The King's Gambit and the Bengaluru Purchase

On 14th January, Makara Sankranthi, as the sun turns northwards, signalling the imminent end of deliciously chilly Bangalore mornings, the devout (and the curious) will gather at the stunning 16th-century temple to Shiva-of-the-cave - Gavi Gangadhareshwara - near Chamarajpet, to watch the thrilling sight of the sun's rays lighting up the shivling in the rocky sanctum.

- Roopa Pai

A few will perhaps recall that it was the founder of Bengaluru, Kempegowda I, who built the temple, some 3 km south of his walled city.

Kempegowda played no part, however, in raising the temple to Vishnu-of-the-fort, Kote Venkataramanaswamy that lies just outside the walled city. That was done over a century later by a king who enhanced the power, influence, and territories of the Mysore Wadiyars, and built an alternative power centre in south India after the fall of Vijayanagara. This Wadiyar, who counted among his contemporaries Maratha ruler Shivaji and Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, was Devaraja II, or Chikka Devaraja.