Narasimha Swamy Temple, Seebi

Seebi's Narasimha Swamy Temple (the name is also written Sibi) is in Sira taluk of Tumkur district, on the highway about 20 km north of Tumkur. A legend recorded by B. Lewis Rice tells of a grain merchant whose pot of grain turned blood red when boiled on a rock here; Narasimha appeared in his dream, revealed the rock as his home and asked for a temple. Much later, three brothers, sons of Kacheri Krishnappa, a Dewan at Tipu Sultan's court, raised the present building over the old shrine late in the 18th century, taking ten years to finish.

The simple Dravidian temple has a three-tiered entrance tower and a large walled courtyard. Its open and closed halls hold small shrines to Rama, Krishna, Sriranga, Narasimha, Ganesha and the Saptamatrika. The main draw is the murals on the walls and ceiling of the entrance hall, showing court life and scenes from the Bhagavata, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in the manner of Daria Daulat Bagh at Srirangapatna.