Shivoham Shiva Temple

The Shivoham Shiva Temple on Old Airport Road, Bengaluru, opened as the Shiv Mandir on 26 February 1995, when the Shankaracharya of Sringeri consecrated it; it took its present name in 2016. Its centrepiece is a 65-foot statue of Shiva by the sculptor Kashinath, seated in meditation with damaru and trident and the Ganga flowing from his hair. A 25-foot linga marks the entrance, and a 32-foot Ganesha, unveiled in 2003, stands beside the Shiva figure.

For those unable to make the journeys themselves, the temple recreates the Amarnath pilgrimage through a man-made cave over rough, stony ground, with shrines for Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Amarnath and a copy of the ice linga. Another artificial cave holds replicas of the 12 Jyotirlingas. Devotees tie saffron threads before Ganesha and touch the healing stones placed before Shiva. Some 500,000 people visit each year, up to 150,000 of them on Maha Shivaratri.