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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name = Seebi narasimha
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Hindu temple
| image_skyline = File:Dravidian style gopura (tower) over entrance into the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Narasimha Swamy temple (1800 AD) at Seebi in [[Tumkur district]]
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Karnataka, India
| coordinates = {{coord|13|31|50|N|77|00|05|E}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[India]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Karnataka]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Tumkur District]]
| established_title = 
| established_date = 1797
| founder = Fauzdar Nallappa
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body = Private Hereditary Family Board
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes = Seebi, Tumkur
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Kannada]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code = 572128
| registration_plate =
| website = http://seebikshetra.com/
| footnotes =
| official_name = Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple
}}
The '''Narasimha Swamy temple''' at [[Seebi]] (also spelt Sibi) is located in the Sira taluk of [[Tumkur district]], in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Karnataka]]. [[Seebi]] is located on National Highway 4, just 20 km north of [[Tumkur]] city.

<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple - Google Search|url=https://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en-gb&sxsrf=ALeKk03TVEPMvhLSL47IYVaN5V6Pj5YZTA:1606421853544&q=Seebi+Narasimha+Swamy+Temple&ludocid=12838570342262592383&lsig=AB86z5XRrqOGykQc2onuqghBJF_Y&kgs=3a9bd445286db156&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/local|access-date=2020-11-26|website=www.google.co.in}}</ref>

==History and legend==
[[File:Entrance mantapa of the Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Entrance mantapa of the Narasimhaswamy temple at [[Seebi]]]]
According to the renowned British Raj era historian and [[epigraph (literature)|epigraphist]] [[B. Lewis Rice]], legend has it that once a merchant carrying grain on bullocks stopped at Sibi. When a pot of grain was boiled on a projecting rock, its color turned blood red causing the merchant, his attendants and the buffalos to swoon. While in the unconscious state, the god Narasimha appeared in the merchant's dream and informed him the rock was his abode and that the merchant should build a temple for him at that spot as atonement for desecrating his abode. A small temple was thus built by the merchant. In more recent times, the consecration of a larger temple over the pre-existing shrine was taken up by three wealthy brothers: Lakshminarasappa, Puttanna and Nallappa who were the sons of Kacheri Krishnappa, a [[Dewan]] in the court of King [[Tipu Sultan]] of the [[Mysore Kingdom]]. Story goes that Nallappa had a dream in which the god Narasimha promised him eternal happiness if a temple was raised where it stands today. The completion of the temple construction took ten years. The Narasimha Swamy temple is a simple yet elegant ''[[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian]]'' structure built around the end of the 18th century. The main deity of the temple is [[Narasimha]], an [[avatar]] (incarnation) of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Vishnu]].<ref name="sebi"/><ref name="courtly">Rice B.L. (1887), pp196-197, ''Mysore: A Gazetteer Compiled for Government - vol 2'', Asian Educational Services, {{ISBN|81-206-0977-8}}</ref><ref name="gundi"/>

== Architecture and murals ==
The tower over the entrance is three tiered and the temple has a large ''[[prakara]]'' (bounding wall) which makes for a large court yard. The open ''[[mantapa]]'' (hall) leads to a closed ''mantapa'' (or ''navaranga'') which has minor shrines for several Hindu deities: [[Rama]], [[Krishna|Ambegal Krishna]], Sriranga (a form of Vishnu in the reclining posture), [[Narasimha]] (Vishnu with the head of a Lion), [[Ganesha]] and [[Saptamatrika]].<ref name="sebi"/>

