagadguru Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji.

• The six faces: the reason the temple is known across the city. According to the Sringeri Peetham, the six-faced gopuram is 62 feet tall and the temple stands on a hillock 240 feet above ground level.
• The crystal dome: it rises 42 feet above the top of the temple tower and is set with 2,500 crystals, each about a foot across, according to the Sringeri Peetham. In daylight the sun on the crystals throws rainbow patterns; in the evening they are lit by LEDs.
• The shrine of Subrahmanya with Valli and Devasena: a working shrine, so let worshippers go first.
• The view west: the temple stands on a hill, and from the terrace the west of Bengaluru opens out. At sunset the faces catch the last light, and this is the photograph people leave with.

Sunset, for the light on the faces and the view over the city. It is one of the few places in Bengaluru where you actually get a horizon, and it is rarely crowded.

• Shoes off at the steps: this is a working temple, not a viewpoint with a shrine attached.
• Photography: no official photo rules are published; near the sanctum, follow any signs and ask before taking pictures.
• Getting there: the temple is in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, a suburb in the south-west of the city. A taxi or auto-rickshaw to the hill is the simplest option; use the map pin above.