Purnaiah
Purnaiah was born in a family devoted to the Madwa philosophy to Sri Krishnacharya and Lakshmi Bai in 1746. Then they were in a village in the Coimbatore district, presently in Tamil Nadu. The couple had a second son named Venkata Rao. Purnaiah lost his father when he was very young, and the family moved to the village in 1760. Purnaiah soon found employment with a trader, supplying stores to Hyder Ali’s military. The shrewd Purnaiah notched a special place for him in the management of the trade and started growing up in the line. He finally ended up with a job in Hyder Ali’s treasury department. He was proficient in Kannada, Sanskrit, and Persian, and his knowledge and quickness in grasping attracted the attention of Hyder Ali, who ultimately made him Head of accounts and finally a trusted member of the Nawab’s Darbar and Head of Army Supplies and Logistics.
Purnaiah served the Heads of Mysore Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, then Maharaja of Mysore
till the end. Probably he is the only one who could have served the great masters of
Mysore as a trusted person/ Dewan.
Born into a simple orthodox family, and well-versed in Sanskrit he was taken to worship Sri Mukhya Prana [Anjaneya] as a follower of Sri Madwa Philosophy. During his time he built some temples for Sri Mukhya Prana [Hanuman].
Sri P.N.Krishnamurthy (1849-1911)
Sri Purnaiah had left behind scores of legends who had adopted his name as a prefix and one such is Sri Purnaiah Narasinga Rao Krishnamurthy. He is the grandson of Purnaiah through his son Sri Narasinga Rao and had served as Dewan of Mysore during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Secretariat manual prepared by him during his Dewanship is still regarded and followed by the Secretariat staff.
The vimana of the temple has eight sides and twelve stories forming a hexagonal tapering tower. On each side of the vimana, separate statues of Sri Vishnu’s Dasavathar, Asta Lakshmi postures, etc sculptured in black stone had been placed. This unique tower serves as the vimana of the Hanuman temple.
Purna Prasad
During his tenure as Dewan of Mysore, he built an excellent building in the heart of Bangalore [Bengaluru] city. He had named it “Purna Prasad”. The massive building designed in the aesthetic style looks like a castle from a distance. Presently only a portion of the building is with the family of Purnaiah, and a portion is occupied by the post office.
Family tradition
The interesting portion of the building “Purna Prasad” is the old Hanuman temple. The family deity of Purnaiah is worshipped daily by the family presently living there. All the other family members [who are spread over throughout India and abroad] also come to this temple and offer their prayers as and when possible. They feel that coming to this place is a pilgrimage.
BTC Hanuman Temple
The temple is a part of the “Purna Prasad” complex. Today the unique tower of the
temple [vimana] is visible as you go past the BTC i.e., Bangalore race
course. Though the temple is Purna Prasad Hanuman Temple, a private temple people
know that this temple is BTC [Bangalore Turf Club] Hanuman temple.
Architecture of the temple
The architecture of this temple is a unique fusion of the Hoysala and Chandela styles of architecture. The vimana of the temple has eight sides and twelve stories forming a hexagonal tapering tower. On each side of the vimana, separate statues of Sri Vishnu’s Dasavathar, Asta Lakshmi postures, etc are sculptured in black stone. This unique tower serves as the vimana of the Hanuman temple.
The temple
The temple has a small mandap and a small projected porch serves as the entrance to the temple. The temple by itself is not big but the prakara has some beautiful stone windows with stone meshed [jally] work. The events from the great epics Sri Ramayana and Sri Mahabarath form the jally work. Sri Bima trying to lift the tail of Sri Hanuman in the jally work is worth mentioning. There are other beautiful wall sculptures depicting some of the Sri Madwacharya’s philosophy and Sri Acharya taking lessons from Sri Vyasa has been wonderfully sculptured.
Sri Hanuman [Sri Anjaneya]
The Sanctum [Garbhagraha] where Sri Anjaneya is, can be seen from the porch or the connecting mandap. The vigraha of Sri Hanuman is small and may be about two to two and half feet tall. But artha shila vigraha is a wonder to look at. The Lord attracts the devotees with the grace of His kataksh mesmerising the devotees to forget the entire world around him. The Lord’s presence can be felt there in the temple. The poojas are conducted as per the Madhwa tradition.
Note from author:1. Kindly know that since the temple is
private property, admission to the temple is restricted.
2. Information regarding Sri Purnaiah is based on the narratives given by their
family members on one of the internet websites.
Location of the temple: "'PURNA PRASAD' Sri Hanuman Temple, Bengaluru"
Experience
Hanuman is worshipped here as Sri Mukhya Prana as per their family tradition. One can feel the presence of Lord Anjaneya here. The Purna Prasad Hanuman will bestow all good things as “prasad” to the devotees in full [Purna].
SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE
Ed [September 2011]
Updates: [Jan 2025]
* the author is a
retired Sr. Police Officer from Delhi.