The main attraction in the temple are the [[mural]] paintings on the ceiling and walls of the ''mukhamantapa'' (entrance hall) which depict courtly as well as religious themes such as scenes from the Hindu ''[[purana]]s'' (epics): the ''[[Gita|Bhagavata]]'', the ''Narasimha Purana'', the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The murals follow the same artistic idiom found in the murals of the [[Daria Daulat Bagh]] in [[Srirangapatna]]. According to the critic Veena Shekar, the art of mural paintings migrated to Karnataka and the murals in this temple are "folkish" in character.<ref name="sebi">{{cite web |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/article1529137.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606160103/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/article1529137.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 June 2015|title=Alluring mural paintings of Seebi |work=Mamatha B.R.|publisher=The Indian Express|accessdate=5 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="mural">Miller, Sam (2012), ''Karnataka: Chapter from Blue Guide India'', Chapter: North Bangalore, Section: Sibi and Sira, Blue Guides,, {{ISBN|978-1-905131-53-2}}</ref> According to the art historian George Michell, the murals of this temple are among the best from the Mysore period and the courtly paintings depicting processions exude a [[Mughal Empire|Mogul]] influence.<ref name="michell">Michell, George (2013), ''Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums'', Chapter: Karnataka, Section: Bengaluru, Sub-section: Sibi, Roli Books Private Limited, {{ISBN|978-81-7436-920-8}}</ref>

The murals on the walls and ceiling are divided into three rows: The first row depicts the ''Krishna Leela'' ("Krishna's play") of the god [[Krishna]], the second row depicts a scene from the court of Maharaja [[Krishnaraja Wodeyar III]] with Nallappa (one of the sons of the Dewan Krishnappa) in attendance, while the third row depicts a scene from the court of [[Haidar Ali]] and his son [[Tipu Sultan]] with Kacheri Krishnappa, and Ravanappa and Venkatappa (maternal uncles of Nallappa who held high posts) in attendance. According to Veena Shekar, based on the style, the portrait of Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar III (who ruled after the death of Haider and Tipu Sultan) may have been incorporated in the early 19th century.<ref name="sebi"/> The ceiling of the main entrance ''mantapa'' has a mural in which the god Krishna plays the flute to other cowherd friends while watching Tipu Sultan fighting a Tiger. The ceiling has four beams each with a mural: the first depicts riderless horses followed by elephants; the second depicts horsemen wearing conical caps (common during the Vijayanagara era) with some horsman in gallop, others carrying flags and a couple on foot; the third depicts horseman, some riding and others on foot followed by elephants and a cart carrying cannons.<ref name="sebi"/> Michell concurs regarding the likeness these murals bear to the ones in the Virupaksha temple at Hampi as well as at the Siddheshvara temple at Holalgundi, also a late 18th-century construction.<ref name="gundi">Michell, George (1995), p228, ''Architecture and Art of Southern India: Vijayanagara and the Successor States 1350-1750'', Chapter:Paintings, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-44110-2}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi.JPG|Gopura of Narasimhaswamy temple at Seebi
Another view of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|View of courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
Another view of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|View of rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
Another view of dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Rear courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
Dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|ravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines in the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi.jpg|Courtyard of the Narasimha Swamy temple at Seebi
</gallery><mapframe latitude="13.5305783" longitude="77.0009558" zoom="7" width="200" height="100" align="right" />{{commons category|Narasimha Swamy Temple, Seebi}}

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web|url=http://seebikshetra.com/|title=Sri Seebi Kshetra - Narasihma Swamy Temple}}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.notesonindianhistory.com/2020/09/tipu-sultan-at-sibi-narasimha-swami.html|title=Tipu Sultan at Sibi Narasimha Swami Temple}}
* {{coord|13|31|50|N|77|00|05|E|display=inline,title}}
* {{Cite web|last=Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple|date=|title=Seebi Narasimha Swamy Temple - Google Search|url=https://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en-gb&sxsrf=ALeKk03TVEPMvhLSL47IYVaN5V6Pj5YZTA:1606421853544&q=Seebi+Narasimha+Swamy+Temple&ludocid=12838570342262592383&lsig=AB86z5XRrqOGykQc2onuqghBJF_Y&kgs=3a9bd445286db156&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/local|access-date=2020-11-26|website=www.google.co.in}}
[[Category:Hindu temples in Tumakuru district]]
[[Category:Narasimha temples in Karnataka]]

Narasimha Swamy Temple, Seebi - Revision history

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