:: History of Yelandur Taluk ::

        It is the smallest Taluk of Chamarajanagar. The North,East,North-East lies the Kollegal Taluk and to the West,South lies the Chamarajanagar Taluk. Yelandur (Kasaba) and Agara are two Hobli's of the Taluk.

History

        It was ruled by the Chola Kings and it was known as Hadhinadu Pranthya and it was also the capital.During the rule of Vijayanagar Kings this place was known for its richness. Mummadi Krishnaraja wodeyar had given this taluk as jhagir to Deevan Purnaiah under the Inam Grant. After Independence, under the abolition of Inam Act this taluk was taken over by the Government.

Famous Temple

        The Gourishwara Temple built by the Hadhinadu King Singhadeva in 1450 is famous for grandeur. The writing on the temple names this place as Yeleandur(Yeleya Chandra, Bala Chandra etc).

        This place is sorrounded by eight hills, to the East Shwetha Giri(Billigri), to the South-East is Mallinatha Giri,to the South Suragiri, to the South-West Shankareshwara Giri, to the West Mallikarjuna Giri, to the North-West Shambulingana Giri, to the North Srisaila Giri and to North-East Nirmala Giri. The Historical name of Yelandur is Ilamaraduru as refered to anicent Tamil Scripts becuase it was ruled by the Chola Kings. In Chola Scripts it is also called as Cholendra Simha Chaturvedhi Mangalam.

Cave of Sadaksharaiah

        The Veerashiva poet Sadaksharadeva the writer of Rajashekara Vilasa is said to have resided in the Dhanagooru Mutt at distance of 5Kms from Yelandur. He is said to have gone for praying in the cave of Shambulinganna Hill and the cave is now known by the name Sadaksharaiahna Guha.

BillagiriRanga Betta(BR Hills)

        The Hill is covered with thick forest and it is at a height of 5091 feet above sea level and it has width of 16Kms at the base to the south. There is a temple for Billigiri Rangaswamy at the top of the hill and that's why it is known as name BR Hills. The Temple is of Dravidian style. Eventhough the deity is that of Lord Venkatesha it is popularly known by the name Ranganatha Swamy. The Idols of Ramanuja and Alva has been placed in this temple. Kankadasa Guha, Brindavan and other temples on the hills are of religious importance. The remains of a fort (kanchina kote) said to be built in 15-16th Century by the Shivasamudra Gangaraja can be found here. A small rivulet flowing at the foot of the hills is called Bargava Thoray. The hills are inhabitated by the Soliga Tribal people and this forest has rich flora and fauna.

Famous Personalities

        Narashima Bhatta is known for his Ayurvedic book, Sanchi Honnamma known for her work on Hadibaday religion, Vishalaksha Pandit the Jain Vidvan and Y.N Krishnamurthy the Editor of Kannada Prabha daily are from Yelandur. In Agara and Billigiri Ranga Hill there are four more temples of Rameshwara, Narashima, Vardharaja and Durgadevi.

Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra

        Dr. Sudarshan is the founder of Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra which is situated on top of the BR Hills. Dr. Sudarshan has been awarded the International Right livelihood award for his work among the Tribals of BR Hills. The Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra Trust is involved in leprosy eradication programme. With the help of Govt. it is also running a Primary Health Centre in Gumballi Village.

Statistics

        This Taluk has an area of 265 Sq. Kms. This taluk has 26 villages and the population according to 1991 census 71700 and density of the population is 271 per Sq. Kms. The main river of the taluk is Suvarnavathi, it enters the taluk in Ambale village and exits the taluk at the North-East towards Kollegal Taluk. The main crops of the taluk are paddy, sugarcane, coconut, areca nut, Sericulture/Mulberry. Average rainfall per year 793 mm.