Shri Lakshmi Ramana Swamy Gudi

The story of Shri Lakshmi Ramana Swamy Gudi

You are standing at a temple inside Mysore Palace, and the first thing to notice is the towering gopura at the entrance. A practical note gives it as a 16th-century feature, so even before you go in you are looking at a very old gateway.

What makes this place especially interesting is that there is no secure published history for this exact temple, but the larger palace complex around it holds several Hindu temples, some older than the current palace itself. Indiancolumbus says Sri Lakshmi Ramana Temple is the oldest among them and places it toward the west of the main palace. That same page links the temple to an inscription dated 1499 CE, mentioning grants made by Narasa Nayaka for regular maintenance.

The same publication also attributes the entrance tower to Raja Wodeyar I in the early 1600s, and says a beam inscription tells of a chieftain named Dalavayi Nanjarajayya and a priest called Srinivasaiah. Keep in mind that this may describe a better-known temple of the same name.

Lakshmi, also called Shri, is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, associated with fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty and abundance. As you stand here, look up at the gopura, then trace the temple’s position within the palace complex.