Sankramana to light up Gavi temple

BANGALORE: As the sun sets on the eve of Makara Sankranti, it is believed to change its track from northward to southward -- known as Uttarayana to Dakshinayana. The auspicious period, which lasts 15-20 minutes, is called `Sankramana'.
If one needs some kind of proof for `Sankramana' taking place, visit Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple, right behind Ramakrishna Ashrama.During that period, the Sun's rays will pass through the narrow entrance of the cave temple and fall right on the Shiva Linga, the deity of the temple. To watch it happen again, one has to wait till next Sankramana.
The temple is said to be one of the oldest around Bangalore, though it was renovated by King Kempe Gowda, who built Bangalore. Apart from the main cave, where the deity presides, there are two more caves in the same premises. Though no one ventures into them, it is believed that one cave path is connected to Shivaganga in Tumkur district, another cave path is connected to Kashi or Varanasi.
As sayings go, the existence of the cave temple dates back to BC, and it is believed that sage Bharadwaj had used this cave temple for his penance and later, sage Gouthama also stayed here. It is called both Bharadwaja Kshetra and Gouthama Kshetra.
Interestingly, unlike most of the temples, which either face north or east, this temple faces south. "It is said that south-facing temples are good for achieving spiritual heights for sages. However, there is no mythological reason as to why the Sun falls on the deity during `Sankramana'. It is just the engineering concept of our ancestors, who could calculate the movement of the Sun's rays accurately,'' says Radhakrishna of Udayabhanu Sangha, Chamarajpet.