Ardhanareeshwara Temple

Gargeshwari is a typical little village, famous for its Ardhanareeshwara temple. This temple is situated in the midst of houses. Once one arrives at a temple one will be greeted by the colorful statue of Ardhanareeshwara above the main entrance. In front of the temple is an enclosure housing a small stone Nandi and it sits on a high pedestal which is unusual. The main idol is an Udbhavamurthy stone of half Parvati and half Shiva (Ardhanareshwara), the priest Shivaramakrishna is a treasure house of information about the temple and surroundings and will also give you a copy of the booklet about the temple written by him. He says, this place was named after Saint Gargacharya who undertook rigorous penance here and Lord Shiva appeared with his consort Parvathi in the form of Ardhanaareeshwara form. As such the exact name of the temple is Sri Prasanna Parvathi Sametha Gargeshwari but grew famous with the name Ardhaneshwara temple. There is an image of Ganesha to the left, which is about 5 - 6 Kgs. This is the Yanthrodharaka Mahaganapathi, consecrated by Gargacharya himself before his penance. Smeared all over with off - white butter, during the festival the Ganapathi looks lovely. Going around the temple one can take a look at the sculpture of figures and also climb up the steps to glimpse the temple gopuram with myriad images.