Melukote Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple
A hilltop Vaishnavite temple town forever linked to the philosopher Ramanujacharya, who took refuge here in the twelfth century — its annual Vairamudi festival displays jewellery gifted by Mysore's Wodeyar kings and, by tradition, by Tipu Sultan.
Melukote (Tirunarayanapura) is built around the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple, perched on a rocky hill above the Yadugiri range. The site’s fame owes much to Ramanujacharya, the eleventh–twelfth century Vaishnavite philosopher, who is said to have lived here for years during his exile from the Chola kingdom and to have reconsecrated the temple’s image after recovering it from Delhi.
The temple has been a favoured object of royal patronage for centuries: the Mysore Wodeyars regarded it as a family shrine, and its treasury includes an extraordinary collection of jewel-studded ornaments, among them a diamond-studded crown by tradition presented by Tipu Sultan, paraded each year during the Vairamudi festival that draws vast crowds from across South India.
Getting there: Melukote lies about 50 km from Mysuru via Pandavapura, reached by a winding hill road; the post office sits in the small town below the temple’s stepped approach.
The site itself
Where to get your stamp cancelled
This may not be next to the site itself — some post offices serve several nearby landmarks.
- Post office
- Melukote Post Office
- Pincode
- 571431
- Address
- Melukote Post Office, Melukote, Pandavapura Taluk, Mandya District, Karnataka
Sources
- Project maintainer transcription of the physical Philately Passport booklet (district/landmark/post office list)
- Melukote pincode/post office record — Pincode.net.in