Sugreeva and Venkateshwara appear to be a strange combination,
yet two temples with their names are found on Balepet Main Road
in the 12 Majestic area. Secondly, a temple exclusively for
Sugreeva, an important character in the epic Ramayana, is very
rare.
The two temples on the same premises are so engulfed by commercial
establishments on both sides that one cannot make out that there
is a temple in between the shops. A small faded board hung above
the entrance also fails to attract the attention of the ever
moving public on this narrow street.Inside you find two temples
facing each other. The temple that faces the small door is that
of Lord Venkateshwara. The Lord Venkateshwara temple in front
of this pillar has a small corridor with four pillars. Though
they are carved with some figures, most of them appear faded.
The inner shrine of the temple has an idol of Lord Venkateshwara
placed on a pedestal. Though the idol is beautiful and attractive,
the grandeur of the many other Venkateshwara idols is not seen
here. To the left is a small shrine with the idol of Padmavathi
which also faces the shrine.
The idols come alive in traditional splendour only when devotees
visit and offer flowers, camphor and arathi. etc. Though thousands
of people pass by the temple everyday, hardly a handful visit
it. Local residents say that the temple was built by Kempegowda-I
for the Uppara community.
A few years ago when the space in front of the temple was dug
to lay a foundation stone, a pillar was found. The pillar was
broken and kept on the premises itself and three pieces of it
can be seen there even today. The base of the pillar has relief
figures of a dancing girl and a sage. The structure gave credence
to the belief that the pillar belongs to the Gowda period.
On the same premises, a few feet in front of the Garuda pillar
is a small shrine with a big Sugreeva idol, which is about six
feet in height and appears like Hanuman. The long teeth on either
side of the mouth are the only thing which differentiates it
from Hanuman. The locals believe that this tall Sugreeva with
folded hands was inside the Kempambudhi tank and one of the
devotees got a divine message to remove it from there and build
a shrine for it.
7:58:08 AM 
bination,
yet two temples with their names are found on Balepet Main Road
in the 12 Majestic area. Secondly, a temple exclusively for
Sugreeva, an important character in the epic Ramayana, is very
rare.
